Historic Sites of Manitoba: Wentworth School No. 1801 (RM of Rosser)

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

The Wentworth School District was organized formally in August 1915. A year later, in August 1916, the district took out a $10,000 debenture to pay for a schoolhouse. Late that year, work began on a two-storey, two-classroom brick school building was erected on a design by Winnipeg architect Eldred Dodsworth Tuttle, on the southeast quarter of 26-11-2 east of the Principal Meridian in the Rural Municipality of Rosser (a site now within the City of Winnipeg). During construction of the building, a bricklayer was killed when a brick wall collapsed, a result attributed by the architect to the contractor’s poor workmanship. At the time, further construction deviations from the blueprints were identified. In August 1917, a further $5,500 debenture was issued to finance remaining construction work and finish furnishing the school. Electrical lighting was added to the facility in 1948.

In 1958, Wentworth became part of the Rosser Municipal School District No. 2356. In April 1963, ownership of the land and building were transferred to the Winnipeg School Division and the school closed upon completion of the 1962-1963 school year. The building was demolished in July 1963. (During demolition, the wreckers mistakenly began to tear down the nearby vacant Woodsworth School building belonging to the Brooklands School District.)

Principals

Period	Principal
1917	Richard Ellice [Ellis] Brown (1846-1918)
1918	Maurice Sanger
1918-1919	Annie Elizabeth Mills (c1882-1959)
1919-1924	Mary Ann MacKenzie Cockett (c1884-?)
1924-1925	Harold Arthur Whitfield (1876-1951)
1925-1928	Emily Margaret Cox
1928-1935	Caroline Irene McLeod Queen (1906-1993)
1935-1936	Louise Amelia Neilson MacKillop (1898-1987)
1936-1959	None
1959-1960	William Kowalchuk
1960-1962	Marie Isabel Cosens
1962-1963	Robert L. Krysko

Teachers

Period	Teachers
1915-1916	Marion A. Buckley [Brickley?] (all grades, Fall 1915), Margaret S. Mathews (all grades, Spring 1916)
1916-1917	Richard E. Brown (all grades)
1917-1918	Richard E. Brown (grades 4-8, September-December), John R. Maills [Mills?] (grades 1-3), Maurice Sanger (grades 4-8, January-June)
1918-1919	Myra W. C. Atkinson (grades 1-3), Annie Elizabeth Mills (grades 4-9)
1919-1920	Myra W. C. Atkinson (grades 1-3), Mary A. MacKenzie (grades 4-8)
1920-1921	Myra W. C. Atkinson (grades 1-3), Mary A. MacKenzie (grades 4-8)
1921-1922	Myra W. C. Atkinson (grades 1-3), Mary A. MacKenzie (grades 4-8)
1922-1923	Myra W. C. Atkinson (grades 1-3), Mary A. MacKenzie (grades 4-8)
1923-1924	Myra W. C. Atkinson (grades 1-4), Mary A. MacKenzie (grades 4-8)
1924-1925	Mary Jane Parkins (grades 1-3), Harold Arthur Whitfield (grades 4-9)
1925-1926	Annie Mabel Beldon (grades 1-3, 1925), Emily Margaret Cox (grades 4-7), Marguerite Tod (grades 1-3, 1926)
1926-1927	Emily Margaret Cox (grades 4-8), Marguerite Tod (grades 1-3)
1927-1928	Emily Margaret Cox (grades 4-8), Caroline Irene McLeod (grades 1-3)
1928-1929	Caroline Irene McLeod (grades 4-8), Louise Neilson (grades 1-3)
1929-1930	Caroline Irene McLeod (grades 4-8), Louise Neilson (grades 1-3)
1930-1931	Caroline Irene McLeod (grades 4-8), Louise Neilson (grades 1-3)
1931-1932	Caroline Irene McLeod (grades 4-8), Louise Neilson (grades 1-3)
1932-1933	Caroline Irene McLeod (grades 5-8), Louise Neilson (grades 1-4)
1933-1934	Caroline Irene McLeod (grades 5-8), Louise Neilson (grades 1-4)
1934-1935	Caroline Irene McLeod (grades 5-9), Louise Neilson (grades 1-4)
1935-1936	Louise Neilson (grades 5-9), Beatrice May Williams (grades 1-4)
1936-1959	See below
1959-1960	William Kowalchuk (grades 5-8), Kay Ann Karalash Snatenchuk (grades 1-4)
1960-1961	Marie Isabel Cosens (grades 5-8), Kay Ann Karalash Snatenchuk (grades 1-4)
1961-1962	Marie Isabel Cosens (grades 5-8), Kay Ann Karalash Snatenchuk (grades 1-4)
1962-1963	Robert L. Krysko (grades 5-8), Kay Ann Karalash Snatenchuk (grades 1-4)

From the fall of 1936 through the spring of 1959, the school was a single-teacher operation; its staff including Louise Neilson (Fall 1936), William Gudjon Johnson (Spring 1937 - Spring 1942), Elizabeth Elsie Swan (Fall 1942 - Spring 1943), David A. Brown (Fall 1943), Margaret Cynthia Heming (Spring 1944 - Spring 1945), Miss C. Flemming (c1945), George Wesley Bartlett (Fall 1945), David Alexander Wesley Brown (Spring 1946), Lena Quiring (Fall 1946 - Spring 1948), Grace Emily Stevens (Fall 1948 - Spring 1949), Mrs. Leah Bourke (Fall 1949 - Spring 1951), Alvin Bartley Campbell (Fall 1950 - Spring 1951), Damaris Baggaley Robinson (Fall 1951 - Spring 1953), Mary Evelyn Mazur (Fall 1953 - Spring 1957), and Mrs. Kay Ann Karalash Snatenchuk (Fall 1958 - Spring 1959).

Photos & Coordinates

Wentworth School (no date) by E. D. Parker Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-3, page 38. Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.95018, W97.20765 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: Eldred Dodsworth Tuttle (1878-1965)

Sources:

“Tenders for Wentworth School,” Winnipeg Tribune, 15 September 1916, page 2.

“Killed in fall from scaffold,” Manitoba Free Press, 1 December 1916, page 11.

“School building walls unsafe, is experts’ charge,” Winnipeg Evening Tribune, 2 December 1916, page 6.

“Walls collapse to be probed by school officials,” Winnipeg Evening Tribune, 4 December 1916, page 1.

“Public notice [Department of Public Works],” Manitoba Free Press, 29 December 1916, page 2.

“Inquiry into collapse Wentworth School,” Manitoba Free Press, 4 January 1917, page 27.

“Whoops - Pardon my sledge-hammer,” Winnipeg Free Press, 18 July 1963, page 3.

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]

Summative half-yearly returns for school districts (A 0051), GR0571, Archives of Manitoba.

Corporate Security registered documents (ATG 0089), #9 School District of Wentworth, GR12576, Archives of Manitoba.

Corporate Security registered documents (ATG 0089), #47 School District of Wentworth, GR12576, Archives of Manitoba.

Orders-In-Council (EC 0003B), Order-In-Council No. 27013, GR1530, Archives of Manitoba.

School division and school district formation files (E 0027), Wentworth School District No. 1801, GR1688, Archives of Manitoba.

School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Wentworth School District No. 1801 Minute Book, GR2043, Archives of Manitoba.

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.

The First Hundred Years, 1893-1993 by the Rosser Municipality Centennial History Book Committee, page 103.

Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 22 February 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!