Link to:
Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources
In 1883, the Shellmouth School District was organized formally at Shellmouth in what is now the Rural Municipality of Riding Mountain West. The first classes were held in tents during warm weather and in local homes during the cold weather. A school building was erected in 1884. It was replaced in 1910 by a two-storey structure built of locally manufactured concrete blocks. In 1912, it was consolidated with Emerald School No. 1578 to form Shellmouth Consolidated School No. 292.
The school was destroyed by fire on 20 December 1919 but classes continued in the local hall. In 1921, a three-classrom school was built. It closed permanently in 1968. The building is now used as a community hall and a nearby monument, erected in September 1987, commemorates the former school.
Period
Principal
1921-1935
Charles L. Miller
1935-1937
Walter George Crane (1906-1979)
1937-1938
Borden Brownlee Johnston (1911-1996)
1938-1940
William Edward “Bill” Scurfield (1915-1993)
1940-1942
Margaret Catherine Busch Wilson (1905-1986)
1942-1943
Eva Wendell
1943-1944
Charles Linwood “Charlie” Miller (1891-1958)
1944-1951
?
1951-1953
L. A. Haas
1953-1954
Jerry P. Rogan
1954-1955
T. M. Sherloski
1955-1959
Mrs. L. Haas
Period
Teachers
1937-1938
Anna Winifred Large (grades 1-4), Louise Allison Swirtzer (grades 5-8), Walter George Crane (grades 9-11)
1938-1939
Borden Brownlee Johnston (grades 9-11), Anna Winifred Large (grades 1-4), Louise Allison Swirtzer (grades 5-8)
Among the teachers other who worked at Shellmouth School were Belle McTavish (1907), Angus Lorne Bonnycastle, and Ellen Elizabeth Wherrett.
Shellmouth School building with teacher Belle McTavish and students (1907)
Source: Audrey & Duncan Waddell
The original Shellmouth School building (no date)
Source: Education Department Report, 1917, Manitoba Legislative Library.
Shellmouth School building made of locally-manufactured concrete blocks (circa 1917)
Source: Education Department Report, 1917, Manitoba Legislative Library.
Shellmouth School (no date) by H. L. Albright
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 4.
Shellmouth School commemorative monument (June 2012)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N50.93604, W101.47886
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
MHS Resources: Manitoba Bricks and Blocks
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.
School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.
We thank Nathan Kramer and Audrey & Duncan Waddell for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 18 November 2020
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.
Browse lists of:
Museums/Archives | Buildings | Monuments | Cemeteries | Locations | OtherInclusion 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.Help us keep history alive!
