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Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources
Originally known as Somerset School No. 342 when it was established in 1882, at 13-7-13 west of the Principal Meridian, in the Rural Municipality of Victoria, five years later the school was moved to the new railway town of Cypress River. It was later renamed Cypress River School No. 342. The present two-storey brick structure was erected in 1896, on a design by Winnipeg architect Hugh McCowan.
Cypress River Consolidated School, located on Connon Street in Cypress River was created in April 1958 with the consolidation of Cypress River School No. 342 with schools from the surrounding rural areas, including Glencove School No. 205, Selton School No. 291, Richmond Hill School No. 363, Bru School No. 368, Cypress Valley School No. 394, and Oliver School No. 1766.
A new elementary school was built at Cypress River in 1958, students in grades 1-8 transferred there in January 1959. This two-storey structure then became a high school before its closure in June 1966, at which time its bell was removed from the tower for reinstallation on a monument nearby. The building sat vacant until 1970, when as part of Manitoba centennial celebrations, it was reopened as a seasonal community museum, which operated for about 20 years.
When the museum closed permanently, its artifacts were returned to the original donors, were transferred to other museums, or were sold at a public auction. The building was then sold to a local resident. It has since suffered significant structural damage, with outer brick courses having been removed from the first and second levels on its south-facing side.
Principals
Teachers
Period |
Teachers |
1893 |
James C. Butchart |
1894-1909 |
? |
1910 |
Jennie E. Down (grades 1-2), Thomas Keenan (senior grades), Ella Somerville (grades 6-8), Ethel Thomas (grades 1-2), ? (other grades) |
1911 |
Thomas Keenan (senior grades), J. A. McCullough (grades 1-2), ? (other grades) |
1912 |
Eva G. Graham (grades 1-2), Jessie Walls (grades 7-8), ? (grades 3-6, senior grades) |
1912-1913 |
Eva G. Graham (grades 1-2, 1912), L. Wilton Hayward (grades 1-2), L. T. Hayward (grades 9-11), ? (grades 3-8) |
1913-1914 |
? |
1914-1915 |
Irene E. Christie (grades 1-2), Mabel Jeffrey (grades 1-2, 1915), Solomon Wolfe Kestenbaum (grades 9-11, 1914), Olive Lillian Mills (grades 3-5), John Marshall Nason (grades 9-11) |
1915-1916 |
Harold Ludlow Albright (grades 9-11, 1916), Mabel Jeffrey (grades 1-2), Olive Lillian Mills (grades 3-5), John Marshall Nason (grades 9-11, 1915), ? (grades 6-8) |
1916-1917 |
Harold Ludlow Albright (grades 9-11), Clara Victoria Hills (grades 1-2, 1917), Mabel Jeffrey (grades 1-2), Olive Lillian Mills (grades 3-5), ? (grades 6-8) |
1917-1918 |
Harold Ludlow Albright (grades 9-11), Clara Victoria Hills (grades 1-2), Florence Pounds (grades 3-5), Olive A. Whiteford (grades 6-8) |
1918-1919 |
Dolina Campbell (grades 3-5), Clara Victoria Hills (grades 1-2), Donald McLeod (grades 9-11), Olive A. Whiteford (grades 6-8) |
1919-1920 |
Myrtle M. Christie (grades 3-5), Clara Victoria Hills (grades 1-2), Frances A. Jonah (grades 6-8), D. McLeod (grades 9-11) |
1920-1921 |
Mabel Gardiner (grades 3-5, 1921), R. Vanden Hauten? (grades 1-3, 1920), Clara Victoria Hills (grades 1-3, 1920), Frances A. Jonah (grades 6-8), George Robert Farrar Prowse (grades 9-11), Jean R. Rankin (grades 1-3, 1921), Violet G. Ward (grades 3-5, 1920) |
1921-1922 |
Frances J. Carson (grades 1-3, 1922), Mabel Gardiner (grades 4-5), William Alexander Moon (grades 9-11), Lena Morden (grades 6-8), Jean R. Rankin (grades 1-3) |
1922-1923 |
Frances J. Carson (grades 2-4, 1922), William Alexander Moon (grades 9-11), Lena Morden (grades 6-8), F. Ruth Owens (grades 4-6), Jean R. Rankin (grade 1), Ethel T. Stephens (grades 2-4, 1923) |
1923-1924 |
Myrtle L. Johnston (grades 1-2), Edna M. Mills (grades 3-4), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 7-8), Nellie M. Stevenson (grades 5-6), Louis Shere (grades 9-11) |
