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A monument was erected on the former site of Rockwood School, at NE17-13-2 east of the Principal Meridian, in the Rural Municipality of Rockwood. The school was established in December 1872 and served as a community school, meeting hall, and church. In July 1965, the district was dissolved into Stonewall School District, which became part of the Interlake School Division. Rockwood School operated until June 1967, with the school building sold later that year, and dismantled in 1968.
The monument was erected in 1998 to commemorate the pioneers, students, teachers, trustees, and citizens of the Rockwood School District. It was dedicated at a ceremony on 27 June 1999. It is across the road from the Rockwood Cemetery.
Period
Principal
1934-1939
Clara Frances Foot Smith (1912-2006)
1939-1940
Thomas Frank “Tom” Tyler (1912-1997)
Among the early teachers who worked at Rockwood School were John Clinton (1883-1884), J. H. Dulmadge (Spring-Fall 1885), John A? May (Spring 1886 - Fall 1890), Ira Stratton (Spring - pt Fall 1891, Fall 1892 - pt Spring 1893), Lena Stratton (pt Fall 1891 - Spring 1892), Barbara Stratton (pt Spring 1893 - Spring 1896), Lottie Toombs? [Coombs?] (Fall 1896 - Spring 1897), Maggie Mamie (Fall 1897 - Spring 1899), Lewis W. Moore (Fall 1899 - Spring 1900), George Slater (Fall 1900 - Spring 1901), Donald Monteith (Fall 1901), records unavailable (Spring 1902 - Fall 1904), Maggie E. Cameron (Spring 1905 - Spring 1906), Edith M. Johnston (Spring 1906 - Spring 1909), Alex Todd (Fall 1909 - Spring 1910), Lucy M. E. Oatway (Fall 1910 & August-November 1911), Jessie C. Harrison (November 1911 - June 1912), Violet C. Paulson (Fall 1912 - Spring 1913), E. A. Reed (Fall 1913), Mary G. Pearson (Spring 1914), M. Evelyn O’Keeffe (Fall 1914 - Spring 1916), Anastasia Brissette (Fall 1916), Della Baker (Spring 1917 - Spring 1919), school closed due to influenza epidemic (11 November 1918 - 15 December 1918), Daisy Hewitson (Fall 1919). N. A. Card? (Spring 1920), Irene O. Morris (August-September 1920), Violet P. Ring (September 1920 - June 1921), Rose E. Silver (Fall 1921 - Spring 1922), Lilian M. Davis (August 1922 - January 1923), Jessie M. Laing (February-March 1923), Marjorie E. Jeffery (April-June 1923 & Fall 1923 - Fall 1925), Emily Geddes (Spring 1926), Winnifred M. Cook (Fall 1926 - Fall 1927), Ellen Effler (Spring 1928 - Fall 1930 & January-April 1931), Ida Leanna Peterson (April-June 1931), and Clara Frances Foot (Fall 1931 - Spring 1933).
Period
Teachers
1933-1934
Clara Frances Foot (grades 1-8, August-February; grades 3-8, March-June), Gertrude Jean Harcus (grades 1-4, March-June)
1934-1935
Clara Frances Foot (grades 1 & 5-8), Gertrude Jean Harcus (grades 1-4)
1935-1936
Ruby Va Lera [Valera] Joyce Arndt (grades 1-4, March-June), Clara Frances Foot (grades 5-8), Gertrude Jean Harcus (grades 1-4, August-February)
1936-1937
Ruby Va Lera [Valera] Joyce Arndt (grades 1-4), Clara Frances Foot (grades 6-9)
1937-1938
Ruby Va Lera [Valera] Joyce Arndt (grades 1-4), Clara Frances Foot (grades 6-9)
1938-1939
Clara Frances Foot (grades 6-9), Isabelle Mary Caswell Martin (grades 1-5)
1939-1940
Isabelle Mary Caswell Martin (grades 1-4), Thomas Frank “Tom” Tyler (grades 5-9)
1940-1941
Lillian Elizabeth Barry (grades 1-9, August-December), Lillian Mae Handcock (grades 1-9, January-June)
Among the later teachers at Rockwood School were Patricia Marguerite Stirling (Fall 1941 - Spring 1943), Blanche Florence Leveque (Fall 1943 - Spring 1945), Clara Irene Slater (Fall 1945 - Spring 1946), Nettie Pauline Baran (Fall 1946 - Spring 1948), John Alexander McNeill (Fall 1948 - Fall 1957), Lillian Ange-Marie Barsalou (Fall 1957 - Spring 1960), Sonia Genyk (Fall 1960 - Spring 1961), Orest Kosowan (Fall 1961 - Spring 1962), Florence Kosowan (Fall 1962 - Spring 1963), Joseph Tony Zatylny (Fall 1963 - Spring 1964), and Vivian Yvonne Sheldon (Fall 1964 - Spring 1967).
Rockwood School (1939)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 7.
Rockwood School commemorative monument (June 2019)
Source: Rose KuzinaSite Coordinates (lat/long): N50.10807, W97.27600
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Rockwood School (350 Rockwood Street, Winnipeg)
Board of Education registers (A 0050), GR7643, Archives of Manitoba.
Summative half-yearly returns for school districts (A 0051), Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Rockwood School District No. 19 - Daily Registers, GR2043, Archives of Manitoba.
School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.
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.
100 Years of History: Rockwood Municipality by Rockwood Municipality History, 1982.
We thank Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 28 August 2025
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