Link to:
Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources
The Wellington School District was established in November 1878 and, as early as 1881, a log schoolhouse operated at the southwest corner of SE17-3-6W in the Rural Municipality of Stanley. This building was destroyed by fire, along with early records held within. By 1886, dissatisfaction with the original school site led local ratepayers to approve moving it to the nearby village of Thornhill, closer to the then-planned new railway line. That summer, a one-classroom, wood frame building was constructed in town, to which a second classroom was added ten years later. Destroyed by fire in 1899, classes were held in a local store and the Orange Hall until a new two-storey stone structure could be built in 1900. A teacherage was added in July 1955.
This school served the community until the district was consolidated with Orangehill School District No. 794 in 1961 to form the Thornhill Consolidated School No. 59. The following year, a two-classroom designed by John Alexander Chivers, single-storey building replaced the earlier stone school, with construction starting on 21 October 1961 and concluding 17 February 1962, with classes commencing here 19 February. The old stone school was subsequently demolished in May 1962 to make way for a playground. The new facility lasted only six years because, in 1968, Thornhill consolidated with Morden to form the Morden Consolidated School No. 2440. The school at Thornhill was closed and students were henceforth bused to Morden. It became part of the Western School Division in 1969.
A monument, dedicated on 7 July 2003, commemorates the school and other notable historic buildings, including the Anglican Church (1895-1948), Methodist/United Church (1892-1978), Presbyterian Church (1891-1918), Memorial Curling Rink (1948-1975), Community Hall (1920-present), Canadian Pacific Railway Station (1888-1961), Lake of the Woods Elevator (1883-1962), Ogilvie / Manitoba Pool Elevator (1900-1978), Weldon-Broadbent / Ogilvie Elevator (1900-1978), Canadian Pacific Railway Stockyards (1888-1960), Reichert Garage (1945-1959), Jordan / Co-op / Martindale Store (1880-1980), Post Office (1879-present), South Warehouse (1920-1951), Campbell Garage (1920-1980), Manitoba Hotel / Campbell Boarding House (1900-1960), and Broadbent Store & Lumberyard (1880-1946).
Period
Principal
1895
Thomas Glendenning “Glen” Hamilton (1873-1935)
1895-1896
Joseph Little (?-?)
1896-1898
Edward Bailey Fisher (1873-1946)
1898-1901
William A. Clarke (1878-?)
1901
Duncan Crerar (1877-1910)
1902-1904
?
1905
Margaret M. “Maggie” Wilton
1905-1907
William John Bates (1876-1943)
1907
H. Blain
1907-1909
Una Grant
1909-1910
Edwin H. Clark
1910-1911
Perley Livingston
1911
Ruth Owens
1912
Margaret W. Halstead
1913-1914
Annie F. Johnston
1914-1916
George C. Simpson Jr.
1916-1918
Ella G. Martin
1918-1919
Ida L. Atkinson
1919-1920
Olive Johnston
1920
Mabel L. Bradley
1920
Frances “Fannie” South
1921-1922
Hazel Arretta Vandecar Foster (1897-1990)
1922-1923
May Myers
1923-1927
John Bruce Day (1902-1955)
1927
Elva L. Wallace
1928-1929
Barney Thordarson (1904-1974)
1929-1930
William Fogel (1903-1991)
1930-1931
Kaethe M. D. “Kae” Carstens
1931-1933
Phyllis Mary Archibald
1933-1934
Frank Unrau Dyck (1893-1982)
1934-1936
John Melville Brown (1913-1996)
1936-1937
William Morrison Reid
1937-1941
Louise McPhedran
1941-1942
Clair Edmond Dawson (1913-1995)
1942-1943
Frances Maud Garton Hanbury (1893-1980)
1943-1945
Annie Belle Fraser
1945-1947
Josie Kathleen Okapiece
1947-1950
Muriel Ramona McVeigh
1950-1952
John S. Schellenberg (?-?)