1924-1925 |
Frances J. Carson (grades 3-4, 1925), Myrtle L. Johnston (grades 1-2), Edna M. Mills (grades 3-4), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 7-8), Nellie M. Stevenson (grades 5-6), Louis Shere (grades 9-11) |
1925-1926 |
Robert Edward Beecher (grades 10-11), Frances J. Carson (grade 9, 1925), J. C. French (grade 9, 1926), Myrtle L. Johnston (grades 1-2), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 6-8), E. Clara Watkins (grades 4-5) |
1926-1927 |
Robert Edward Beecher (grades 9 and 11), Mary Roberta Carter (grade 10), Myrtle L. Johnston (grades 1-3), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 6-8), E. Clara Watkins (grades 4-5) |
1927-1928 |
Robert Edward Beecher (grades 9 and 11), Mary Roberta Carter (grade 10), Myrtle L. Johnston (grades 1-2), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 6-8), ? (grades 3-5) |
1928-1929 |
Robert Edward Beecher (grades 9 and 11), Mary Roberta Carter (grade 10), Audrey E. Leech (grades 1-2), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 6-8), Mary Rankin (grades 3-5) |
1929-1930 |
Charles Manly Belton (grades 6-8), Thomas William Ebbern (grade 11), Beatrice Lenore Graham (grades 9-10), Audrey E. Leech (grades 1-2), Mary Rankin (grades 3-5) |
1930-1931 |
Thomas William Ebbern (grade 11), Lucy Gladys Harvey (grades 9-10), Mary Eileen Kennedy (grades 3-5), Audrey E. Leech (grades 1-2), Elizabeth Maud Patmore (grades 6-8) |
1931-1932 |
Thomas William Ebbern (grade 11), Mary Eileen Kennedy (grades 3-5), Audrey E. Leech (grades 1-2), Elizabeth Maud Patmore (grades 6-8), Kathleen Ina Rodgers (grades 9-10) |
1932-1933 |
Thomas William Ebbern (grade 11), Mary Eileen Kennedy (grades 3-5), Audrey E. Leech (grades 1-2), Elizabeth Maud Patmore (grades 6-8), Kathleen Ina Rodgers (grades 9-10) |
1933-1934 |
Mary Eileen Kennedy (grades 3-5), Audrey E. Leech (grades 1-2), James Alvin Leslie (grade 11), Kathleen Ina Rodgers (grades 9-10), ? (grades 6-8) |
1934-1935 |
Audrey E. Leech (grades 1-2), James Alvin Leslie (grade 11), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5), Kathleen Ina Rodgers (grades 9-10), ? (grades 6-8) |
1935-1936 |
Audrey E. Leech (grades 1-3), James Alvin Leslie (grade 11), Mary Effie Frances Mills (grades 9-10), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5), ? (grades 6-8) |
1936-1937 |
Audrey E. Leech (grades 1-3), James Alvin Leslie (grade 11), Mary Effie Frances Mills (grades 9-10), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 4-5), ? (grades 6-8) |
1937-1938 |
Myrtle Bernice Albright (grades 9-10), Myrtle Sara Blackwell (grades 1-3), James Alvin Leslie (grades 11-12), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 4-5), ? (grades 6-8) |
1938-1939 |
Myrtle Bernice Albright (grades 9-10), Myrtle Sara Blackwell (grades 1-3), James Alvin Leslie (grades 11-12), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5), ? (grades 6-8) |
1939-1940 |
Myrtle Bernice Albright (grades 9-10), Myrtle Sara Blackwell (grades 1-3), Mrs. Harold Johnson (grades 6-8, 1940), James Alvin Leslie (grades 11-12), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5), George O. Owens (grades 6-8, 1940), John Arthur Ward (grades 6-8) |
1940-1941 |
Myrtle Sara Blackwell (grades 1-2), Clementine Fraser (grades 6-8), Bessie Edith Kent (grades 9-10), James Alvin Leslie (grades 11-12), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5) |
1941-1942 |
Myrtle Sara Blackwell (grades 1-2), Richard Buck (grades 11-12), Bessie Edith Kent (grades 9-10), Edith Margaret Miller (grades 6-8), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5) |
1942-1943 |
Myrtle Sara Blackwell (grades 1-2), Richard Buck (grades 11-12), Eleanor Eaton (grades 6-8), Ellen Mae Lennox (grades 9-10), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5) |
1943-1944 |
Richard Buck (grades 11-12), Eleanor Eaton (grades 6-8), Jessie Evelyn Meldrum (grades 1-2, 1942), Edith May Nelson (grades 1-2, 1943), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5), Louise Isobel Taylor (grades 9-10) |
