Historic Sites of Manitoba: Cypress School No. 175 (Municipality of Louise)

Cypress School (sometimes mistakenly identified as Cypress River School) was established in 1884, located southeast of the community of Clearwater on the southeast corner of the northwest quarter of 27-1-12 west of the Principal Meridian, in the Municipality of Louise.

In 1892, it was decided by local ratepayers that the school location was not sufficiently central, so the school was moved to the southeast corner of SE33-1-12W. As student enrollment increased, the school became overcrowded so a new structure was erected in 1914 at a site about 3/4 mile west. It was used until 14 November 1947 when declining enrollment caused the school to close. The remaining students went to a school in nearby Clearwater. In 1951, local ratepayers voted to dissolve the school district permanently and consolidate it with Clearwater School No. 106, The Oaks School No. 412, and St. Lawrence School No. 646 into the Clearwater-Cypress Consolidated School No. 2324. A monument was erected at the original school site in July 1982.

The teachers who worked at Cypress School were W. N. Greenway (1891), Cora Greenway (1892-1893), Mary McKinnon (1894), Charles McKinnon (1895, 1899-1901), William Pouton (1896), Lulu Rowe (1896), Archie Sproule (1897), W. A. Nancy (1897), Nellie Douglas (1898), Alexandria Harvey (1898), W. Harvey (1898), May Corbett (1898), Miss F. Tweed (1899, 1901-1902), Miss Gardiner (1903), Miss Corbett (1903-1907), Miss Madill (1907), Miss Gunn (1908), Lillian P. Corbett (1909-1910), Miss Nellie Stuart (1911), Miss Gwen McFarlane (1911-1912), Isabel Wood (1912), Jennie Stuart (1913), Miss C. Clarke (1913), Miss Carrie Stewart (1914-1915), Hela W. Werry (1916), Vesta B. Snedden (1917-1919), Jennie Jardine (1920-1921), Francis Gilbert (1921-1922), Elizabeth Cairns (1922-1925), Dorothy Mowat (1925-1927), Miss Milne (1927-1928), Laura Baker (1928-1930), R. M. Worden (1930), Kathleen S. Cole (1930-1933, 1935-1936), Lyra McQuarrie (1933-1935), W. E. Scurfield (1936-1938), Jean V. Gorrell (1938-1939), Wilber Finlay (1939-1940), Marion Askew (1940-1941), Margaret Geekie (1941-1942), Valdine Johnson (1942-1944), Phyllis Black (1944-1945), Neita Jackson (1944-1945), Agnes Snyder (1945-1946), and Lenore Gwendoline Tole (1947-1948).

Cypress School (no date) by W. J. Parr Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 61. Cypress School commemorative monument (October 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.07415, W99.02740 denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

Memoirs of Cypress S.D. no. 175, 1882-1982 by Cypress Centennial Cairn Committee, Brandon: Murray Printing, 1980. [Manitoba Legislative Library, F5648.C96Mem]

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.

Obituary [Lenore Gwendoline Day], Winnipeg Free Press, 21 August 2012, page 22.

We thank Louise Sloane and Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Ed Grassick.

Page revised: 23 December 2019

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