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The Webb School District was established formally in 1884 and, while a classroom may have been operated prior to 1887, it received no provincial grant towards the teacher's salary during that period. By 1888, a schoolhouse was located at NW14-6-23 West Prime Meridian on property owned by Isaac Webb, for whom the distict was named. That first schoolhouse was closed in the early 1890s and became the hall for the local lodge (No. 1613) of the Loyal Orange Order. The building was later relocated to Poplar Avenue at Hartney, in what is now the Municipality of Grassland.
The district was renamed from Webb to Hartney at some point during the 1890s, with the last identified use of the Webb School District in formal records encountered in 1898. Around 1892, a two-room school was built, and the building's capacity more than doubled during the summer of 1894 with the addition of two more classrooms and a full-size basement.
In July 1954, ground was broken for a larger school with a cornerstone donated by Guinn & Simpson of Portage la Prairie. Designed by Smith Carter Katelnikoff in association with Ian McKenzie Brown of Brandon, it was built by contractors Minish Brothers of Gilbert Plains early in the following year. It was opened officially in early February 1955. The new brick building featured six classrooms, an assembly hall, science, and staff rooms, along with medical quarters and was completed at a cost of about $82,000.
The district became Hartney Consolidated School No. 2389 when, in July 1960, it was consolidated with several rural schools in the surrounding area: Whitewater School No. 346, Swaffham School No. 347, Forbes School No. 966, and Cavell School No. 1840. The expanded district became part of the Souris Valley School Division in 1968.
A bell in front of the Hartney Town Hall was originally mounted in 1904 on the Hartney Public School building.
Period
Principal
1892-1893
A. B. Morton
1893
T. Andrew Morrison
1893-1896
Daniel Armenius Wickware (1861-1917)
1896-1897
Rufus Redmond Earle (1873-1949)
1897-1898
Samuel Henry Forrest (1873-1963)
1898-1900
Clarence Church Stewart (1871-1950)
1900-1905
Benjamin Jones Hales (1868-1945)
1906
Wilfred John Fee (1881-1933)
1906-1907
Henry Hamilton
1907-1908
David Williamson Yuill (1878-1970)
1908-1909
Henry Dana Hunting (1880-1953)
1910
Thomas Flood Elmes (1848-1912)
1910-1916
Albert Cook West (1880-1923)
1917
Kenneth Morton Lewis (1889-1957)
1918-1919
George Orville Durnin
1919-1920
Kenneth Donald Bruce (1892-1968)
1920-1921
John H. Snyder (c1874-?)
1921-1922
Rufus Freeman Meadows (1879-1962)
1922-1927
Charles T. Cresswell (1872-1961)
1927-1929
John Osborn Wilson (1900-1972)
1929-1933
Peter S. Buhr (?-?)
1933-1937
Thomas William Ebbern (1879-1970)
1937-1941
Richard “Dick” Moore (1908-1996)
1941-1943
Arthur Neilson (1908-1975)
1943-1947
Albert Lionel “Ab” Richardson (1910-1982)
1947-1948
Elizabeth Pettipher
1948-1950
John Wesley Alexander “Jack” Muirhead (1906-1996)
1950-1952
Alvin Samuel Miller (1914-2004)
1952-1954
Henry Lambert Williams (1890-1976)
1954-1956
Theodore “Ted” Samotowka
1956-1957
Lawrence B. Clark
1957-1964
Roy E. White
1964-1966
Lloyd Nikkel
1966-1967
?
1967-1968
Frank Basiuk - elementary school
Period
Vice-Principal
1954-1955
Ida Christine Graham Mills (1901-1982)
Among the early teachers of Webb School were Annie J. Cope (Spring-Fall 1888), Emma F. Bennett (Spring-Fall 1889). C. H. Young (Spring 1890), S. S. Garrison (Fall 1890), George L. Foerster? [Forester?] (Spring 1891), John F. Wright (Fall 1891).
