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Originally known as Somerset School No. 342 when it was established in 1882, at 13-7-13 west of the Principal Meridian, in the Rural Municipality of Victoria, five years later the school was moved to the new railway town of Cypress River. It was later renamed Cypress River School No. 342. The present two-storey brick structure was erected in 1896, on a design by Winnipeg architect Hugh McCowan.
Cypress River Consolidated School, located on Connon Street in Cypress River was created in April 1958 with the consolidation of Cypress River School No. 342 with schools from the surrounding rural areas, including Glencove School No. 205, Selton School No. 291, Richmond Hill School No. 363, Bru School No. 368, Cypress Valley School No. 394, and Oliver School No. 1766.
A new elementary school was built at Cypress River in 1958, students in grades 1-8 transferred there in January 1959. This two-storey structure then became a high school before its closure in June 1966, at which time its bell was removed from the tower for reinstallation on a monument nearby. The building sat vacant until 1970, when as part of Manitoba centennial celebrations, it was reopened as a seasonal community museum, which operated for about 20 years.
When the museum closed permanently, its artifacts were returned to the original donors, were transferred to other museums, or were sold at a public auction. The building was then sold to a local resident. It has since suffered significant structural damage, with outer brick courses having been removed from the first and second levels on its south-facing side.
Period
Principal
1893
Kate Campbell
1894-1901
William Nelson Denike (1871-1948)
1901
Theophilus Grant Finn (1865-1934)
1902
Daniel Baldwin (1872-1949)
1902-1905
Edward Alfred Hemsworth (1872-1955)
1905
Wilfred John Fee (1881-1933)
1906-1907
John Sawford Peach (1881-1968)
1907-1908
William Thompson Shipley (1870-1922)
1909
Francis Kethel “Frank” Coleridge (1865-1944)
1910-1912
Thomas Keenan
1912-1913
Lloyl Truman Hayward (1880-1969)
1913-1914
Otto Brown Cossitt (c1876-1964)
1914
Solomon Wolfe Kestenbaum (1888-?)
1914-1915
John Marshall Nason (1887-1963)
1916-1918
Harold Ludlow Albright (1888-1955)
1918-1920
Donald McLeod (c1891-?)
1920-1921
George Robert Farrar Prowse (1860-1946)
1921-1923
William Alexander Moon (1893-1944)
1923-1925
Louis Shere (1900-1988)
1925-1929
Robert Edward Beecher (1892-1978)
1929-1933
Thomas William Ebbern (1879-1970)
1933-1941
James Alvin Leslie (?-1973)
1941-1945
Richard Buck (1907-1994)
1945-1951
Samuel Stewart Bryan (1889-?)
1951-1958
Rene Allen Ollivier (?-1982)
1958-1961
Henry Lambert Williams (1890-1976)
1961-1963
Peter Frederick Kutcher (1918-2013)
1963-1964
George Russell Pearson (1906-1987)
1964-1966
Ronald Charles Beech
Among the early teachers of Cypress River School were Lucy A. Stackpoole (Spring 1885), F. E. Stackpoole (Fall 1885), William Gowanlock (Spring-Fall 1886), Maggie J. Gunne (Spring-Fall 1887), Maria J. Higginson (Spring-Fall 1888), T. W. Lett (Spring 1889), Samuel “Sam” Wilkes (Spring 1890 - Fall 1891), Kate Campbell (Spring-Fall 1892), and Frank Manning (c1903).