1952-1953
Kenneth Donald Bruce (1892-1968)
1953-1956
Gerhard N. Janzen
1956-1957
David Langton MacDonald (1911-1957)
1957-1959
Oliver Glen Olmstead (?-1997)
1959-1960
Bernhard A. Klassen
1960-1962
Kaethe M. D. Carstens “Kae” White
1962-1964
Maxwell Ross “Ross” Webber
1964-1965
Phyllis Joyce DeNeve
1965-1967
Garth Spencer Field
1967-1968
Hedy Bridget Bugiera
The early teachers of Wellington School were R. R. Mills (1883-1884), Alfred “Alf” Jackson (Spring-Fall 1885), James Winter Cartwell (Spring 1886 - Fall 1887), William T. Hoyes (Spring 1888 - Fall 1889), Jeannie Brown (Spring 1890), school did not operate? (Fall 1890), William Rose (Spring-Fall 1891), Stewart Murray Battram (Spring-Fall 1892, Spring 1894), U. M. Spencer? (Spring-Fall 1893), and Thomas Glendenning “Glen” Hamilton (Fall 1894).
Period
Teachers
1895
Thomas Glendenning “Glen” Hamilton (senior grades, Spring), Joseph Little (senior grades, Fall), U. M. Spencer? (junior grades)
1896
Edward Bailey Fisher (senior grades, Fall), Joseph Little (senior grades, Spring), Marion G. McLeod (junior grades, Spring), Lottie Toumbs? (junior grades, Spring)
1897
Edward Bailey Fisher (senior grades), Maggie Duncan (junior grades)
1898
William A. Clarke (senior grades, Fall), Edward Bailey Fisher (senior grades, Spring), Maggie Duncan (junior grades)
1899
William A. Clarke (senior grades), Maggie Duncan (junior grades)
1900
William A. Clarke (senior grades), Maggie Duncan (junior grades)
1901
William A. Clarke (senior grades, Spring), Duncan Crerar (senior grades, Fall), Maggie Duncan (junior grades, Spring), Margaret M. “Maggie” Wilton (junior grades, Fall)
1902
Margaret M. “Maggie” Wilton (? grades), ?
1903
Margaret M. “Maggie” Wilton (? grades), ?
1904
Margaret M. “Maggie” Wilton (? grades), ?
1905
(Spring only): Margaret M. “Maggie” Wilton (senior grades), Mamie [Marnie?] Brown (junior grades)
1905-1906
William John Bates (grades 5-10), Clara McGirr [McGin?] (grades 1-4)
1906-1907
William John Bates (grades 5-10), Lillie A. Winram (grades 1-4)
1907-1908
H. Blain (grades 5-10, pt Fall), Una Grant (grades 5-10, pt Fall - Spring), Sarah Stevenson (grades 1-4)
1908-1909
Una Grant (grades 5-9), Sarah Stevenson (grades 1-5)
1909-1910
Edwin H. Clark (grades 5-9), Mabel Rowbotham (grades 1-5)
1910-1911
Perley Livingston (grades 5-9, Fall; grades 6-10, Spring), Mabel Rowbotham (grades 1-5)
1911-1912
Margaret W. Halstead (grades 6-10, Spring), May V. Moreau (grades 1-5), Ruth Owens (grades 6-10, Fall)
1912-1913
Miss K. Coppinger (grades 1-5), Annie F. Johnson (grades 6-10, Spring), Margaret W. Halstead (grades 6-11, Fall)
1913-1914
Annie F. Johnson (grades 6-10), Lucy E. Swain (grades 1-5)
1914-1915
G, Lillie M. Kempthorne (grades 1-5), George C. Simpson Jr. (grades 6-11)
1915-1916
Victoria Finkbeiner (grades 1-5), George C. Simpson Jr. (grades 6-11)
1916-1917
Victoria Finkbeiner (grades 1-6), Ella G. Martin (grades 7-11)
1917-1918
Victoria Finkbeiner (grades 1-6), Ella G. Martin (grades 7-11)
1918-1919
Ida L. Atkinson (grades 7-10), Violet G. Earle (grades 1-6)
