Historic Sites of Manitoba: Cartwright School No. 174 (Cartwright, Municipality of Cartwright-Roblin)

Link to:
Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

The Cartwright School District was organized formally in April 1884, replacing an earlier school that had operated from 1882 at NW18-2-14W, northwest of the present Cartwright town site. Following the relocation of the town to its present location, in 1885, the first school was built in August 1888 at the same site as the present Cartwright School. It was replaced in 1896-1897 by a one-storey brick and stone schoolhouse erected on a design by Brandon architect W. H. Shillinglaw, and the earlier schoolhouse was moved a block away for use as a private residence which remains in existence today.

In 1920, two classrooms were added to the 1897 school building and this structure served the educational needs of the community until it was destroyed by fire on 13 February 1950. A new school was built that same year, on the same site: a two-storey, flat-roofed stucco building. As the school population grew, first a workroom, then a gymnasium were converted to classrooms. In 1962, a new collegiate was built to the south and the 1950 structure was used for the elementary grades. In 1978, a gymnasium and two classrooms were built between the two buildings, joining them.

The 1950 elementary school building was closed in 2006 due to high mould levels. The student population had declined by then, and students were crowded into the collegiate building. Eventually, two portable classrooms were added at the south end. The 1950 building was torn down in 2009 and its site is now a gravel bus pad.

Principals

Period	Principal
1898-1899	W. J. Barker
1899-1900	John Henry Conklin (1876-1955)
1900-1901	Albert E. Young
1901-1902	Herbert Hanford “Harry” McIntosh (1880-1953)
1902-1904	David Smith Tod (1870-1937)
1904-1909	?
1909-1910	W. H. McLean
1910-1912	?
1912-1914	M. R. C. Smith
1914-1915	G. S. Bell
1915-1916	Norman Ewart Brett (1881-1957)
1916-1917	A. W. Smith
1917-1918	Amy C. Purdy
1918-1919	Claude Elmer Luther Hogarth Law (c1881-1959)
1919-1922	A. H. G. Mitchell
1922-1923	O. G. Parsons
1923-1928	A. J. Radley
1928-1931	Richard Collier “Dick” Green (1899-1955)
1931-1937	John Peter Sigvaldason (1904-1986)
1937-1939	John Edward Lysecki (1905-1990)
1939-1941	Edgar John Jarvis (1894-1972)
1941-1942	Michael Ewanchuk (1908-2004)
1942-1945	Frank Benbow Fox (1890-1964)
1945-1946	Claude Amnesty Joyce (1908-1997)
1946-1949	Frank U. Dyck
1949-1953	Olive Mildred McMahon (c1914-1962)
1953-1954	Samuel Stewart Bryan (1889-?)
1954-1955	Norman S. Toms (?-?)
1955-1956	Jacob “Jack” Isaak (1921-2004)
1956-1959	James Harvey Dow (1925-1999)
1959-1961	Arthur Kendall Stratton (1895-1961)
1961-1962	Hugh Arthur Johnson (1910-1967)
1962-1970	Joseph Albert Mayers (1909-1980)
1970-1973	R. G. Langton

Teachers

Among the teachers of Cartwright School were W. G. Bolton, Floris Olsen, Amy Jean Mitchell, and Ruby Arndt (1945-1946).

Photos & Coordinates

Cartwright School, sometime after the addition of two classrooms to its rear in 1920, before its destruction by fire in 1950 (no date) by W. J. Parr Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 61. Cartwright School soon after its construction, visible at extreme right in the photo below, demolished in 2009 (1950) Source: Vicki Wallace The present Cartwright School complex including portable classrooms, collegiate, gymasium and the then-closed elementary school building erected in 1950 and demolished in 2009 (2008) Source: Vicki Wallace Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.09863, W99.33880 denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

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.

We thank Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Vicki Wallace and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 18 March 2023

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. SEARCH the collection Browse lists of: Museums/Archives | Buildings | Monuments | Cemeteries | Locations | Other Inclusion 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. Search Tips | Suggest an Historic Site | FAQ Help us keep history alive!