Our Heritage  Special Places Project

Site Inventory / Page 9 / Rural Sites




For Historic Resources branch purposes, Municipalities are divided into regions, each with its own
identification code for cataloguing sites. Sites in this inventory are grouped using those regions and codes.

Rural areas without villages are presented in this section: Bernice, Crescent, Dalny, Eunola, Kinloss, & Melita.
(The Town of Melita is the subject of its own Special Places Project).



Bernice Area:  Code 699


 
 
 



 
Bede School
SE 19-5-26
699.E.1
1913
GPS: N49.39975, W100.96578

Closed 1966.

Built by R.N. Wyatt of Melita. Closed in 1966. Recently used as a Gift Shop.
 


 

Bernice School
SE 23-5-26
699.E.2
1914
GPS: N49.39976, W100.87775



Near the school building is a cairn, erected in July 1988, commemorating the teachers, students and families of Bernice School No. 547, which was established as Gould School at SW22-5-26W in the Rural Municipality of Albert, and operated between 1888 and 1914. It became Bernice (Berneice) School in 1914, situated at SE23-5-26, continuing until 1965. A nearby station of the Canadian Pacific Railway, also named Bernice, existed at NE14-5-26 from 1906 to 1952.
 


 

Belses School

SE 22 -6-26
699.E.3
1927
GPS: N49.48822, W100.91583
 


The Belses School District was established formally in March 1887, with a one-room frame schoolhouse constructed on the southwest corner of 22-6-26. The original building was replaced by the present one sometime before 1927. The district was dissolved in 1968 and the remaining students went to Pipestone Consolidated School No. 737. A commemorative plaque was unveiled near the former school building in 1987. The building itself was renovated into a private residence but, as of late 2011, stands vacant.
 


 

Bede Cemetery
SE 19-5-26
699.F.1
Created ca. 1900 – before the railway arrived.. Enlarged 1913

GPS:  N49.39968, W100.96420




 
 
Bernice Townsite Marker
Bernice
NE 14-5-26
GPS: 49* 23’ 59.24” N
100* 52’ 14.18” W

Alternate spelling – Berneice
Townsite est. 1906 on the CPR Branch from Lauder to Tilston



   

Gould Family Cairn
Bernice Area
NW 14-5-26
GPS: N49.39924, W100.8951

1882 Homestead of John & Matilda Gould 

Bernice School No. 547, which was established as Gould School at SW22-5-26W in the Rural Municipality of Albert,
and operated between 1888 and 1914
 




Carr Farm
Bede
699.G.1
House 1909 / Barn 1907
GPS:  N49.398330  W100.968014

Original Ownership

Peter Wetteraurer
Jane Carr

House built of Melita Brick
Large barn.



 
 
Bede Farm 
Bede
699.G.2
GPS:


   

 
Belses Area Farm
N 20-6-26
699. G.3
ca. 1910
GPS:  N49.487018  W100 944430
 
 

 
Crescent Area:  Code 581


 
 


 

Diana Icelandic Cemetery

SE 20-6-29 W
581.F.1
1898
GPS : 
49* 29’ 30.56” N
101* 20’ 54.72” W


 
 

 
 Photo from “Reflections of Time”

The region was settled by Icelandic settlers, beginning in 1892. Some came from the R.M. of Argyle.

A fenced cemetery in the Municipality of Two Borders, in a farm field about one-third of a mile from the nearest road, contains the graves of Johann Gottfred (1898), Thelma Regina Tait (1901), Baby Kristjanson (1916), Einar Johannesson (1916), Gestur Davidson (1919), Thorsteinn Einarsson (1921), and Margret Oddson (1921). A monument in the cemetery lists their names.
 

 


Dalny Area:  Code 850



 


  

http://yourrailwaypictures.com/GrainElevators/manitoba.html

Dalny Pool Elevator
Dalny / 4-2-26
850.D.1
1918
GPS: 

49* 05’ 57.98” N
100* 54’ 10.11” W



 

Photo from “Our First Century”




 
 
Verona School

NE 15-2-26 W
850.E.1
1918
GPS: N49.13201, W100.88705

Municipal Designation: M0201

Verona School, completed in 1918, is a small wood-frame building on a schoolyard property surrounded by crop and hay land in the Coulter area. Closed 1958

 

The original Verona School (circa 1911)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspector Photos GR2664, C65.

