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Marconi School

NW 23-20-23 WPM, Rossburn, Manitoba, R0J, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1990/04/11

View to the main elevation of the Marconi School, south of Riding Mountain National Park, 2005; Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage & Tourism 2005
Main Elevation
View from the southeast of the Marconi School, south of Riding Mountain National Park, 2005; Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage & Tourism 2005
Southeast View
View of the classroom interior of the Marconi School, south of Riding Mountain National Park, 2005; Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage & Tourism 2005
Classroom Interior

Other Name(s)

n/a

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1922/01/01 to 1922/12/31

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2005/10/06

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

The cottage-style Marconi School and attached teacherage occupy a quiet rural setting on an isolated road in the Oakburn area of Manitoba, south of Riding Mountain National Park. Built in 1922, the structure is set within an open grassed yard surrounded by bush, small lakes and wetlands. The municipal designation applies to the schoolhouse, its related structures and their large lot.

Heritage Value

Marconi School, a one-room schoolhouse with an attached teacherage, is a fine example of the multigrade facilities that served many small communities in Manitoba during the first half of the twentieth century. Based on one of the most popular standardized provincial school designs available between 1912 and the mid-1920s, the building incorporates architectural features such as an informal hipped roof, obligatory bank of windows on one side and a tin ceiling. The restored school also is a rare example in Manitoba of an intact early school site, complete with grounds, flagpole and outhouses. Built by carpenter Frank Kennedy, the structure served the community for nearly three decades and is one of the few remaining heritage schools on its original site in the Rossburn municipality.

Source: Rural Municipality of Rossburn By-law No. 1217, February 13, 1990

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Marconi School site include:
- its placement in an isolated setting, accessible from a one-kilometre trail off Road 577, north of Oakburn
- the large grassed lot with the school aligned north to south

Key exterior elements that define the building's standardized design and original function include:
- its simple one-storey rectangular form, of wood-frame construction, with a medium-sloped hip roof and compact gable-roofed extensions at the front and rear (teacherage entrance/kitchen)
- the bank of six tall single-hung sash windows with 12- and nine-pane storms on the west side
- the additional fenestration, including two small upper hopper windows on the east elevation, single-hung sash openings on the front, an upper window in the entrance porch and single-hung sash openings on the west and east walls of the teacherage
- the basic materials and finishes, including exposed rafter ends under the eaves, cedar shingles, painted tongue-and-groove board siding, plain wood trim, and the prominent brick chimney extending through the centre of the roof's front slope

Key internal elements that define the heritage character and features of the building include:
- the intact well-lit open classroom with a high tin ceiling, board-and-batten walls, oiled hardwood floors, south-end openings to a small library and cloakroom, and blackboards
- the cloakroom's dark-stained walls, with lower vertical board-and-batten and upper tongue-and-groove horizontal boards, and oiled wood floors
- the compact teacherage spaces with a living room, bedroom and kitchen, all with a combination of panel board and board-and-batten finishes, dark-stained board ceilings and oiled wood floors, also built-in bookcases and closets at the entrances to the living room and bedroom

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Manitoba

Recognition Authority

Local Governments (MB)

Recognition Statute

Manitoba Historic Resources Act

Recognition Type

Municipal Heritage Site

Recognition Date

1990/04/11

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Building Social and Community Life
Education and Social Well-Being

Function - Category and Type

Current

Leisure
Museum

Historic

Education
One-Room School

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

Frank Kennedy

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

PO Box 100 Rossburn MB R0J 1V0

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

M0043

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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