Historic Sites of Manitoba: Minnedosa South School No. 232 (1884-1971)

The first school classes in Minnedosa were held in a log structure on Minnedosa Avenue opposite the present-day Court House. Between 1882 and 1883, it was replaced with a two-storey brick building designed by Winnipeg architect William T. Dalton and erected on the side of a hill on the southwest side of town. By 1897, the structure was condemned as unsafe and students were moved to makeshift classrooms in the town hall until a two-storey, four-room building, designed by Winnipeg architect George Browne, could be built the following year on Main Street South. It opened in October 1898. This school served the community’s needs alone until 1909 when overcrowding necessitated the construction of a second school, deemed the “North School”.

South School No. 1 was destroyed by fire on 19 February 1923 and was replaced in early 1924 by a one-storey, six-classroom structure. It closed in 1971 and was demolished. A commemorative plaque at the former school site was erected in July 1993.

Some of the teachers who taught at the South School included: Miss Murchison, Miss Leslie, James Campbell, Miss Montgomery, George A. Grierson, Mr. A. J. Baker, and James A. Crossley.

Noteworthy graduates of the South School include William J. Rose, Dr. Grace Stewart, Ralph Pearson, Jim Wright, and Woodrow St. John.

Principals of Minnedosa School

Period	Principal
1890-1891	R. Moir
1891-1900	George Allison Grierson (1867-1931)
1900-1902	Jonathan Hughes Arnett (1879-1953)
1902-1903	A. E. Bence
1903-1904	F. W. Turnbull
1904-1905	David Bruce Huggins (1879-1955)
1905-1906	David Williamson Yuill (1878-1970)
1906-1910	Herbert H. “Harry” McIntosh (1880-?)
1910-1912	?
1912-1942	James A. Crossley (?-?)

Minnedosa South School No. 2 (no date) by W. C. Hartley Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 81. Minnedosa South School plaque (August 2012) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Location (lat/long): N50.24546, W99.83882 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Minnedosa North School No. 232 (1909-1971)

Sources:

Annual Reports of the Manitoba Department of Education, Manitoba Legislative Library.

A History of Minnedosa, 1878-1948 compiled by the Minnedosa Women’s Institute, 1948.

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.

We thank Dorothy Brooking for providing additional information used here.

Information for this page was collected and prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 13 January 2013

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