The Rowan School District was organized formally in March 1883 and a one-room schoolhouse was constructed at SE15-12-23W in what is now the Rural Municipality of Wallace-Woodworth, operating there until 1905 when, as a result of a rearrangement of the land contained in the district, a new school building was constructed at a more central location, at SW26-12-23W. The original school building was moved to Harding where, for a time, it was used for classes of Harding School. It was later sold to the Harding Agricultural Society and used as a community hall. In 1910, it was sold at auction and used as a granary at 3-12-23W. It was later demolished and some of its lumber was used to construct a toilet at the Harding fairground.
Meanwhile, in 1919 the second Rowan School was consolidated to form the Harding Consolidated School District. The former school building was moved to Harding where it was known as the “White School,” being used as a classroom for grades 5 to 8. In 1964, it was moved to a farm at SE32-12-21W where, in the 1970s, it was used for meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Among the early teachers of Rowan School were Frank Steede (1883-1885), Alfred James Bell, Miss Emma Chegwin (1898), George Booth (1890), Miss Agnes Lane (1901), and Miss Watt (1905).
Rowan School (circa 1911)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspector Photos GR2664, C65.Site Coordinates (lat/long): N50.00526, W100.53165
denoted by symbol on the map above
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.
Home to Harding: 1879-1981 by Harding History Committee, 1981. [Manitoba Legislative Library, F5648.H36 Hom]
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 10 October 2024
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