Historic Sites of Manitoba: North High Bluff School No. 23 (RM of Portage la Prairie)

The original school was built on Max Wilton’s yard site (29-12-5W) in 1872, in what would later become the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie. North High Bluff School (sometimes referred to as Wilton School) was built and established on 33-12-5W in 1903 and stood until 1943 when it was destroyed by fire. School was held at Wilton’s house between 1943 and 1946. In the latter year the school was rebuilt and closed in 1961 when it was consolidated with High Bluff Consolidated School No. 2418. The school burned in 1975. A monument was dedicated at the site in August 2001.

Some of the teachers who worked at North High Bluff School through the years were Jean Wilton Law (1907), Lucy Metcalfe Davidson, Eunice Cruikshank, Miss Graham, Lena Barron McKay, Miss Jackson, Myrtle Moffat Millar, Myrtle Barron Metcalfe, Emma McIntosh, Lillian Tyson, Melba Ross Scrase, Jose Griffin, Marguerite Wilton Pruder, Helen Miller Judd, Betty Morgan Kennedy, Martha Hanson Warburton, Geraldine Thompson, Irene Pelk Murdoch, Ella Earls Cook, Louise Cook, Sarah Donnelly Smith, Mrs. Low, Mrs. Alice Laird, Betty Cook Stevens, Mrs. Laura Wilton, Marjorie Greenlay Young, Dorothy Millar, Ann Wiwchar, Irine Mcphee, Verna Allan, Miss Enns, Miss Zacharias, Margaret Allan Woodward, and Mrs. Ethel Tidsbury.

North High Bluff School commemorative monument

North High Bluff School commemorative monument (March 2010)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

Site Coordinates (lat/long): N50.04914, W98.10151
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.

Rural Schools of Portage la Prairie School Division #24 by Muriel Wright, 1996.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 10 February 2021

Historic Sites of Manitoba

This is a collection of historic sites in Manitoba compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. The information is offered for historical interest only.

Browse lists of:
Museums/Archives | Buildings | Monuments | Cemeteries | Locations | Other

Inclusion in this collection does not confer special status or protection. Official heritage designation may only come from municipal, provincial, or federal governments. Some sites are on private property and permission to visit must be secured from the owner.

Site information is provided by the Manitoba Historical Society as a free public service only for non-commercial purposes.


Send corrections and additions to this page
to the MHS Webmaster at webmaster@mhs.mb.ca.

Search Tips | Suggest an Historic Site | FAQ

Help us keep history alive!