Historic Sites of Manitoba: Washakada Indian Residential School / Elkhorn Indian Residential School (Elkhorn, RM of Wallace-Woodworth)

Link to:
Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

Known also as the Elkhorn Industrial School and the Washakada Indian Residential School, the first school at this site in Elkhorn, in what is now the Rural Municipality of Wallace-Woodworth, opened on 10 June 1888. It burned to the ground in the late 1890s. It was replaced by a large, brick building in 1897, which remained open until February 1918. It was reopened in June 1923 and operated until permanent closure on 30 June 1949. The building was demolished in May 1951. The ruins of the school are still visible on land owned by the municipality. A nearby cemetery contains burials of those who died while at the school.

Principals

Period	Principal
1889-1892	C. D. McKenzie
1892-1918	Archibald Edward Wilson (1869-1947)
1918-1923	Closed
1923-1933	Rev. F. Eley
1933-1936	Canon S. J. Wickens
1936-1942	Canon A. E. Minchen
1942	G. Hicks
1942-1944	Rev. C. N. Middleton
1944	Mr. Hodkinson
1944-1945	R. C. Hiltz
1945	Capt. H. B. Miller
1945-1947	Rev. B. O. G. Dixon
1947-1948	D. A. B. Stoddart
1948-1949	Rev. W. W. J. Woods

Teachers / Instructors

School Year	Teachers / Instructors
1895-1896	J. R. Duke (bootmaker), F. S. Fletcher, J. McCracken (tailor), J. Simington (carpenter), W. J. Thompson (printer)

Among the other teachers at the Elkhorn Indian Residential School was William H. Bradley.

Staff

School Year	Staff
1895-1896	J. Clode (Foreman, Boys' Department), C. Copeland (gardener), Miss Dicken (dressmaker), Mrs. Groutage (laundress), Miss Thomas (Assistant Matron), Mrs. Vidal (Superintendent, Girls' Department), Eliza Charlotte St. Clair Wilson (Matron)

Photos & Coordinates

The original Elkhorn Indian Residential School (1890s) by Boorne & May Source: Library and Archives Canada, PA-182261 Postcard view of the second Elkhorn Indian Residential School (no date) Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2013-0084 Postcard view of the second Elkhorn Indian Residential School (no date) Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2014-0049 Ruins of the Elkhorn Indian Residential School (July 2010) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.97707, W101.25095 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Brandon Indian Residential School (RM of Cornwallis)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Brandon Indian Residential School Cemetery (RM of Cornwallis)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Brandon Old Indian Residential School Cemetery (Brandon)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Birtle Indian Residential School (Birtle, Municipality of Prairie View)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Elkhorn Indian Residential School (Elkhorn, RM of Wallace-Woodworth)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: MacKay Indian Residential School (Opaskwayak Cree Nation)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Portage la Prairie Indian Residential School (Crescent Road West, Portage la Prairie)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Pine Creek Indian Residential School / Camperville Indian Residential School (Pine Creek First Nation)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Norway House Indian Residential School (Norway School)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Julia Clark School (611 Academy Road, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Residential School Totem Pole (Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Rupert’s Land Indian Industrial School / St. Paul’s Industrial School (Middlechurch, RM of West St. Paul)

TimeLinks: Washakada Home, Elkhorn, c1902

TimeLinks: Garden at Washakada Home, c1915

Elkhorn Indian Residential School, Elkhorn, MB, Anglican Church of Canada.

Sources:

Seventh Annual Report of the Washakada Indian Home, 1895-1896.

Steel and Grass Roots, 1882-1981: History of Elkhorn by Elkhorn and District Historical Society, page 86.

We thank Kevin Tutthill, Leona Devuyst, Oliver Bernuetz (Legislative Library of Manitoba), and Suyoko Tsukamoto for providing information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 9 October 2021

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