The Eigenhof School District (spelled Eigenhoff in some sources) was established in June 1911 and a one-room schoolhouse operated at SE22-1-2W in what is now the Municipality of Rhineland. After the school closed, Eigenhof operated for a time as a “closed district” where the school board paid to enable students from this area to attend Gretna School. In 1971, the district formally became part of the Rhineland School Division. A portion of the former schoolyard was sold to the farmer who owned the adjacent land. The remainder of the property, including the teacherage (constructed in the summer of 1961, with the older teacherage moved to the village of Rosetown), was sold for residential purposes. The teacherage was moved away.
Among the teachers who worked at Eigenhof School through the years were David Wiebe (1947-1948, 1951-1954), Katie Brown (1948-1949), Neil Wiebe (1954-1956), Bernard D. Klippenstein (1956-1958), Ben D. Wiebe (1958-1959), Peter Hildebrand (1959-1960), Henry Unger (1960-1963), Tina Thiessen Bergen (1964-1967), Gordon Wiebe (1967-1968), Ben Hiebert, and Allan Giesbrecht.
Copies of the daily registers and other documents for the Eigenhof School District are available at the Archives of Manitoba.
The original Eigenhof School building (no date) by G. G. Neufeld
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-2, page 145.
Group of students at Eigenhof School (no date)
Source: Frank Kehler
Students beside the original teacherage (no date)
Source: Frank Kehler
Students in front of the school entrance (no date)
Source: Frank Kehler
View of Eigenhof School and teacherage (March 1955)
Source: Frank Kehler
Aerial view of Eigenhof School and second teacherage (1964)
Source: Frank KehlerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.04529, W97.64866
denoted by symbol on the map above
Altona East topographic map, 62H/4 East, Edition 1, Series A743 [UFS Reference Collection].
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 Armin Wiebe for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Al Schmidt (Altona and District Heritage Research Centre), Frank Kehler, Henry Unger, and prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 3 November 2023
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