1944-1945 |
Richard Buck (grades 11-12), Eleanor Eaton (grades 6-8, 1944), Christina Herd Hogue (grades 6-8, 1945), Edith May Nelson (grades 1-2), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5), Louise Isobel Taylor (grades 9-10) |
1945-1946 |
Margaret Bryan (grades 3-5, 1945 substitute), Samuel Stewart Bryan (grades 11-12), Christina Herd Hogue (grades 6-8), Edith May Nelson (grades 1-2), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5), Louise Isobel Taylor (grades 9-10) |
1946-1947 |
Samuel Stewart Bryan (grade 11), Sylvia Mae Olson (grades 1-2), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5), Louise Isobel Taylor (grades 9-10), ? (grades 6-8) |
1947-1948 |
Samuel Stewart Bryan (grades 11-12), Sylvia Mae Olson (grades 1-2), Marion Kathleen Marguerite “Kae” Owens (grades 3-5), Margaret Louise White (grades 9-10), ? (grades 6-8) |
1948-1949 |
Marion Kathleen Marguerite Owens “Kae” Anderson (grades 3-5), Samuel Stewart Bryan (grades 11-12), Marjorie Ruth Greenlay (grades 1-2), Sylvia Mae Olson (grades 3-5, 1948 substitute), Margaret Louise White (grades 9-10), ? (grades 6-8) |
1949-1950 |
Edith Marian Kristine Breckman (grades 3-5), Samuel Stewart Bryan (grades 11-12), Marjorie Ruth Greenlay (grades 1-2), Helen Jean Hampton (grades 9-10), Marjorie Ruth Greenlay (grades 1-2), Harriett Marie Phillips (grades 6-8) |
1950-1951 |
Samuel Stewart Bryan (grades 11-12), Marjorie Ruth Greenlay (grades 1-2), Helen Jean Hampton (grades 9-10), Marjorie Ruth Greenlay (grades 1-2), Phyllis Myrtle Keddie (grades 3-5), Harriett Marie Phillips (grades 6-8) |
1951-1952 |
W. James Eastcott (grades 6-8, 1951), Phyllis Myrtle Keddie (grades 3-5), Irwin Labovitch (grades 9-10), Rene Allen Ollivier (grades 11-12), Violet Adeline Palmer (grades 6-8, 1952), Marjorie Ruth Young (grades 1-2) |
1952-1953 |
Fay Alexandra Dixon (grades 1-2), Phyllis Myrtle Keddie (grades 5-6), Rene Allen Ollivier (grades 10-12), Violet Adeline Palmer (grades 7-9), James M. Richtik (grades 3-4, 1952), Grace Mary Smith (grades 3-4) |
1953-1954 |
Fay Alexandra Dixon (grades 1-2), Rene Allen Ollivier (grades 11-12), Helen Jean Hampton (grades 9-10), Violet Adeline Palmer (grades 6-8), Grace Mary Smith (grades 3-5) |
1954-1955 |
Arthur Haldane Davis (grades 9-10), Fay Alexandra Dixon (grades 1-3), Rene Allen Ollivier (grades 11-12), Violet Adeline Palmer (grades 6-8), Grace Mary Smith (grades 3-5) |
1955-1956 |
Rene Allen Ollivier (grades 11-12), Violet Adeline Palmer (grades 6-8), Grace Mary Smith (grades 3-5), Esther Ruth Young (grades 1-3), ? (grades 9-10) |
1956-1957 |
Rene Allen Ollivier (grades 11-12), Violet Adeline Palmer (grades 6-8), George Russell Pearson (grades 9-10), Grace Mary Smith (grades 4-5), Esther Ruth Young (grades 1-3) |
1957-1958 |
Rene Allen Ollivier (grades 11-12), Violet Adeline Palmer (grades 6-8), George Russell Pearson (grades 9-10), Grace Mary Smith (grades 4-5), Esther Ruth Young (grades 1-3) |
1958-1959 |
(1958 grades 1-8, see Cypress River Consolidated School), George Russell Pearson (grades 9-10), Henry Lambert Williams (grades 11-12) |
1959-1960 |
Mary Roberta Campbell (grade 10), Henry Lambert Williams (grades 11-12), George Russell Pearson (grade 9) |
1960-1961 |
Mary Roberta Campbell (grade 10), Henry Lambert Williams (grade 11), George Russell Pearson (grade 9) |
1961-1962 |
Mary Roberta Campbell (grade 11), Peter Frederick Kutcher (grade 12), George Russell Pearson (grades 9-10) |
1962-1963 |
Mary Roberta Campbell (grades 10-11), Peter Frederick Kutcher (grade 12), George Russell Pearson (grade 9) |
1963-1964 |
Mary Roberta Campbell (grade 10), George Russell Pearson (grade 11), Edith Marian Kristine Richmond (grade 9) |
1964-1965 |
Ronald Charles Beech (grade 11), Mary Roberta Campbell (grade 10), George Russell Pearson (grade 9) |
1965-1966 |
? |
Among the other teachers of Cypress River School was Arthur James Manning.
Photos & Coordinates

