Historic Sites of Manitoba: Nimitau School No. 373 / Boissevain School No. 373 (Struthers Street, Boissevain, Municipality of Boissevain-Morton)

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Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

The Nimitau School District was formally established in March 1885 and school quarters obtained on the property of land of J. S. Wilson located at the West half of 22-3-20W in what is now the Municipality of Boissevain-Morton. Classes began that fall, and with the opening of St. Paul’s Methodist Church, were relocated to that premises. The Nimitau School building was then moved to the newly founded Caranton School District and used as its schoolhouse.

After the formal establishment of village of Boissevain, in 1889 the school district realigned its name with the local community as the Boissevain School District. In 1889, a purpose-built schoolhouse was also opened. The new two-storey was built on Struthers Street at a cost of $2,000 and had two classrooms. The demand on classroom capacity continued to grow as the local community expanded and, in 1892, a further classroom was opened within the second floor of A. C. McEown's shop at the southeast corner of South Railway and Broadway Streets. The wooden schoolhouse was reactivated in 1898 and around 1900 became classroom quarters for intermediate grades. The building was given an overhaul in the summer of 1904. On 20 November 1905, the building was destroyed by fire with limited salvage conducted of some portable contents before the inferno enveloped the structure.

To help keep pace with the growth of school-age children, a four-room two-storey stone school was added to the districts classroom capacity, with construction beginning in the second half of 1894. It was located adjacent to the other school, completed at a cost $10,000, and based upon the designs of Winnipeg architect Edward Lowery drawn up the previous year. The stone for its construction came from the quarry two miles south of the community.

Following the 1905 demise of the wooden schoolhouse, and with the near-unanimous approval of local ratepayers, another $10,000 school was authorized. Construction began around May 1906 and it was located upon the former site of the ruined building. This structure was built of brick and had four classrooms.

Further classroom space in town was developed in 1957 with the opening of Jubilee School and high school grades became part of the Turtle Mountain School Division in 1959. Capacity at both the stone and brick schoolhouses (as well Jubilee School) was replaced with the openings of Boissevain Collegiate (1962) and Boissevain Elementary (1970). In 1968, the district became part of the Turtle Mountain School Division.

Principals

Period	Principal
1889-1891	William Thomas Musgrove (1889-1902)
1891-1893	A. Hammon
1893-1896	John Archibald Campbell (1872-1963)
1896-1900	W. A. Turnbull
1900-1901	Duncan P. Clark (1862-?)
1901-1904	Alex L. McLean
1904-1906	Octavius T. Gamey (1877-1963)
1906-1907	David Smith Tod (1870-1937)
1907-1911	William Christopher Hartley (1869-1936)
1911-1914	Thomas Walter Halligan (1875-1934)
1914-1918	John Alexius Peterson (c1885-1959)
1918-1919	H. F. Field
1919-1922	James Ogel Beckstead (1883-1985)
1922-1929	John William Morris (1891-1959)
1929-1931	Albert Rae Smale (1897-?)
1931-1934	Clifford Garfield Saunders (1900-1991)
1934-1947	Thomas Melvin Whitley (1906-2000)
1947-1949	Walter Thorvaldur Fredrickson (1907-1974)
1949-1950	John Saxby “Jack” Oliver (1910-1992)
1950-1960	Stanley Corbett Henderson (1910-?)
1960-?	S. Dingle
?-1961	G. Scott
1961-1962	Charles K. Kester
1962-1966	John Dyck
1966-1973	Peter Stobbe
1973-1978	Jim York
1978-1979	John William Gross (1914-1994)
1979-?	Kennedy Cohoe

