Historic Sites of Manitoba: Birkenhead School No. 1996 (Neuenberg, RM of Stanley)

The Birkenhead School District was organized in February 1920, and a school operated in Neuenberg in the Municipality of Stanley, from 1921. A second classroom was added in 1963 but it was closed from 1975 to 1985. After the school closed permanently around 1992, the building remained standing for a time, but is no longer present. It is commemorated at the site by a plaque affixed to a large rock.

Among the teachers who worked at Birkenhead School through the years were John B. Enns (1921-1923), J. N. Giesbrecht (1923-1926), Henry Krushel (1926-1927, 1928-1931), David A. Toews (1927), John P. Dyck (1931-1938), A. J. Fast (1938-1941), Philip Giesbrecht (1941-1945), Helen Penner (1945-1946, 1950-1951), Jake H. Driedger (1946-1948), Henry Schellenberg (1949-1950), John Suderman (1951-1953), George Krahn (1953-1956), Henry W. Hildebrand (1956-1959), John J. Janzen (1959-1962), Edward Derksen (1962-1964), Agnes Hildebrand (1963-1965), Bill Enns (1964-1966), Mary Derksen (1965-1966), John Derksen (1966-1967), Mary Elias (1966-1967), Abe Giesbrecht (1967-1968), Tina Warkentin (1967-1969), James Schellenberg (1968-1970), Tina Wiebe (1969-1972), Linda Peters (1970-1971), Helene Friesen (1971-1972), Louise Peters (1972-1973), Margaret Reimer (1972-1974, 1976-1977), Pat Elias (1973-1974), Peter Petkau (1974-1975), Laura Dyck (1974-1975), Abe Penner (1975), Mary Wiebe (1975-1976), John Loewen (1977-1979), Lorna Wiebe (1979-1981), Karen Derksen (1981-1982), Karen Klassen (1982-1983), Verna Nickel (1983-1984), Theodore Dyck (1984-1986), Lois Guenther (1985-1986), Elisabeth Schimke (1986-1988), Janice Gerbrandt (1987-1990), Jerry Sawatzky (1988-1991), Joanne Derksen (1990-1992), and Pauline Peters (1991-1992).

The original Birkenhead School building

The original Birkenhead School building (no date) by G. G. Neufeld
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-3, page 74.

The former Birkenhead School building

The former Birkenhead School building (circa 1990)
Source: Historic Resources Branch, Public School Buildings Inventory, slide 1315.

Birkenhead School commemorative monument

Birkenhead School commemorative monument (November 2012)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.08920, W97.90872
denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

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.

A Study of Public School Buildings in Manitoba by David Butterfield, Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism, 1994, 230 pages.

Survival of a Community: A History of Neuenburg and Birkenhead School District by Henry Unger, Morden: unpublished, 2012, 250 pages.

We thank Marjorie Hildebrand, Henry Unger, and Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 14 February 2021

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.

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!