Period
Teachers
1893
Kate Campbell (all grades, Spring; senior grades, Fall), Eva Spratt (junior grades, Fall)
1894
William Nelson Denike (senior grades), Eva Spratt (junior grades, Spring - pt Fall), George Thomas (junior grades, pt Fall)
1895
William Nelson Denike (senior grades), Eva Spratt (junior grades)
1896
William Nelson Denike (senior grades), Arthur James Manning (intermediate grades), M. E. Mueller (junior grades, Spring), Luella Munro (junior grades, Fall)
1897
Alma Thirza Argue (junior grades, Fall; daughter of Thomas Argue), William Nelson Denike (senior grades), Arthur James Manning (intermediate grades), Luella Munro (Spring)
1898
Alma Thirza Argue (junior grades), William Nelson Denike (senior grades), Arthur James Manning (intermediate grades)
1899
Alma Thirza Argue (junior grades), William Nelson Denike (senior grades), Arthur James Manning (intermediate grades)
1900
Alma Thirza Argue (junior grades, Spring), William Nelson Denike (senior grades), Arthur James Manning (intermediate grades), Rose Monro (junior grades, Fall)
1901
William Nelson Denike (senior grades, Spring), Theophilus Grant Finn (senior grades, Fall), Jennie I. Laing (junior grades, Fall), Arthur James Manning (intermediate grades), Rose Monro (junior grades, Spring)
1902
records not available
1903
records not available
1904
records not available
1905
Mary Ashley (Fall), Alberta J. Campbell, Edith M. Carwell, Edward Alfred Hemsworth (senior grades, Spring), Wilfred John Fee (senior grades, Fall) F. Julia Peach (Spring)
1906
Mary Ashley, Alberta J. Campbell, Edith M. Carwell, John Sawford Peach (senior grades)
1907
Mary Ashley (Spring), Alberta J. Campbell, Edith M. Carwell, Bertha C. McKivor? (Fall), John Sawford Peach (senior grades, Spring), William Thompson Shipley (senior grades, Fall)
1908
Alberta J. Campbell, Edith M. Carwell, Bertha C. McKivor?, William Thompson Shipley (senior grades)
1909
Alberta J. Campbell, Edith M. Carwell, Francis Kethel “Frank” Coleridge (senior grades), Ethel M. Creighton (Fall), Jennie E. Down (Fall), Bertha C. McKivor? (Spring), Ethel Thomas (Fall)
1910
Ethel M. Creighton (grades ?), Jennie E. Down (grades 1-2), Thomas Keenan (senior grades), Ella Somerville (grades 6-8), Ethel Thomas (grades 1-2), Jessie Walls (grades ?, Fall)
1911
Ethel M. Creighton (grades ?), Thomas Keenan (senior grades), Jennie A. McCullough (grades 1-2), Jessie Walls (grades ?)
1912
January-June: Ethel M. Creighton (grades 3-6?), Eva G. Graham (grades 1-2), Thomas Keenan (grades 9-11), Jessie Walls (grades 7-8)
1912-1913
Ethel M. Creighton (grades ?, Fall), Lena Wilton Hayward (grades 1-2), Lloyl Truman Hayward (grades 9-11), S. D. Moore (grades ?, Spring), Jessie Walls (grades ?)
1913-1914
Irene E. Christie (grades ?), Otto Brown Cossitt (senior grades), Ethel M. Creighton (grades ?, Fall), M. Ethel Johnson (grades ?), Georgina McIver (grades ?, Spring), S. D. Moore (grades ?, Fall)
1914-1915
Irene E. Christie (grades 1-2, Fall - pt Spring), Mabel Jeffrey (grades 1-2, pt Spring), Solomon Wolfe Kestenbaum (grades 9-11, pt Fall), Olive Lillian Mills (grades 3-5), John Marshall Nason (grades 9-11, pt Fall - Spring), M. Ethel Johnson (grades 6-8)
1915-1916
Harold Ludlow Albright (grades 9-11, 1916), Mabel Jeffrey (grades 1-2), Olive Lillian Mills (grades 3-5), John Marshall Nason (grades 9-11, 1915), ? (grades 6-8)
1916-1917
Harold Ludlow Albright (grades 9-11), Clara Victoria Hills (grades 1-2, 1917), Mabel Jeffrey (grades 1-2), Olive Lillian Mills (grades 3-5), ? (grades 6-8)
1917-1918
Harold Ludlow Albright (grades 9-11), Clara Victoria Hills (grades 1-2), Florence Pounds (grades 3-5), Olive A. Whiteford (grades 6-8)
1918-1919
