Historic Sites of Manitoba: Elton School No. 131 (Municipality of North Cypress-Langford)

The first Elton School was built in 1882 on the southwest quarter of 24-11-17 west of the Principal Meridian, in what is now the Municipality of North Cypress-Langford, on land deeded by Jacob Cooper for $5. It was closed in 1900. A new school was later built on the southeast quarter of 27-11-17 on land donated by Alexander Mitchell. This school was open until 1944 when, due to low enrollment, the students transferred to Douglas School No. 591, Justice School No. 696, or Derry School No. 1052. The districts were formally consolidated in 1953. As of the early 1990s, the former school building remained at the site and was used as a granary. It was no longer there at the time of a site visit in September 2011.

Among the teachers who worked at Elton School were Anne Isabel McVetie (1882-1883), Jessie Way (1885), Miss Leeson (1886), Sarah Wright (1887), Maggie Campbell (1888), Minnie Conklin (1889), Viola Kyle (1890-1892, 1898), Miss Ruddell (1893), William Stevenson (1894), Lulu Rowe (1895), Herbert Hancock (1896), Gilbert Colquhoun (1896-1897), Daisy Tran (1896-1897), Jenny Tait (1899), Mr. D. C. Dorrance (1900), Mr. Arbuckle (1900), Effie Conn (1901), Miss Wright (1904), Miss Hornebroke (1905), Miss Conn (1906), Miss McKay (1907), Miss Connell (1909-1910), Marjorie Hadden (1911-1912), Martha Taylor (1913), Anatasia Brisette (1913-1914), Jean Crawford (1915), Florence E. Warren (1916), Eva Mitchell (1916, 1918, 1922), Mr. A. A. Paoeley (1917), Ennis B. Mattick (1919-1920), Violet Ward (1920-1921), Olive Freeman (1923, who later married John Diefenbaker, Prime Minister of Canada from 1957 to 1963), Margaret Gillespie (1924-1925), Dora McLean (1926), Ellen G. Smith (1927-1928), Muriel Moffat (1929-1932), Mossie E. Noble (1933-1936), Gwen Farley (1937-1938), Grace McDonald (1939-1940), Julia Johnson (1941), and Nora Fraser (1942-1943).

The site of this monument was donated in 2004 by landowner Sylvia Mitchell and dedicated to the pioneers, school trustees, teachers, and students of Elton School by Nora Fraser Kirk, the last teacher.

Elton School (no date) by A. J. Hatcher Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 43. Elton School commemorative monument (September 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.94568, W99.70604 denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

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.

We thank Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Allan Drysdale and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 4 February 2021

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