Period
Teachers
1892
A. B. Morton (senior grades, Fall), Annie Tiernan (junior grades, Fall), John F. Wright (all grades, Spring)
1893
T. Andrew Morrison (senior grades, April-June), A. B. Morton (senior grades, January-March), Annie Tiernan (junior grades, pt Spring), Daniel Armenius Wickware (senior grades, Fall), Allie L. Williams (junior grades, Fall)
1894
Blanche Hunter, Mary E. Hawthorne (Fall), Daniel Armenius Wickware (senior grades), Allie L. Williams
1895
Blanche Hunter, Mary E. Hawthorne (Spring), Gertrude Warner (Fall), Daniel Armenius Wickware (senior grades), Allie L. Williams (Spring), Grace Woodhull (Fall)
1896
Rufus Redmond Earle (senior grades, Fall), Samuel Henry Forrest (Fall), Blanche Hunter (Spring), Isabel Hunter (Fall), Jennie Sharpe (Fall), Gertrude Warner (Spring), Daniel Armenius Wickware (senior grades, Spring), Grace Woodhull (Spring)
1897
Rufus Redmond Earle (senior grades, Spring), Samuel Henry Forrest (? grades, Spring; senior grades, Fall), Blanche Hunter, Isabel Hunter (Spring), Minnie Smith (Fall), Jennie Sharpe (Fall)
1898
Marie C. Calder (Fall), Samuel Henry Forrest (senior grades, Spring), Blanche Hunter, R. C. Pettypiece, Clarence Church Stewart (senior grades, Fall), I? B. Woodhull (Spring)
1899
Marie C. Calder, Blanche Hunter, R. C. Pettypiece, Clarence Church Stewart (senior grades)
1900
Marie C. Calder, Blanche Hunter, R. C. Pettypiece, Clarence Church Stewart (senior grades)
1901
Phoebe Bodern? (Fall), Marie C. Calder (Spring), Maggie L. Davidson (Fall), Benjamin Jones Hales (senior grades, Fall), Blanche Hunter, R. C. Pettypiece (Spring), Clarence Church Stewart (senior grades, Spring)
1902
records not available
1903
records not available
1904
records not available
1905
Viola Isabel Duff (Fall), Benjamin Jones Hales (senior grades), Blanche Hunter, Donald M. Monteith, Jennie Montgomery (Spring)
1906
Viola Isabel Duff, Wilfred John Fee (senior grades, Spring), Henry Hamilton (senior grades, Fall), Jamie A. Hallen (Fall), Blanche Hunter, Grace E. Joslyn, Donald M. Monteith (Spring), Mary Stuart (Fall)
1907
Jamie A. Hallen (Spring), Henry Hamilton (senior grades, Spring), Blanche Hunter, Grace E. Joslyn, Jean McCouchy, F. Mayers? (Fall), Jessie Rothwell (Fall), David Williamson Yuill (senior grades, Fall)
1908
Blanche Hunter, Henry Dana Hunting (senior grades, Fall), Grace E. Joslyn, Jean McConechy, Jessie Rothwell, David Williamson Yuill (senior grades, Spring)
1909
Blanche Hunter, Henry Dana Hunting (senior grades), Grace E. Joslyn (Spring), Hazel Kitson (Fall), Pearl P. Kyle (Spring), Jessie Rothwell, Elizabeth S. Smith (Fall)
1910
Agnes Marjorie Baine (Fall), Mary Ethel Fee (Fall), Blanche Hunter, Thomas Flood Elmes (senior grades, Spring), Hazel Kitson (Spring), Mattie M. Morrison (Fall), Jessie Rothwell (Spring), Elizabeth S. Smith (Spring), Albert Cook West (senior grades, Fall)
1911
Agnes Marjorie Baine (Spring), Eva Dycer (Fall), Mary Ethel Fee, Blanche Hunter, Mattie M. Morrison, Albert Cook West (senior grades)
1912
(January-June only): Eva Dycer, Mary Ethel Fee, Blanche Hunter, Mattie M. Morrison, Albert Cook West (senior grades)
1912-1913
Mary E. Armstrong, Mary Ethel Fee (Fall), Ella [Ellen?] A. Finch, Blanche Hunter, Florence Skinner (Spring), Albert Cook West (senior grades)
1913-1914
Mary E. Armstrong, Shirley E. Ferg (Spring), Ella [Ellen?] A. Finch, Blanche Hunter, Florence Skinner (Fall), Albert Cook West (senior grades)
1914-1915
Mary E. Armstrong (grades 4-5), Shirley E. Ferg (grades 2-3), Ellen A. Finch (grades 6-7), Blanche Hunter (grade 1), Albert Cook West (grades 9-11)
1915-1916
Mary E. Armstrong (grades 4-5), Isabel Brandon (grades 6-8), Shirley E. Ferg (grades 2-3, August-December), Blanche Hunter (grade 1, August-December), M. Elizabeth Sutton (grades 2-3, January-June), Tena Stewart (grade 1, January-June), Albert Cook West (grades 9-11)
1916-1917
Mary E. Armstrong (grades 4-5), Eugenie L. Bates (grades 2-3, January-June), Isabel Brandon (grades 6-8), Kenneth Morton Lewis (grades 9-11, January-June), Isabel V. Rise (grade 1), M. Elizabeth Sutton (grades 2-3, August-December), Albert Cook West (grades 9-11, August-December)
