Historic Sites of Manitoba: Poplar Hill School No. 479 (Municipality of Riverdale)

The Poplar Hill School District was established in 1886 in what is now the Municipality of Riverdale, as the Protestant School District of Poplar Hill. It was considered a Union School because it encompassed parts of the municipalities of Daly, Whitehead, Elton, and Cornwallis. Poplar Hill began holding classes in 1887 with 31 students ranging in age from 5 to 17 years. In 1895, land on SE1-11-20W was purchased for $10 from Duncan M. McKellar. A frame one-room school house was built on the southeast corner of the lot. A small horse barn was added to stable the horses that students rose to school. In the mid 1900s, the school was moved to the northeast corner and modern plumbing was added. The school closed in June 1967 with 24 students in grades 1 through 8. The building continued to be used as a community centre until June 1991 when it was moved to the Chapman Museum. A commemorative monument at the original site was unveiled on 24 June 1995.

Among the teachers of Poplar Hills School was Lily A. Harrison.

Poplar Hill School (no date) by A. J. Hatcher Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 68. Former Poplar Hill School building (circa 1986) Source: Historic Resources Branch, Public School Buildings Inventory, slide 278.   Poplar Hill School commemorative monument (June 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Poplar Hill School at Chapman Museum (September 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.88747, W100.07271 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Chapman Museum (Municipality of Riverdale)

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.

Manitoba Heritage Council Commemorative Plaques and Manitoba Community Commemorative Plaques, Fiscal Year 1995-1996, Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Citizenship, page 29.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 24 January 2021

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