1919-1920
Olive Johnston (grades 6-10), Mildred H. Welch (grades 1-5)
1920-1921
Mabel L. Bradley (grades 6-10, August-? [pt Fall]), Frances “Fannie” South (grades 6-10, ?-December [pt Fall]), Hazel Arretta Vandecar (grades 6-10, January-June), Mildred H. Welch (grades 1-5)
1921-1922
Florence Hammond (grades 1-5, January-June), Hazel Arretta Vandecar (grades 6-10), Mildred H. Welch (grades 1-5, August-Decmber)
1922-1923
Catherine M. Campbell (grades 1-5, Spring), Mary E. Durnin (grades 1-5, pt Fall), Jean I. Gunn (grades 1-5, pt Fall), May Myers (grades 6-10)
1923-1924
John Bruce Day (grades 6-11, Spring), Greta C. Harvey (grades 1-5, Fall), May Myers (grades 6-11, Fall), Barney Thordarson (grades 1-5, Spring)
1924-1925
John Bruce Day (grades 6-10), Barney Thordarson (grades 1-5)
1925-1926
John Bruce Day (grades 7-11), Barney Thordarson (grades 1-6)
1926-1927
John Bruce Day (grades 7-11), Anne Slusman (grades 1-6)
1927-1928
Edith M. Good (grades 1-6, pt Fall), Vera J. MacNair (grades 1-6), Barney Thordarson (grades 6-10, Spring), Elva L. Wallace (grades 6-10, pt Fall)
1928-1929
Isabel Milne (grades 1-6), Barney Thordarson (grades 7-11)
1929-1930
William Fogel (grades 7-11), Isabel Milne (grades 1-6)
1930-1931
Kaethe M. D. “Kae” Carstens (grades 7-11), Isabel Milne (grades 1-6)
1931-1932
Phyllis Mary Archibald (grades 7-11), Elizabeth Rendall Balfour (grades 1-6)
1932-1933
Phyllis Mary Archibald (grades 6-11), Elizabeth Rendall Balfour (grades 1-6)
1933-1934
Frank Unrau Dyck (grades 7-11), Lavina Mary Milne (grades 1-6)
1934-1935
John Melville Brown (grades 7-11), Lavina Mary Milne (grades 1-6)
1935-1936
John Melville Brown (grades 7-11), Lavina Mary Milne (grades 1-6)
1936-1937
Lavina Mary Milne (grades 1-6), William Morrison Reid (grades 7-11)
1937-1938
Louise McPhedran (grades 7-11), Lavina Mary Milne (grades 1-6)
1938-1939
Louise McPhedran (grades 7-11), Evelyn Spangelo (grades 1-6)
1939-1940
Lillian Mabel Elfreda Ablett (grades 1-5, 1940), Louise McPhedran (grades 7-11), Evelyn Spangelo (grades 1-5, 1939)
1940-1941
Lillian Mabel Elfreda Ablett (grades 1-6, 1941), Louise McPhedran (grades 7-11), Evelyn Spangelo (grades 1-6, 1940)
1941-1942
Lillian Mabel Elfreda Ablett (grades 1-6), Claire Edmond Dawson (grades 7-11)
1942-1943
Frances Maud Garton Hanbury (grades 7-11), Ann Reid "Annie" Harper (grades 1-6)
1943-1944
Marie Margaret Campbell (grades 1-6), Annie Belle Fraser (grades 7-11)
1944-1945
Marie Margaret Campbell (grades 1-6), Annie Belle Fraser (grades 7-11)
1945-1946
Evelyn Dorothy Denhard (grades 1-6), Josie Kathleen Okapiece (grades 7-11)
1946-1947
Evelyn Dorothy Denhard (grades 1-6), Josie Kathleen Okapiece (grades 7-11)
1947-1948
Muriel Ramona McVeigh (grades 7-11), Leona Ruth Neuman (grades 1-6)
1948-1949
Dolores Lorain Henry (grades 1-6), Muriel Ramona McVeigh (grades 7-11)
1949-1950
Jessie Margaret Fast (grades 1-6), Muriel Ramona McVeigh (grades 7-11)
1950-1951
Helen Reimer (grades 1-6), John S. Schellenberg (grades 7-11)
1951-1952
Helen Reimer (grades 1-6), John S. Schellenberg (grades 7-11)