The original Cypress River School (no date) by G. H. Robertson Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 34.

The Cypress River School teacherage (no date) by G. H. Robertson
The building stood northeast of the school on James Avenue Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 34.

The former Cypress River School teacherage (October 2022)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

Cypress River School (August 1967) Source: Archives of Manitoba, Architectural Survey - Cypress River 2.

The former Cypress River Consolidated School building (circa 1986) Source: Historic Resources Branch, Public School Buildings Inventory, slide 1397.

The former Cypress River Consolidated School building (June 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough

The former Cypress River Consolidated School building (May 2021)
Source: Rose Kuzina

The former Cypress River Consolidated School building (May 2021)
Source: Rose Kuzina

Closeup of damage to the building’s south wall (June 2011)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

Closeup of damage to the building’s south wall (May 2021)
Source: Rose Kuzina
Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.55581, W99.09312 denoted by symbol on the map above
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See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Cypress River Consolidated School No. 2357 (Cypress River, RM of Victoria)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Cypress River Pioneers Monument (RM of Victoria)
Sources:
“Teachers at the convention,” Brandon Sun, 15 October 1920, page 6.
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.
A Study of Public School Buildings in Manitoba by David Butterfield, Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism, 1994, 230 pages.
Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.
School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Cypress River School District No. 342 Daily Registers, GR2049, Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Cypress River Consolidated School District No. 2357 Daily Registers, GR2049, Archives of Manitoba.
We thank Georgette Hutlet and Rose Kuzina for providing additional information provided here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 23 February 2023
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