Historic Sites of Manitoba: Aux Marais School No. 55 (RM of Montcalm)

Aux Marais School District was organized in May 1878. A school building was constructed in 1881, in the northeast quarter of 30-1-2 east of the Principal Meridian, in the Rural Municipality of Montcalm, near the location of Marais United Church. The school burned down in 1913 and, a year later, a new school was built at a cost of $1,800, one mile north of the original site, at the present marker near the Marais Memorial Hall. The frame building featured a full basement, furnace, and cloakrooms, and it opened for classes in August 1914. Enrollment declined during the 1950s and a ratepayer vote in April 1958 favoured consolidation at Emerson with other nearby schools, including Emerson School No. 27, Dufferin School No. 82, Manchester School No. 251, Stockport School No. 295, and Post Road School No. 1280. Aux Marais School closed in September 1959 and its remaining students were bussed to Emerson. The building was purchased for use as a private residence. Only its foundation remained at the time of a 2020 site visit.

Among the teachers at Aux Marais School were Henrietta Louise Friesen (1942-1944), Margaret Orton Bragg (1944-1946), L. Hancox (1946, substitute), Marion Esther Austin (1946-1947), Susannah Gertrude McNish (1947-1948), Mary Elvira Braun (1948-1949), Jean Elizabeth Young (1949-1950), Louise Hartig (1950-1951), Elsie Thelma Henry (1951-1952), Charles George John Mastin (1952-1954), Jean Lovering Forrester (1954-1956), Alice Adele Helen Gruenke (1956-1957), and Gladys J. Heinricks (1957-1958).

Aux Marais School (circa 1911) Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspector Photos GR2664, C65. Foundations of the former Aux Marais School (October 2020) Source: Rose Kuzina Aux Marais School commemorative sign (August 2010) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.07430, W97.30311 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Marais United Church Monument (RM of Montcalm)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Grand Marais School No. 1825 (Grand Marais, RM of St. Clements)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Marais School No. 1385 (RM of DeSalaberry)

Sources:

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.

“History of Aux Marais School – S.D. No. 55 (1881-1959)” by Irene McClelland Milne, Rural School Reunion, July 1994: Aux Marais, Dufferin, Manchester, Post Road, Stockport, West Lynne by the School Reunion Committee, 1994, 29 pages.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Aux Marais School District No. 55 - Daily Registers, GR2088, Archives of Manitoba.

We thank Nathan Kramer and Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 29 May 2023

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