1917-1918
Mary E. Armstrong (grades 4-5), Eugenie L. Bates (grades 2-3), Edna Jane Brandon (grades 6-8, August-December), George Orville Durnin (grade 11, January-June), Kenneth Morton Lewis (grades 9-11, August-December), Florence Olney Lewis (grades 6-8, January-June), Isabel V. Rise (grade 1)
1918-1919
Miss Cowan (grades 9-10, February), George Orville Durnin (grade 11), Marie A. Durnin (grades 9-10, August-January, March-June), Florence Olney Lewis (grades 6-8), Hazel A. McDonald (grades 2-3), Marjorie McLeish (grades 4-5), Isabel V. Rise (grade 1)
1919-1920
Reita Wood Bambridge (grades 9-10), Kenneth Donald Bruce (grade 11), Alma J. Mills (grade 1), Florence Olney Lewis (grades 6-8), Agnes Katharine Qulloch? Lu (grades 2-3), Marjorie McLeish (grades 4-5)
1920-1921
Sadie Elaine Forbes (grades 2-3), Jessie Kee (grades 9-10, January-June), Ooney Olive MacDonald (grades 6-8), Marjorie McLeish (grades 4-5), Alma J. Mills (grade 1), Alice Shaver (grades 9-10, September-December), John H. Snyder (grade 11)
1921-1922
Kathleen A. Allen (grades 6-8), Sadie Elaine Forbes (grades 2-3), Ruby E. M. McDonald (grades 9-10), Rufus Freeman Meadows (grade 11), Alma J. Mills (grade 1), Edna M. Mills (grades 4-5)
1922-1923
?
1923-1924
?
1924-1925
?
1925-1926
?
1926-1927
?
1927-1928
?
1928-1929
?
1929-1930
?
1930-1931
?
1931-1932
?
1932-1933
?
1933-1934
?
1934-1935
?
1935-1936
Anna Buscarlet (later married Walter H. W. Walker), ?
1936-1937
Anna Buscarlet, ?
1937-1938
Anna Buscarlet, ?
1938-1939
?
1939-1940
?
1940-1941
?
1941-1942
?
1942-1943
?
1943-1944
Eleanor Alice Conibear (grades 4-6), Irene Beth Gray (grades 1-3), Emma Viola Olmstead (grades 7-8), Albert Lionel “Ab” Richardson (grades 9-11)
1944-1945
?
1945-1946
?
1946-1947
?
1947-1948
?
1948-1949
?
1949-1950
?
1950-1951
?
1951-1952
?
1952-1953
?
1953-1954
?
1954-1955
Anna Pearl Careme (grades 3-4), Alice May Castle (grades 1-2), Berniece Eileen Fines (grades 7-8), Ida Christine Mills (grades 9-10), Theodore “Ted” Samatowka (grades 11-12), Isobel Jean Vandusen (grades 5-6)
1955-1956
?
1956-1957
?
1957-1958
?
1958-1959
?
1959-1960
?
1960-1961
?
1961-1962
?
1962-1963
?
1963-1964
?
1964-1965
?
1965-1966
1966-1967
1967-1968
Wilma Slator MacMillan, ?
Among the other teachers of Hartney School were Anna Mima McIntyre (1920s), Ethel Anna Sankey, and Leo Joseph Peloquin (1971-1997).
Period
Principal
1966-1968
Roy E. White
1968-1970
R. J. Little
1970-1971
Malcolm Hughes
1971-1974
Ron E. Dilk
1974-1992
John Guthrie “Jack” Forsyth (1941-2011)
No information.
Postcard view of Hartney School (circa 1909)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2013-0085
Hartney School (circa 1911)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspector Photos GR2664, C65.
Hartney School (no date) by George Hunter
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 20.Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.48043, W100.52078
denoted by symbol on the map above
Land Grants of Western Canada [Isaac Webb, NW14-6-23W], Library and Archives Canada.
“The Wheat City [Mr. T. Andrew Morrison ...],” Winnipeg Daily Tribune, 27 March 1893, page 5.
“Hartney: School re-opened - the cemetery site a live question,” Manitoba Morning Free Press, 31 August 1894, page 2.
“Towns of the West [Hartney School Board ...],” Brandon Western Sun, 9 December 1897, page 4.
“Hartney, Man,” Western Canada Fire Underwriters’ Association map, June 1911, Archives of Manitoba.
“82,000 Hartney School opens,” Brandon Daily Sun, 9 February 1955, page 3.
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 Century of Living: Hartney, 1882-1982 by Hartney and District Historical Committee, 1982. [Manitoba Legislative Library, F5649.H37 Cen]
Summative half-yearly returns for school districts (A 0051), GR0571, Archives of Manitoba.
School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.
Obituary [Anna Walker], Winnipeg Free Press, 28 August 2001.
We thank Wilma MacMillan for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 2 January 2026
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