The first settlers in this area arrived in 1878. In March 1880, Goudney School District was formed, the first one west of the Pembina River, at this site in the Rural Municipality of Louise. The first log school building, measuring 18 feet by 28 feet, was constructed in 1880 by James McGregor of Clearwater in the northeasterly two acres of SE12-3-12W. The first teacher was Miss Burke, step-daughter of Rev. John Brown.
Later, a modern frame structure was built on the same flat stone foundation as the original building. In 1950, it was moved to a new location one-half mile north and a mile west at SE14-3-12W (about N49.20662, W98.97483) and, five years later, a teacher's office and stairway to a basement were added along with a furnace and washrooms.
Among the teachers of Goudney School was Mrs. Harvey Nelson.
After the school closed in 1966, with students being bused to Pilot Mound Consolidated School No. 105, the building stood empty until 1990 when it was moved to a new site. In 2011, a metal sign was erected at the original site, near the school’s stone foundation, by Ed Grassick.
Goudney School (no date) by W. J. Parr
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 25.
Goudney School commemorative sign (October 2011)
Source: Ed Grassick
Goudney School commemorative sign (September 2025)
Source: Jean McManusSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.19939, W98.95202
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Goudney School No. 87 (14060 Road 65W, Municipality of Louise)
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 Jean McManus and Tighe McManus for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Ed Grassick and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 23 September 2025
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