Historic Sites of Manitoba: Alexander School No. 338 (Alexander, RM of Whitehead)

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

The Alexander School District was formally established in October 1884 at Alexander in the Rural Municipality of Whitehead. The first schoolhouse was built in 1886 on the south side of the railway. The 18 by 26 foot structure cost $600. A few years later, growing student enrollment necessitated the construction of a second classroom. In 1892, a three-room brick veneer building designed by Brandon architect Frederick J. Chubb was built at this site, at a cost of $2,930. Ten years later, a two-storey brick building was erected on a design by Brandon architect Walter H. Shillinglaw.

In 1945, Dalton School and Assiniboine School closed and their students came to Alexander School. In 1960, high school students were bused to Brandon, leaving only students in grades 1 to 8 at Alexander. In 1967, the Alexander School District became part of the Brandon School Division. The two-storey school was demolished sometime in the 1980s.

Principals

Period	Principal
1894-1895	Mr. Houston
1895-1898	?
1898-1899	Charles Kenning Newcombe (1877-1944)
1899-1900	John Percy Wadge (1875-1951)
1900-1904	James Boyd Morrison (1872-1941)
1904-1906	Erwin Knapp (1876-1951)
1906-1907	W. W. McDonald
1907-1909	J. H. Marsh
1909-1910	Thomas F. Elmes
1910-1912	?
1912-1914	John Stanley Hollies (1889-1916)
1914-1916	Earl Augustus Ross (1890-?)
1916-1918	Angus McNevin (1862-1923)
1918-1919	James Corrigill (1857-1922)
1919-1920	Francis Kethel “Frank” Coleridge (1865-1944)
1920-1923	Agnes Davidson
1923-1924	Ruth Parker (1894-1953)
1924-1925	Agnes Davidson
1925-1929	Thomas William Ebbern (1879-1970)
1929-1932	Winnifred Dorcas Boughton (1900-?)
1932-1935	Weston Sweet (1899-1994)
1935-1938	Robert Stanley “Stan” McGill (1909-1994)
1938-1939	Walter George Crane (1906-1979)
1939-1941	Allan Alexander “Andy” Anderson (1892-1981)
1941-1942	William Harrison Lucow (1916-?)
1942-1950	William George Hume (1902-1967)
1950-1953	Larry B. Clarke
1953-1955	J. W. Scott
1955-1959	John S. Adamack
1959-1960	L. C. Jackson
1960-1969	?
1969-1970	J. Braun
1970-1973	Ronald Leslie Chalmers
1973-1983	?
1983-1988	Paul Curtis
1988-?	Murray MacMillan

Teachers

School Year	Teachers
1892-1893	Miss E. S. D. Gustin, Andrew McBride, E. A. Osterhont
1893-1894	?
1894-1895	Nellie McBride, Miss Pollard
1895-1920	?
1920-1921	M. M. Blowers, Miss K. E. Boyes, M. Bradley, A. Chambers, M. Demman, B. Norton, D. A. Robinson
1921-1939	?
1939-1940	Mary Hume (grade 8), ?

Among the other teachers of Alexander School were Miss Jessie Way (1886), Miss Margaret McBride (1880s), and Dorothy Mae Strath (1940s).

Photos & Coordinates

The third Alexander School building, constructed in 1912 (no date) by A. J. Hatcher Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 32. Alexander School (June 1967) Source: Archives of Manitoba, Architectural Survey, Alexander. Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.83019, W100.28871 denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

[Tenders - Alexander School], Brandon Weekly Sun, 25 August 1892, page 5.

Annual Reports of the Manitoba Department of Education, Manitoba Legislative Library.

“Alexander, Man”, Western Canada Fire Underwriters’ Association map, 19 August 1919, Archives of Manitoba.

“Teachers at the convention,” Brandon Sun, 15 October 1920, page 6.

“Brandon school teachers for 1959-60,” Brandon Sun, 29 August 1959, page 2.

“Appointment,” Brandon Sun, 16 December 1970, page 5.

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.

Whitehead Wanderings, 1883-1983 by Whitehead-Alexander Centennial Committee, 1983. [Manitoba Legislative Library, F5648.W53 Whi]

“Board approves principals,” Brandon Sun, 30 April 1988, page 3.

“Forty years ago,” Brandon Sun, 16 December 2010, page 13.

Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.

We thank Malcolm Bell, Nathan Kramer, and Anna Birtles for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 9 August 2022

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!