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Photos & Coordinates | Sources
The Altbergthal School District was organized formally in June 1904 and a school building was erected at SW1-2-2W in the Municipality of Rhineland. Its name was also spelled Alt Bergthal and Alt-Bergthal. The school closed in 1965 and the district became part of the New Hope Consolidated School No. 2437. The building was also moved to New Hope and used there until 1982 when it was moved to a site behind the Rhineland Pioneer Centre in nearby Altona and used as a schoolhouse museum. It closed in 2000 as a result of vandalism and deteriorating condition. Facing the threat of demolition, on 28 September 2012 the building was moved to the former site of the Neubergthal School in Neubergthal in the Rural Municipality of Rhineland. Plans call for it to be maintained by the Neubergthal Heritage Foundation. The original schoolyard with teacherage was sold and developed into residential property.
Among the teachers of Alt Bergthal School were records not available (Fall 1904), Jacob A. Schellenberg (Spring 1905 - Spring 1907), P. P. Kehler (Fall 1907 - Spring 1908), no grant for teacher; school did not operate (Fall 1908 - Spring 1918), Peter D. Reimer (Fall 1918 - Spring 1919), J. G. Neufeld (Fall 1919 - Spring 1920), Kate Klassen (Fall 1920 - Spring 1921), Jacob Schellenberg (Fall 1921 - Spring 1922), J. G. Siemens (Fall 1922 - Spring 1924 & pt Spring 1926), Martin J. Hamm (Fall 1924 - pt Spring 1926, Fall 1926 - Spring 1927), Abraham L. Toews (Fall 1927 - Spring 1929), Lena Giesbrecht (Fall 1929 - Spring 1930), Jacob Emerson Suderman (Fall 1930 - Spring 1934), William Friesen (Fall 1934 - Spring 1938), Jacob Friesen Kroeker (Fall 1938 - Spring 1939), Jacob J. Koop (Fall 1939 - Spring 1943), Peter Bernhard Krahn (Fall 1943 - Spring 1946), Valentine Dyck (Fall 1946 - Spring 1947), Jacob K. Klassen (Fall 1947 - Spring 1948), Tina K. Elias (Fall 1948 - Spring 1950), Jacob J. Enns (Fall 1950 - Spring 1954), Leslie R. Loewen (August 1954 - April 1955), Henry Letkemann (April-June 1955), Jacob P. Siemens (Fall 1955 - Spring 1958), Henry Reuben Peters (Fall 1958 - Spring 1960), Herbert John Loewen (Fall 1960 - Spring 1962), and David F. Friesen (Fall 1962 - Spring 1965).
The original Altbergthal School (June 1968)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, Architectural Survey, Altbergthal.
Altbergthal School on its original site (no date) by G. G. Neufeld
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-2, page 93.
The former Altbergthal School building (September 2007)
Source: Rose Kuzina
The former Altbergthal School building (April 2017)
Source: George Penner
The former Altbergthal School building (October 2018)
Source: Graham Schellenberg
The former Altbergthal School building (April 2024)
Source: Rose Kuzina
Interior of the former Altbergthal School building (September 2023)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.07486, W97.48157
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Neubergthal School No. 1594 (Neubergthal, Municipality of Rhineland)
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.
The Rural Municipality of Rhineland, 1884-1984 by Gerhard J. Ens, 1984. [Manitoba Legislative Library, F5648.R45 Ens]
“Altbergthal School is on the move” by Lori Penner, Red River Valley Echo, 11 October 2012, page 12.
Summative half-yearly returns for school districts (A 0051), Archives of Manitoba.
School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Alt-Bergthal School District No. 1296 - Daily Registers, GR2656, Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Alt-Bergthal School District No. 1296 - Cash Books, GR2656, Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Alt-Bergthal School District No. 1296 - Minute Books, GR2656, Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Alt-Bergthal School District No. 1296 - Miscellaneous Records, GR2656, Archives of Manitoba.
We thank Jake Rempel, George Penner, Graham Schellenberg (Neubergthal Heritage Foundation), and Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Al Schmidt (Altona and District Heritage Research Centre), Gordon Goldsborough, and Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 1 November 2025
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