Dolina Campbell (grades 3-5), Clara Victoria Hills (grades 1-2), Donald McLeod (grades 9-11), Olive A. Whiteford (grades 6-8)
1919-1920
Myrtle M. Christie (grades 3-5), Clara Victoria Hills (grades 1-2), Frances A. Jonah (grades 6-8), Donald McLeod (grades 9-11)
1920-1921
Mabel Gardiner (grades 3-5, 1921), R. Vanden Hauten? (grades 1-3, 1920), Clara Victoria Hills (grades 1-3, 1920), Frances A. Jonah (grades 6-8), George Robert Farrar Prowse (grades 9-11), Jean R. Rankin (grades 1-3, 1921), Violet G. Ward (grades 3-5, 1920)
1921-1922
Frances J. Carson (grades 1-3, 1922), Mabel Gardiner (grades 4-5), William Alexander Moon (grades 9-11), Lena Morden (grades 6-8), Jean R. Rankin (grades 1-3)
1922-1923
Frances J. Carson (grades 2-4, 1922), William Alexander Moon (grades 9-11), Lena Morden (grades 6-8), F. Ruth Owens (grades 4-6), Jean R. Rankin (grade 1), Ethel T. Stephens (grades 2-4, 1923)
1923-1924
Myrtle L. Johnston (grades 1-2), Edna M. Mills (grades 3-4), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 7-8), Nellie M. Stevenson (grades 5-6), Louis Shere (grades 9-11)
1924-1925
Frances J. Carson (grades 3-4, 1925), Myrtle L. Johnston (grades 1-2), Edna M. Mills (grades 3-4), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 7-8), Nellie M. Stevenson (grades 5-6), Louis Shere (grades 9-11)
1925-1926
Robert Edward Beecher (grades 10-11), Frances J. Carson (grade 9, 1925), J. C. French (grade 9, 1926), Myrtle L. Johnston (grades 1-2), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 6-8), E. Clara Watkins (grades 4-5)
1926-1927
Robert Edward Beecher (grades 9 and 11), Mary Roberta Carter (grade 10), Myrtle L. Johnston (grades 1-3), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 6-8), E. Clara Watkins (grades 4-5)
1927-1928
Robert Edward Beecher (grades 9 and 11), Mary Roberta Carter (grade 10), Myrtle L. Johnston (grades 1-2), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 6-8), ? (grades 3-5)
1928-1929
Robert Edward Beecher (grades 9 and 11), Mary Roberta Carter (grade 10), Audrey E. Leech (grades 1-2), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 6-8), Mary Rankin (grades 3-5)
1929-1930
Charles Manly Belton (grades 6-8), Thomas William Ebbern (grade 11), Beatrice Lenore Graham (grades 9-10), Audrey E. Leech (grades 1-2), Mary Rankin (grades 3-5)
1930-1931
Thomas William Ebbern (grade 11), Lucy Gladys Harvey (grades 9-10), Mary Eileen Kennedy (grades 3-5), Audrey E. Leech (grades 1-2), Elizabeth Maud Patmore (grades 6-8)
1931-1932
Thomas William Ebbern (grade 11), Mary Eileen Kennedy (grades 3-5), Audrey E. Leech (grades 1-2), Elizabeth Maud Patmore (grades 6-8), Kathleen Ina Rodgers (grades 9-10)
1932-1933
Thomas William Ebbern (grade 11), Mary Eileen Kennedy (grades 3-5), Audrey E. Leech (grades 1-2), Elizabeth Maud Patmore (grades 6-8), Kathleen Ina Rodgers (grades 9-10)
1933-1934
Mary Eileen Kennedy (grades 3-5), Audrey E. Leech (grades 1-2), James Alvin Leslie (grade 11), Kathleen Ina Rodgers (grades 9-10), ? (grades 6-8)
1934-1935
Audrey E. Leech (grades 1-2), James Alvin Leslie (grade 11), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5), Kathleen Ina Rodgers (grades 9-10), ? (grades 6-8)
1935-1936
Audrey E. Leech (grades 1-3), James Alvin Leslie (grade 11), Mary Effie Frances Mills (grades 9-10), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5), ? (grades 6-8)
1936-1937
Audrey E. Leech (grades 1-3), James Alvin Leslie (grade 11), Mary Effie Frances Mills (grades 9-10), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 4-5), ? (grades 6-8)
1937-1938
Myrtle Bernice Albright (grades 9-10), Myrtle Sara Blackwell (grades 1-3), James Alvin Leslie (grades 11-12), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 4-5), ? (grades 6-8)
1938-1939
