Historic Sites of Manitoba: Clanwilliam School No. 178 (RM of Minto-Odanah)

The Clanwilliam School District was established formally in December 1883. The first school building was made of logs and was situated on the farm of Joseph Lowery, about one-half mile from its later site. Around 1889, a new wood frame school building was erected on land donated by farmer Thomas Jackson, in the northwest quarter of 31-15-17W, next the exact centre of the Rural Municipality of Minto. It was used until 1904 when the building was sold and replaced by a brick veneer structure. Students attended Grey School from 1944 to 1948. In 1950, that building was considered unsafe so the exterior brick was removed and replaced by insul-bric siding. The school closed in 1966 and the district was dissolved in January 1969. The school building is no longer present at the site but it is commemorated by a monument.

Among the teachers of Clanwilliam School were Lucinda Wanid (1885), Elizabeth Nesbitt (1886), Elizabeth Montgomery (1887), Thomas Logan (1888), Nellie Wake (1894), James H. Kitely (1900), Miss McGill (1905), D. A. Fletcher (1906), Miss Gray (1906-1908), Miss M. Irvine (1908), Miss Hipwell (1909), Miss Rhodes (1913-1916), Miss Kate Sanderson (1916), Edna Eldred (1917-1918), Henry B. Bees (1919), Clara Sanderson (1920), Viola McPherson (1921), Violet Hogaboom (1921-1922), Lucy Wilson (1922-1923), Miss M. Waitt (1923-1924), Beulah Campbell (1924-1925), Miss A. Lee (1926-1929, 1931-1935), Miss H. C. Alke (1929-1930), M. Bowman (1930-1931), M. McLelan (1935-1937), Greta McGorman (1937-1938), Christena McLean (1938-1941), Hilliard Treleaven (1941-1942), Alice Robertshaw (1942-1943), Ellen Emmond (1943-1944), Margaret Brodie (1944), Miss L. Thompson (1948), Donelda Keating (1949-1950), Ray Kitchen (1950-1951), Margaret Lindsay (1951-1953), Anne Prosak (1953-1954), Mrs. D. Dagg (1954-1957), Mrs. Alice Moad (1957-1964), Bruce Smirl (1964-1965), Faye Fiskel (1965-1966), and Mrs. Bertha Wood (1966-1967).

Clanwilliam School, built in 1904 (no date) by W. C. Hartley Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 63. Clanwilliam School building after removal of its brick veneer in 1950 and installation of insul-bric siding (no date) Source: S. J. McKee Archives, Minnedosa Womens Institute, Village History 1878-1956. Clanwilliam School commemorative monument (June 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Clanwilliam School commemorative monument (March 2021) Source: Kathryn Hyndman Site Coordinates (lat/long): N50.32853, W99.81501 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Grey School No. 1356 (Clanwilliam, RM of Minto-Odanah)

Sources:

Village History: 1878-1956 by the Minnedosa Women’s Institute, circa 1956, S. J. McKee Archives.

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.

Forest to Field: Centennial History of Rural Municipality of Clanwilliam and Village of Erickson, Manitoba, Canada by Clanwilliam History Book Committee, 1984, page 123.

We thank David Ford and Kathryn Hyndman for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 3 April 2021

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