Historic Sites of Manitoba: Oakland School No. 57 (RM of Portage la Prairie)

The Oakland School District was established in September 1878 and a schoolhouse was constructed at SE34-13-7W in later became the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie, on land donated by farmer Thomas Metcalfe. The donation was apparently verbal because Metcalfe later sold the land to Lewis Eadie, necessitating the school trustees to purchase an acre of land from Eadie in 1900. The school building burned down in the fall of 1900 so classes were moved to the school barn until a replacement structure could be built, in 1901. This building was used until 1948 when it closed for lack of students, reopening again in 1953. It closed permanently in June 1968 and remaining elementary students were bused for a time to Euclid School, later going to Portage la Prairie after it closed. The former school building was purchased by a local farmer, moved across the road from its original site, and converted into a workshop.

Some of the teachers who worked at Oakland School through the years were John Ingram, Mr. N. D. Steele, Miss Christie, Mrs. MacLean, Miss MacLeod, Miss Bannister, Miss Bannerman, Miss A. T. Glass, and Bernice Leonhardt.

Oakland School (no date) by A. B. Fallis Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 21. The former Oakland School building (July 2014) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Interior of the former Oakland School building (July 2014) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N50.13768, W98.33230 denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

Cummin’s Rural Directory Map for Manitoba published by the Cummins Map Company, 404 Chambers of Commerce, Winnipeg, 1923. [Copies held by Edward M. Ledohowski and Gordon Goldsborough]

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.

Rural Schools of Portage la Prairie School Division #24 by Muriel Wright, 1996.

We thank Doug Love for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 26 March 2021

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