Myrtle Bernice Albright (grades 9-10), Myrtle Sara Blackwell (grades 1-3), James Alvin Leslie (grades 11-12), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5), ? (grades 6-8)
1939-1940
Myrtle Bernice Albright (grades 9-10), Myrtle Sara Blackwell (grades 1-3), Mrs. Harold Johnson (grades 6-8, 1940), James Alvin Leslie (grades 11-12), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5), George O. Owens (grades 6-8, 1940), John Arthur Ward (grades 6-8)
1940-1941
Myrtle Sara Blackwell (grades 1-2), Clementine Fraser (grades 6-8), Bessie Edith Kent (grades 9-10), James Alvin Leslie (grades 11-12), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5)
1941-1942
Myrtle Sara Blackwell (grades 1-2), Richard Buck (grades 11-12), Bessie Edith Kent (grades 9-10), Edith Margaret Miller (grades 6-8), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5)
1942-1943
Myrtle Sara Blackwell (grades 1-2), Richard Buck (grades 11-12), Eleanor Eaton (grades 6-8), Ellen Mae Lennox (grades 9-10), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5)
1943-1944
Richard Buck (grades 11-12), Eleanor Eaton (grades 6-8), Jessie Evelyn Meldrum (grades 1-2, 1942), Edith May Nelson (grades 1-2, 1943), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5), Louise Isobel Taylor (grades 9-10)
1944-1945
Richard Buck (grades 11-12), Eleanor Eaton (grades 6-8, 1944), Christina Herd Hogue (grades 6-8, 1945), Edith May Nelson (grades 1-2), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5), Louise Isobel Taylor (grades 9-10)
1945-1946
Margaret Bryan (grades 3-5, 1945 substitute), Samuel Stewart Bryan (grades 11-12), Christina Herd Hogue (grades 6-8), Edith May Nelson (grades 1-2), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5), Louise Isobel Taylor (grades 9-10)
1946-1947
Samuel Stewart Bryan (grade 11), Sylvia Mae Olson (grades 1-2), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5), Louise Isobel Taylor (grades 9-10), ? (grades 6-8)
1947-1948
Samuel Stewart Bryan (grades 11-12), Sylvia Mae Olson (grades 1-2), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5), Margaret Louise White (grades 9-10), ? (grades 6-8)
1948-1949
Marion Kathleen Marguerite Owens “Kae” Anderson (grades 3-5), Samuel Stewart Bryan (grades 11-12), Marjorie Ruth Greenlay (grades 1-2), Sylvia Mae Olson (grades 3-5, 1948 substitute), Margaret Louise White (grades 9-10), ? (grades 6-8)
1949-1950
Edith Marian Kristine Breckman (grades 3-5), Samuel Stewart Bryan (grades 11-12), Marjorie Ruth Greenlay (grades 1-2), Helen Jean Hampton (grades 9-10), Marjorie Ruth Greenlay (grades 1-2), Harriett Marie Phillips (grades 6-8)
1950-1951
Samuel Stewart Bryan (grades 11-12), Marjorie Ruth Greenlay (grades 1-2), Helen Jean Hampton (grades 9-10), Marjorie Ruth Greenlay (grades 1-2), Phyllis Myrtle Keddie (grades 3-5), Harriett Marie Phillips (grades 6-8)
1951-1952
W. James Eastcott (grades 6-8, 1951), Phyllis Myrtle Keddie (grades 3-5), Irwin Labovitch (grades 9-10), Rene Allen Ollivier (grades 11-12), Violet Adeline Palmer (grades 6-8, 1952), Marjorie Ruth Young (grades 1-2)
1952-1953
Fay Alexandra Dixon (grades 1-2), Phyllis Myrtle Keddie (grades 5-6), Rene Allen Ollivier (grades 10-12), Violet Adeline Palmer (grades 7-9), James M. Richtik (grades 3-4, 1952), Grace Mary Smith (grades 3-4)
1953-1954
Fay Alexandra Dixon (grades 1-2), Rene Allen Ollivier (grades 11-12), Helen Jean Hampton (grades 9-10), Violet Adeline Palmer (grades 6-8), Grace Mary Smith (grades 3-5)
1954-1955
Arthur Haldane Davis (grades 9-10), Fay Alexandra Dixon (grades 1-3), Rene Allen Ollivier (grades 11-12), Violet Adeline Palmer (grades 6-8), Grace Mary Smith (grades 3-5)
1955-1956
Rene Allen Ollivier (grades 11-12), Violet Adeline Palmer (grades 6-8), Grace Mary Smith (grades 3-5), Esther Ruth Young (grades 1-3), ? (grades 9-10)
