Known as Wakefield School District when it was established in June 1888, it was renamed Petersfield School in 1915 for the village of Petersfield, in the Rural Municipality of St. Andrews, in which it was situated. A two-storey brick school building was erected around the same time as the name change. It closed about 1967 as jurisdiction for the area became the responsibility of the Lord Selkirk School Division. The former school building was renovated into a private residence.
Among the teachers of Petersfield School were Harriett McIntosh “Hattie” Dunphy (1920s), James W. Cowan (1939-1940), Anna Hollins Muckle Elliot, and W. E. Saunders.
Petersfield School (circa 1927)
Source: Education Department Report, 1927, Manitoba Legislative Library.
Petersfield School (no date) by H. D. Cumming
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 84.
The former Petersfield School building (July 2012)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N50.30321, W96.96540
denoted by symbol on the map above
“Mrs. H. M. Moffatt, of Selkirk, passes away [Harriett McIntosh “Hattie” Dunphy Moffatt],” Winnipeg Tribune, 14 October 1935, page 3.
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.
A Study of Public School Buildings in Manitoba by David Butterfield, Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism, 1994, 230 pages.
We thank Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 14 February 2021
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