Teachers

Period	Teachers
1885	Fred Flesher
1886	?
1887	?
1888	?
1889	William Thomas Musgrove, Frances Augusta Holden
1890	?
1891	?
1892	Three teachers
1893	?
1894	Four teachers
1895	?
1896	?
1897	?
1898	Five teachers
1899	?
1900	?
1901	?
1902	?
1903	?
1904	?
1905	Six teachers
1906	Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), ?
1907	Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), ?
1908	Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), ?
1909	E. Murray Borthwick (grades 5-6, August-December), Florence M. Gray (grades 5-6, January-June), Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), ?
1910	Miss E. M. Borthwick (grades 5-6), Maude L. French (grades 1-2, January-June), Mima Henderson (grade 2, September), Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), B. Morden (grade 2, October-December), ?
1911	Emily Emes (grade 2, August-December), Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), M. E. Nickell (grades 5-6, August-December), Edith H. Stanley (grades 5-6, January-June), Olive A. Thomas (grade 2, January-June), ?
1912	Spring Term: Emily Emes (grade 2), Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), M. E. Nickell (grades 5-6), ?
1912-1913	Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), A. C. Long (grades 5-6), ?
1913-1914	Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), Jane M. C. Taylor (grades 5-6), ?
1914-1915	Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), Jane M. C. Taylor (grades 5-6), ?
1915-1916	Mabel Henders (grades 5-6), Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), ?
1916-1917	Mabel Henders (grades 5-6), Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), ?
1917-1918	Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), ?
1918-1919	Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), ?
1919-1920	E. C. Esplin (grades 5-6, September-December), Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), Dora May Little (grades 5-6, January-June), ?
1920-1921	J. Armstrong, F. M. Cochrane, Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), D. Horton, Dora May Little (grades 5-6), I. R. Nevin, A. M. Roe, L. Tandy (grades 7-8), L. M. Vodden, ?
1921-1922	Jean Alice Armstrong (grade 1), Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), L. Tandy (grade 7), ?
1922-1923	Jean Alice Armstrong (grade 1, September-December), Mary E. Clay (grades 1-2), Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1, January-June), R. L. Orchard (grades 5-6), Edith M. K. Reid (grades 7-8), Mary K. Robertson (grades 3-4), ?
1923-1924	Jean Alice Armstrong (grade 1, September-December), Mary E. Clay (grades 1-2), Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1, January-June), R. L. Orchard (grades 5-6), Edith M. K. Reid (grades 7-8), Mary K. Robertson (grades 3-4), ?
1924-1925	Jean Alice Armstrong (grade 2), Thelma Dunn (grades 3-4), Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), R. L. Orchard (grades 7-8), Mary E. Seale (grades 5-6), ?
1925-1926	Jean Alice Armstrong (grade 2), Thelma Dunn (grades 3-4), Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), Mary E. Seale (grades 7-8), Dorothy G. Taylor (grades 5-6), ?
1926-1927	Jean Alice Armstrong (grades 2-3), Thelma Dunn (grades 4-5), Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), Edith I. McMillan (grades 7-8), J. W. Morris (grade 11), Iva Jettie Stewart (grades 9-10), Dorothy G. Taylor (grades 5-6)
1927-1928	Jean Alice Armstrong (grades 2-3), Thelma Dunn (grades 4-5), Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), Edith I. McMillan (grades 7-8), J. W. Morris (grade 11), Mildred Grace Musgrove (grades 6-7), Iva J. Stewart (grades 9-10)
1928-1929	Jean Alice Armstrong (grades 2-3), Ruth Ashton Campbell (grades 9-10, April-June; daughter of Sydney Ashton Campbell), Thelma Dunn (grades 4-5), Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), Edith I. McMillan (grades 7-8), John William Morris (grade 11), Elva Jane Robertson (grades 9-10, September-March), Jane Robertson (grades 5-6)
1929-1930	Jean Alice Armstrong (grades 2-3), Thelma Dunn (grades 4-5), Ellen Alexandra Hibbert (grades 9-10), Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), Edith I. McMillan (grades 7-8, September-December), Jane Robertson (grades 6-7), Albert Rae Smale (grade 11), Gladys Taylor (grades 7-8, January-June)
