Historic Sites of Manitoba: Plum Coulee School No. 651 (Plum Coulee, Municipality of Rhineland)

Link to:
Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

The Plum Coulee School District was organized in April 1891 and a school operated in the village of Plum Coulee in what is now the Municipality of Rhineland. In late 1919, a four-classroom, one-storey brick school building was constructed on a design by Winnipeg architect Henry William Greene and the former three-room school building and site was sold at auction. This school was replaced by another one-storey structure built in 1931. It became the Plum Coulee Consolidated School District No. 2446 in 1967, combining with Bloomfield School No. 793, Neu Kronsthal School No. 1137, Hamburg School No. 2139, and Kleefeld School No. 2160.

Principals

Period	Principal
1902-1904	Duncan Crerar (1877-1910)
1904-1924	?
1924-1926	James Thomas Hulme (1864-1938)
1926-1931	Peter W. Warkentin (?-?)
1931-1937	John J. Gardner
1937-1938	A. O. Anderson
1938-1943	Chester MacMillan Fraser (1904-1975)
1943-1946	Ernest Arthur “Ernie” Friesen (1917-2012)
1946-1947	Franklin Stuart “Frank” Presunka (1919-1985)
1947-1948	John Ernest Ingot (?-2001)
1948-1949	J. R. Walkof
1949-1954	H. G. Goertzen
1954-1961	Peter Frederick Kutcher (1918-2013)
1961-1966	H. Neufeld

Teachers

Among the teachers of Plum Coulee School were Angus McGregor (1897) and Leonard Krueger (?-1938).

Photos & Coordinates

The original Plum Coulee School building (circa 1920) Source: Education Department Report, 1920, Manitoba Legislative Library. The second Plum Coulee School building, constructed around 1919 (circa 1920) Source: Education Department Report, 1920, Manitoba Legislative Library. Plum Coulee School, built in 1931 (no date) by G. G. Neufeld Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 103. Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.19109, W97.76241 denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

“The Indian famine fund,” Winnipeg Tribune, 4 March 1897, page 4.

“Plum Coulee, Man,” Western Canada Fire Underwriters’ Association map, June 1911, Archives of Manitoba.

“Tenders for the building of a school,” Manitoba Free Press, 21 July 1919, page 12.

“Auction sale of school site, school buildings and furnace,” Manitoba Free Press, 21 February 1920, page 54.

Annual Reports of the Manitoba Department of Education, Manitoba Legislative Library.

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 Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 5 September 2021

Historic Sites of Manitoba This is a collection of historic sites in Manitoba compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. The information is offered for historical interest only. SEARCH the collection Browse lists of: Museums/Archives | Buildings | Monuments | Cemeteries | Locations | Other Inclusion in this collection does not confer special status or protection. Official heritage designation may only come from municipal, provincial, or federal governments. Some sites are on private property and permission to visit must be secured from the owner. Site information is provided by the Manitoba Historical Society as a free public service only for non-commercial purposes. Send corrections and additions to this page to the MHS Webmaster at webmaster@mhs.mb.ca. Search Tips | Suggest an Historic Site | FAQ Help us keep history alive!