 





Cheyne House
SE 22-2-26
850.G.1
1900
GPS: 
  
Homestead of John Spence / step grandfather of John Cheyne
Century Farm




 
Eunola Area:  Code 242

 


 




Eunola School
SE 11-4-29 W
242.E.1
1937
GPS: N49.28170, W101.27986
Municipal Designation: M0074
 
 




Wicks School
SW 21-3-29
242. E.2
1907
GPS: 49* 7.109’N  101* 17.690’W

The Wicks School District was established formally in September 1907 and it operated a one-room schoolhouse at SW21-3-29W in the Rural Municipality of Edward. The school closed in June 1953 and the remaining students were bused to Pierson School. The district was dissolved in 1956. As of 2012, the building is used as a garage on the privately-owned site.

 

**Photos and info from Historic Sites of Manitoba

http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/sites/wicksschool.shtml  
 




Smith / Berns Farm
SE 31-4-29
242. G.1
1911
GPS: N49. 345179 W 101.375451

Ownership:

Xavier & Guido Berns
Guido Berns
Lawrence Smith

Building Features of Interest:

In 1910 Henry Berns came to Canada and purchased section 3I-4-29 … from R. E. Denny of Melita. In February, l9ll, Xavier and his brother Guido (second son) came to Canada and settled on the southeast quarter of 3l-4-29. They built all the buildings which included a two-storey house, two hip-roofed barns, and a large granary.

Hardwood floors  & Nice dormers


 


 


Berns Granary
SE 31-4-29
242. G.2
1911
GPS: N49. 345179 W 101.375451


The granary was designed to accommodate seed cleaning with the grain flowing from the top level into the cleaner and then into one of the four ground floor compartments.

  

 
Kinloss Area:  Code 252


 


 

Huston School
SE 2 -6-27
252. E.1
1894
GPS: N49.45764, W101.02018
 


Huston School District was registered in 1894. It was named for Fred Huston who gave the land for the site and helped to organize the district. It operated on the southeast corner of 2-6-27. The district was dissolved in 1961 and, henceforth, students from this area went to Broomhill Consolidated School No. 2363, Paramount School No. 1289, Kinloss School No. 934, or Belses School No. 501. The former school building was later used for storage.
   


Melita Area:  Code #336

 



 
 
Former Coulter Church
SW5 -4-27
336. B.5
NE17-4-26
1907
GPS: 49* 18.023’N  100* 77.408’W

Methodist Congregation

Closed in 1999
Moved to this site.



The Coulter United Church began originally as a Methodist Church, and
was organized and built as part of the field consisting of Coulter, North Antler and Chesterfield.

  


 

Belfry School
SW5 -4-27
336. E.2
1891
GPS: 49* 7.109’N  101* 17.690’W

Land for the school was provided by local farmer Warren Belfry, from whom the school name was derived.

Belfry School was established in January 1891, with a frame building erected in the southwest quarter of 12-4-28 west of the Principal Meridian, in the Rural Municipality of Arthur.

Five years later, the building was moved to its present location at SW5-4-27W. With declining enrollment, the school closed in 1963 and the remaining students were bussed to Edward Municipal School No. 2353.



 

West Brenda School
NW 20-4-26
336. E.3
1885
GPS: N49.34076, W100.89100

** Photos & Info from Historic Sites of Manitoba
http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/sites/westbrendaschool.shtml

The West Brenda School District was established formally in April 1885 and it operated a school on the northeast corner of 20-4-26W. The district was dissolved in 1960 and, henceforth, students from this area went to Melita Consolidated School No. 440. The former school building still stood at the time of a 2012 site visit.

 
 


 


Dobbyn Barn

NE 33-4-26
336. G.2
ca. 1900
GPS: 49* 15.953N  100* 55.477W

Frame / Metal Siding

 



 
Dobbyn Farm House

NE 33-4-26
336. G.2
ca. 1900
GPS: 49* 15.953N  100* 55.477W

Large brick house in good condition.

The Dobbyn family were Melita pioneers.

 


 

Ashcroft Farm Site
E 32-4-26
336. G.3
ca. 1900
GPS: 49* 18.023N  100* 55.408W

Original Ownership:

John Ashcroft bought the property in about 1949 and lived here for 20 years.

Typical abandoned farm site except for the large stone with the name Ashcroft Farm.

 


 

Melita Highway 3 Bridge
S 6-4-26
ca. 2000
GPS: 49* 

Highway 3
 


 

Napinka Souris River Bridge
NW 23-4-26
ca. 2000
GPS: 49* 

Over the Souris River.