1952-1953
Florence Mildred Lorraine Hamm (grades 1-6), Kenneth Donald Bruce (grades 7-11)
1953-1954
Gerhard N. Janzen (grades 5-11), Marjorie Ruth Laurie (grades 1-4)
1954-1955
Gerhard N. Janzen (grades 7-11), Myrtle Geraldine Rusenel (grades 1-6)
1955-1956
Anne Bugera (grades 1-6), Gerhard N. Janzen (grades 7-11)
1956-1957
Lillian Joyce Gibson (grades 1-6), David Langton MacDonald (grades 7-11)
1957-1958
Lillian Joyce Gibson (grades 1-6), Oliver Glen Olmstead (grades 7-11)
1958-1959
Oliver Glen Olmstead (grades 7-11), Ella Eileen Shiskoski (grades 1-6)
1959-1960
Bernhard A. Klassen (grades 5-9), Ella Eileen Shiskoski Martens (grades 1-4)
1960-1961
Evelyn Josephine Alwin (grades 1-4), Kaethe M. D. Carstens “Kae” White (grades 7-11)
1961-1962
Evelyn Josephine Alwin (grades 1-4), Kaethe M. D. Carstens “Kae” White (grades 7-11)
1962-1963
Beverly Ailsa Webber (grades 1-4), Maxwell Ross “Ross” Webber (grades 5-8)
1963-1964
Beverly Ailsa Webber (grades 1-3), Maxwell Ross “Ross” Webber (grades 4-7)
1964-1965
Phyllis Joyce DeNeve (grades 4-8), Edel Eberhardt (grades 1-3)
1965-1966
Garth Spencer Field (grades 5-8), Janice Shirley Friesen (grades 1-4)
1966-1967
Garth Spencer Field (grades 5-8), Janice Shirley Friesen (grades 1-4)
1967-1968
Hedy Bridget Bugiera (grades 5-7), Ruth Vivian Gooley (grades 1-4)
Wellington School (no date)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Districts - Thornhill.
Wellington School (no date) by G. G. Neufeld
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 21.
Thornhill Consolidated School (1962)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Districts - Thornhill.
Thornhill commemorative monument (May 2013)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.20142, W98.23063
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Wellington School (Wellington Avenue, Winnipeg)
“Thornhill,” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 4 August 1894, page 5.
“Morden,” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 14 August 1894, page 3.
“People we talk about [Mr. Jos. Little, B.A...],” Winnipeg Tribune, 16 July 1896, page 5.
“The Indian famine fund,” Winnipeg Tribune, 4 March 1897, page 4.
“Personal [Mr. W. A. Clarke, principal of Thornhill School...],” Winnipeg Tribune, 3 January 1900, page 4.
Annual Reports of the Manitoba Department of Education, Manitoba Legislative Library.
As Years Go By: 1876-1971 by the Thornhill Book Committee, 1971.
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.
Board of Education registers (A 0050), GR7643, Archives of Manitoba.
Summative half-yearly returns for school districts (A 0051), GR0571, Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Wellington School No. 59 / Thornhill School No. 59 - Daily Registers, GR0347, Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Wellington School No. 59 - School History and Teachers Listing, GR0347, Archives of Manitoba.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 8 April 2024
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!
