In 1872, the first European settlers to this region of Manitoba arrived at a site where a Red River Cart trail crossed the Whitemud River, establishing a community that they named Second Crossing, in what became known as the Municipality of WestLake-Gladstone. Two years later, it was renamed Woodside due to the abundance of wood nearby. At one time, Woodside had daily train service, a railway station and loading platform, stock yards, section house, two stores, school, and post office. The Woodside School District was established here in December 1872.
Among the teachers of Woodside School were Donald Allan MacLean (1884), F. B. Anderson (Spring-Fall 1885), did not operate (Spring 1886 - Fall 1892), Ccharles Kenning Newcombe (Spring-Fall 1893), did not operate (Spring 1894 - Spring 1898), Miss L. J. Lough (Fall 1898), Thomas Alexander “Alex” Crerar (Spring 1899), Miss Leech (1899?), Miss Ada F. Hamilton (Fall 1899 - Spring 1900), Thomas Ross (Fall 1900), Jean P. Armstrong (Spring-Fall 1901), records not available (Spring 1902 - Fall 1904), Janet Harkiw (pt Spring 1905), Florence Langton (pt Spring 1905 - Fall 1905), Miss M. Stephens (Spring 1906), May McPherson (Fall 1906), Catherine Annie Dohaney (Spring 1907), Bertha E. Reid (Fall 1907), John H. Bell (Spring-Fall 1908), Marion Young (pt Spring 1909), Jennie Sutherland (pt Spring 1909 - Fall 1909), Flora Muller? [Miller?] (pt Spring 1910), Asta Austmann (pt Spring 1910 - pt Spring 1911), Evelyn J. Simpson (pt Spring 1911), Mrs. Addie Taylor (Fall 1911), Lena Powell (Spring-Fall 1912), Miss E. M. Wocks (Spring 1913), no grant / did not operate? (Fall 1913), Miss M. Johnston (1913?), Miss Eleanor “Georgie” George (pt Spring 1914), Margaret Mustard Doan (pt Spring 1914), Miss Elsie R. Montgomery (Fall 1914), Miss Ethel E. McFadyen (Spring 1915), Miss Kathleen McInnis (Fall 1915 - Spring 1916), Miss Mary Hyndman (Fall 1916), Miss Vivian Atkinson (Spring-Fall 1917), Lily A. McKenzie Keyes (Spring 1918), Miss D. Butler (Fall 1918), Miss Brown (1918?), Ethel Williams Riches (pt Fall 1918), ? Armstrong (1919), L. J. McMillan (1920-1922), ? McCaffery (1922), Margaret Polson Bjarnarson (1922-1924), Vi Daigle Staples (1924-1927), Miss Fersanko (?), Miss W. E. Gentry (1928), Muriel A. Paynter (1929-1930), Muriel Smith McCombe (1930-1932), Evelyn D. Cox (1932-1936), Bertha Elliot Wood (1936-1940), Carrie Stratton McBride (1940-1941), Isobel Wilson McKillop (1941-1944), Lillian Ferguson Greer (1944-1945), Dorothy Boyd Blair (1945-1947, 1948-1950, 1955-1957), Dallas Taylor (1947-1948), Nellie Keast (1947-1948, 1950-1952), Anne Herman (1952-1953), Emily Paswisty (1953-1954), Clifford Glenn (1954-1955), Sarah E. Purkess (1957-1960), Jean McClelland Forsman (1960-1961), Leila Duffin (1961-1962, 1963-1964), Mary Beaudin (1962-1963), and Betty Oliver (1964-1968).
The district was dissolved in 1967 when its catchment area became part of the Gladstone Consolidated School District. The school closed in 1968 and the building is no longer present at the site. By 1992, when a monument was erected at this site, only the Woodside post office remained and it closed the following year.
Woodside School (no date) by C. K. Rogers
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 7.
Second Crossing / Woodside commemorative monument (August 2011)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N50.18067, W98.76767
denoted by symbol on the map above
Board of Education registers (A 0050), GR7643, Archives of Manitoba.
Summative half-yearly returns for school districts (A 0051), GR0571, Archives of Manitoba.
School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.
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.
Golden Memories: Steel Bridge, Woodside, Golden Stream, Palestine by History Book Committee, 1980, pages 357-366.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 5 July 2026
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 | OtherInclusion 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.Help us keep history alive!
