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The Aetna School District was established formally in May 1894 and a schoolhouse was built in late 1894 by carpenter George B. Kelly of Pettapiece. The building was located near the southwest corner of NW35-12-21W in the Rural Municipality of Daly (now part of the Municipality of Riverdale). In January 1913, the district was consolidated with the Rivers School District No. 1484 to become the Rivers Consolidated School District No. 1484, and all students transferred to classes at Rivers. The former schoolhouse was retained by the consolidated district until August 1917 when a bid from Kelly was accepted for the unused structure. The building was sold back to its builder, and plausibly relocated to Pettapiece. Tenders for the sale of the former Aetna School grounds were received by the district in May 1918.
Among the teachers of Aetna School were Caroline Emily “Carrie” Short (Spring 1895, Spring 1897, Spring-Fall 1898, Spring 1905 - pt Spring 1906), Clara Reid (Fall 1895), Duncan Dunbar Turney (Spring 1896, later Trustee and Secretary-Treasurer for the district), Maria Gill (Fall 1896), G. Gillcarders? (Fall 1897), Robert P. Shanks (Spring-Fall 1899), Rupert Neelands (Spring-Fall 1900), Maude Howden (Spring-Fall 1901), records unavailable (Spring 1902 - Fall 1904), Henry F. Tench (pt Spring 1906 - Fall 1906), Harold R. Cottingham (Spring-Fall 1907), Florence H. “Flossie” Howden (Spring 1908), Bessie Archibald (Fall 1908 - Spring 1910), Mary E. Gray (Fall 1910), Ellen Grieg (Spring-Fall 1911), no classes (Spring 1912), and Hattie E. McMannis (Fall 1912 - January 1913).
Site Coordinates (lat/long): N50.05648, W100.25548
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Rivers School No. 1484 / Rivers Anniversary Monument (Rivers, Municipality of Riverdale)
Summative half-yearly returns for school districts (A 0051), GR0571, Archives of Manitoba.
School division and school district formation files (E 0027), Aetna School District No. 816, GR1688, Archives of Manitoba.
“Local news [The new school house for Aetna School District ...],” Marquette Reporter, 22 November 1894, page 1.
“Local news [The trustees of Rivers Consolidated S. D. 1484 ...],” Rivers Gazette, 8 November 1917, page 5.
“Rivers Con. S. D. 1484,” Rivers Gazette, 18 April 1918, page 8.
“Rivers Con. S. D. 1484,” Rivers Gazette, 2 May 1918, page 5.
“Ten years ago [Harold Cottingham, from California ...],” Rivers Gazette, 18 April 1929, page 1.
Obituary [Duncan Dunbar Turney], Rivers Gazette, 13 June 1935, page 1.
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.
“RM of Daly Centennial Flashback: Aetna School No. 816,” Rivers Gazette Reporter, 13 July 1983, page 9.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 20 April 2025
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