1930-1931	Jean Alice Armstrong (grades 2-3), George Lees Douglas (grades 7-8), Ellen Alexandra Hibbert (grade 11), Frances Augusta Holden (grade 1), Frances K. Lovel (grades 4-5), Isla May McLachlan (grades 5-6), Jessie Fraser Rettie (grade 12), Albert Rae Smale (grades 9-10)
1931-1932	Jean Alice Armstrong (grades 2-3), George Lees Douglas (grades 7-8), Ellen Alexandra Hibbert (grade 11), Frances K. Lovel (grades 4-5), Isla May McLachlan (grades 5-6), Jane Robertson (grade 1), Julia Ellen Rombough (grade 12, wife of Clifford Garfield Saunders), Clifford Garfield Saunders (grades 9-10)
1932-1933	Jean Alice Armstrong (grades 2-3), George Lees Douglas (grades 7-8), Ellen Alexandra Hibbert (grade 11), Frances K. Lovel (grades 4-5), Isla May McLachlan (grades 5-6), Jane Robertson (grade 1), Julia Ellen Rombough (grade 12), Clifford Garfield Saunders (grades 9-10)
1933-1934	Jean Alice Armstrong (grades 2-4, September-December; grades 3-4, January-June), Ellen Alexandra Hibbert (grade 11), Frances K. Lovel (grades 5-6), Isla May McLachlan (grades 7-8), Jane Robertson (grades 1-2), Julia Ellen Rombough (grade 12), Clifford Garfield Saunders (grades 9-10)
1934-1935	Jean Alice Armstrong (grades 2-4), G. Grierson (grades 1-2, September), Frances K. Lovel (grades 5-6), Isla May McLachlan (grades 7-8), Ellen A. Patterson (grade 11, March), Jane Robertson (grades 1-2, October-June), Julia Ellen Rombough (grade 11, September-February & April-June), Erica Marie Theodora van Engel (grade 12), Thomas Melvin Whitley (grades 9-10)
1935-1936	Jean Alice Armstrong (grades 3-4), Frances K. Lovel (grades 5-6), Isla May McLachlan (grades 7-8), Wilhelmine Malcolmson (grade 12), Jane Robertson (grades 1-2), Julia Ellen Rombough (grade 11), Thomas Melvin Whitley (grades 9-10)
1936-1937	Jean Alice Armstrong (grades 3-4, September-February), Marie Evelyn Hames (grade 12), Margaret Hunter (grades 3-4, March-June), Frances K. Lovel (grades 5-6), Isla May McLachlan (grades 7-8), Jane Robertson (grades 1-2), Julia Ellen Rombough (grade 11), Thomas Melvin Whitley (grades 9-10)
1937-1938	Marie Evelyn Hames (grade 12), Laura Patricia Herron (grades 3-4), Frances K. Lovel (grades 5-6), Jane Robertson (grades 1-2), Julia Ellen Rombough (grade 11), Winnifred Elsie Stevenson (grades 7-8), Thomas Melvin Whitley (grades 9-10)
1938-1939	Marie Evelyn Hames (grade 12), Laura Patricia Herron (grades 3-4), Frances K. Lovel (grades 5-6), Jane Robertson (grades 1-2), Julia Ellen Rombough (grade 11), Winnifred Elsie Stevenson (grades 7-8), Thomas Melvin Whitley (grades 9-10)
1939-1940	Carl Bjarnason (grades 7-8), Marie Evelyn Hames (grade 12), Laura Patricia Herron (grade 2), Frances K. Lovel (grades 3-4), Jane Robertson (grade 1), Edward Graham Smillie (grades 5-6), Winnifred Elsie Stevenson (grade 11), Thomas Melvin Whitley (grades 9-10)
1940-1941	Carl Bjarnason (grades 7-8), Charles Eric Littler (grade 12), Frances K. Lovel (grades 3-4), Beatrice Fern Orriss (grade 2), Jane Robertson (grade 1), Edward Graham Smillie (grades 5-6), Winnifred Elsie Stevenson (grade 11), Thomas Melvin Whitley (grades 9-10)
1941-1942	Margaret Jane Caldbick (grades 3-4), Charles Eric Littler (grade 12, September-December), Frances K. Lovel (grades 5-6), Beatrice Fern Orriss (grade 2), Alfred Robert Pelessier (grade 12, January-June), Jane Robertson (grade 1), Winnifred Elsie Stevenson (grade 11), Thomas Melvin Whitley (grades 9-10), ? (grades 7-8)
1942-1943	Myrtle Evaline Henderson (grades 3-4), Frances K. Lovel (grades 5-6), Beatrice Fern Orriss (grade 2), Alfred Robert Pelessier (grade 12), Jane Robertson (grade 1), Winnifred Elsie Stevenson (grade 11), Dorothea Kate Wenman (grades 7-8), Thomas Melvin Whitley (grades 9-10)
1943-1944	Frances K. Lovel (grades 5-6), Myrtle Evaline Henderson Ludgate (grades 3-4, September-December), Beatrice Fern Orriss (grade 3, September-December; grades 3-4, January-June), Jane Robertson (grades 1-2), ?
1944-1945	Beatrice Fern Orriss, ?
1945-1946	Beatrice Fern Orriss, ?
1946-1947	Beatrice Fern Orriss, ?
1947-1948	Beatrice Fern Orriss, ?
1948-1949	Beatrice Fern Orriss, ?
1949-1950	Beatrice Fern Orriss, ?
1950-1951	Beatrice Fern Orriss, ?
1951-1952	Beatrice Fern Orriss, ?
1952-1953	Beatrice Fern Orriss, ?
1953-1954	Beatrice Fern Orriss, ?
1954-1955	Beatrice Fern Orriss, ?
1955-1956	Beatrice Fern Orriss, ?
1956-1957	Beatrice Fern Orriss, ?
1957-1958	?
1958-1959	?
1959-1960	?
1960-1961	?
1961-1962	?
1962-1963	?
1963-1964	?
1964-1965	?
1965-1966	?
1966-1967	?
1967-1968	?
1968-1969	?
1969-1970	?