1956-1957
Rene Allen Ollivier (grades 11-12), Violet Adeline Palmer (grades 6-8), George Russell Pearson (grades 9-10), Grace Mary Smith (grades 4-5), Esther Ruth Young (grades 1-3)
1957-1958
Rene Allen Ollivier (grades 11-12), Violet Adeline Palmer (grades 6-8), George Russell Pearson (grades 9-10), Grace Mary Smith (grades 4-5), Esther Ruth Young (grades 1-3)
1958-1959
(1958 grades 1-8, see Cypress River Consolidated School), George Russell Pearson (grades 9-10), Henry Lambert Williams (grades 11-12)
1959-1960
Mary Roberta Campbell (grade 10), Henry Lambert Williams (grades 11-12), George Russell Pearson (grade 9)
1960-1961
Mary Roberta Campbell (grade 10), Henry Lambert Williams (grade 11), George Russell Pearson (grade 9)
1961-1962
Mary Roberta Campbell (grade 11), Peter Frederick Kutcher (grade 12), George Russell Pearson (grades 9-10)
1962-1963
Mary Roberta Campbell (grades 10-11), Peter Frederick Kutcher (grade 12), George Russell Pearson (grade 9)
1963-1964
Mary Roberta Campbell (grade 10), George Russell Pearson (grade 11), Edith Marian Kristine Richmond (grade 9)
1964-1965
Ronald Charles Beech (grade 11), Mary Roberta Campbell (grade 10), George Russell Pearson (grade 9)
1965-1966
Ronald Charles Beech (grade 11), Mary Roberta Campbell (grade 10), George Russell Pearson (grade 9)
The original Cypress River School (no date) by G. H. Robertson
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 34.
The Cypress River School teacherage (no date) by G. H. Robertson
The building stood northeast of the school on James Avenue
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 34.
The former Cypress River School teacherage (October 2022)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Cypress River School (August 1967)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, Architectural Survey - Cypress River 2.
The former Cypress River Consolidated School building (circa 1986)
Source: Historic Resources Branch, Public School Buildings Inventory, slide 1397.
The former Cypress River Consolidated School building (June 2011)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Closeup of damage to the building’s south wall (June 2011)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
The former Cypress River Consolidated School building (May 2021)
Source: Rose Kuzina
The former Cypress River Consolidated School building (May 2021)
Source: Rose Kuzina
Closeup of damage to the building’s south wall (May 2021)
Source: Rose Kuzina
Aerial view of the former Cypress River Consolidated School building (September 2025)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.55581, W99.09312
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Cypress River Consolidated School No. 2357 (Cypress River, RM of Victoria)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Cypress River Pioneers Monument (RM of Victoria)
“Teachers at the convention,” Brandon Sun, 15 October 1920, page 6.
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.
A Study of Public School Buildings in Manitoba by David Butterfield, Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism, 1994, 230 pages.
Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.
School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Cypress River School District No. 342 Daily Registers, GR2049, Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Cypress River Consolidated School District No. 2357 Daily Registers, GR2049, Archives of Manitoba.
We thank Georgette Hutlet, Rose Kuzina, and George Penner for providing additional information provided here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 3 November 2025
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