Historic Sites of Manitoba: Mowbray School No. 245 (Municipality of Pembina)

Established formally in 1887, the Mowbray School District operated as early as 1884, with a one-room schoolhouse situated at SW10-1-8W in the Municipality of Pembina. The present building was constructed at this site in 1906, retaining the name of Mowbray School (but being known locally as “Valley School”) while Boundary School was built in the nearby Mowbray village. By 1957, the students of this area were attending Boundary School. In 1967, both districts were consolidated with Manitou Consolidated School No. 314. The building, now a provincially-designated historic site, was maintained as a community museum.

The building had been thoroughly vandalized by the time of a 2016 site visit, with windows broken and interior contents thrown about. The damage was even more severe by 2021. An old community hall stands immediately east of the school building.

Among the teachers who worked at Mowbray School through the years were John Linton (1884), Mattie Wage (1885), Lizzie Steele (1886), Alex Cormack (1887), Mrs. Richardson (1888), Clara Davidson (1889-1890), W. G. Long (1891), Mary Graham (1892-1893), Lydia Buchanan (1894), Isabel McDonald (1895), Jennie Wilson (1895), Elizabeth Connor (1896, 1902), Martha Patterson (1897-1898), Evelyn Baker (1899), Maddie Wilson (1900), Bessie Borthwick (1901), Edith Shantz (1903), Nettie Duncan (1904), Elizabeth Mason (1904-1905), Miss Pollock (1906), Mr. McIntyre (1907), Minnie Finley (1907), Miss Black (1908), Miss Cayton (1908), Florence Swain (1909), Agnes Lawlor (1910, 1912-1913), Myrta Spearman (1911), Nellie Connor (1913-1915), L. M. McKenzie (1915-1917), Shirley Moore (1916-1917), Alice Finley (1917-1918), Ethel Shaver (1918-1919), Doris McFee (1918-1920), Norman Gorrell (1919-1921), Ethel Shaver (1919-1920), Clara Siddons (1921-1922), Veda Johnston (1921-1922), Barbara Balfour (1921-1922), Inez Taylor (1922-1923), Mary Belle Currie (1923-1926), Edith Fraser (1924-1925), Elva Jickling (1926-1927), Miss Wilton (1927-1928), Miss McFadden (1927-1928), Miss Snarr (1928-1930), Miss Clack (1930-1932), Jessie McIntosh (1931-1943), Edna Poersch (1943-1944), Helen Gibson (1944-1945), Marguerite Smith (1945-1946), Mae Argue (1946-1947), Hedwig Janzen (1947-1948), Betty Bannister (1948-1949), Margaret Keir (1949-1950), Audrey Henry (1950-1951), Susie Friesen (1951-1952), Dulcie Kingston (1952-1953), Mary Anne Klassen (1953-1954), Ruby Vigen (1954-1955), and Tina Dyck (1955-1956).

Mowbray School (no date) by G. G. Neufeld Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 2. The former Mowbray School building (June 2013) Source: Gordon Goldsborough The former Mowbray School building and commemorative sign (September 2021) Source: Rose Kuzina The former Mowbray School building (September 2021) Source: Rose Kuzina Interior of Mowbray School (June 2013) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Vandalized interior of Mowbray School (July 2016) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Vandalized interior of Mowbray School (September 2021) Source: Rose Kuzina Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.03007, W98.43563 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Mowbray Community Hall (Municipality of Pembina)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Boundary School No. 1339 (Municipality of Pembina)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Provincially Designated Historic Sites

Sources:

Mowbray School, SE 14-1-8 WPM, R.M. of Pembina, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch.

One Hundred Years in the History of the Rural Schools of Manitoba: Their Formation, Reorganization and Dissolution (1871-1971) by Mary B. Perfect, MEd thesis, University of Manitoba, April 1978.

We thank Ed Grassick and Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 4 November 2021

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