Historic Sites of Manitoba: Altona School No. 333 (Altona)

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

The Altona School District was established by Douglas Municipality By-Law No. 13 in August 1884 and by Rhineland Municipality By-Law No. 25 in June 1893. The first school building was built in the village of Altona (known as “Darp Altniv” or “Old Altona”) in 1889. Six years later, a town site named Altona was established one mile north of the original village and a school was built there in 1896 although the village school continued to operate until 1921. When it was closed, students were bused to the town school.

In 1899, a school building designed by Brandon architect W. H. Shillinglaw was erected at this site in Altona. In 1938, it was replaced by a five-classroom structure. Considered an “admirable example of modern architecture,” the new school was one of the first in the province to feature air conditioning.

Principals

Period	Principal
1923-1924	Gerhard G. Neufeld (1884-1945)
1924-1927	?
1927-1928	P. D. Reimer
1928-1944	J. G. Neufeld
1944-1946	Julius George Toews (1893-1981)
1946-1951	Peter Henry Funk (1906-2003)
1951-1955	J. D. Siemens
1955-1960	Albert C. “Bert” Kroeker (1928-2014)
1960-1961	Abe Heide
1961-1966	A. P. Hildebrand

Teachers

Among the teachers at Altona School were Carl Leo Pokrant (1948-1951), Leonard Krueger, Miss Friesen, and Marg Latterly.

Photos & Coordinates

The original Altona School (no date) Source: Altona and District Heritage Research Centre Altona School building (circa 1938) Source: Education Department Report, 1938, Manitoba Legislative Library. Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.10587, W97.55407 denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

“Altona, Man”, Western Canada Fire Underwriters’ Association map, March 1912, Archives of Manitoba.

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

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.

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

We thank Al Schmidt (Altona and District Heritage Research Centre) and Marie Dueck for providing information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 5 September 2021

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