Among the other teachers at Boissevain School were Sara Elizabeth Buchanan, William George Hume, Frank Cecil Jacobs, and David Alexander Downie.

Photos & Coordinates

Postcard view of the Boissevain School fire (20 November 1905) by Osborne Studio Source: Rob McInnes, MN1542 Postcard view of both Boissevain School buildings (no date) Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2012-0002 The second Boissevain School, erected in 1894 (1967) Source: Archives of Manitoba, Architectural Survey - Boissevain 7. The third Boissevain School, erected in 1906 (1967) Source: Archives of Manitoba, Architectural Survey - Boissevain 10. Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.23377, W100.05513 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Boissevain School No. 373 / Jubilee School (North Railway Street, Boissevain, Municipality of Boissevain-Morton)

Sources:

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

“Wesley notes,” Manitoba Free Press, 24 October 1925, page 4.

“Tenders,,” Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 12 July 1893, page 4.

“Boissevain,,” Manitoba Morning Free Press, 6 June 1894, page 6.

“A progressive southwestern town [The Schools],” Manitoba Free Press, 11 November 1905, page 20.

“The Boissevain old school burned to the ground,” Boissevain Recorder, 23 November 1905, page 1.

“An old landmark gone,” The Globe [Boissevain], 23 November 1905, page 1.

“Local briefs [It has been decided by the trustees ...],” The Globe [Boissevain], 30 November 1905, page 1.

“Local and General [The school trustees ...],” Boissevain Recorder, 30 November 1905.

“New school for Boissevain,,” Manitoba Free Press, 17 March 1906, page 10.

“Boissevain, Man,” Western Canada Fire Underwriters’ Association map, June 1911, Archives of Manitoba.

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

“W. T. Musgrove funeral rites on Wednesday,” Winnipeg Tribune, 23 December 1941, page 20.

Beckoning Hills by Boissevain 75th Jubilee Committee, 1956.

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.

Beckoning Hills Revisited: Ours is a Goodly Heritage, Morton-Boissevain, 1881-1981 by Boissevain History Committee, c1981, pages 137-150.

Geographic Names of Manitoba, Manitoba Conservation, 2000.

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

School division and school district formation files (E 0027), Boissevain School District No. 1631, GR1688, Archives of Manitoba.

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

Manitoba School Records Collection, Boissevain School District No. 373 - Daily Registers, GR4072, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Nimitau School District No. 373 - Daily Registers, GR11851, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Boissevain School District No. 373 - Daily Registers, GR11851, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Boissevain School District No. 373 - Half Yearly Registers, GR11851, Archives of Manitoba.

Township and parish plans and plats (NR 0212), Township 3 - Range 20 West, GR2404, Archives of Manitoba.

We thank Robert Hill and Rob McInnes for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 21 November 2021

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