Manitoba Municipal Heritage Site No. 51

Midwinter School
SW 4-8-14 EPM
East Braintree

Midwinter School is representative of the rural educational experience in Manitoba in the early twentieth century, and of the significant advancements made in public school design throughout the province at that time. Beginning in 1903 provincial authorities provided standardized plans to guide the development of practical, well-lit, affordable buildings that responded to evolving educational theories and concerns. Midwinter School is a good example of a one-room scheme commonly used after the mid-1910s, featuring a broad canopied porch, a bank of windows on one side of the classroom to optimize natural lighting, and transom windows for cross-circulation of fresh air. Built on property donated by Charles Midwinter, this facility also became a social hub in its southeastern Manitoba village, hosting dances, Christmas concerts, calf club meetings, etc. The school closed in 1968 but, now restored, continues to serve the community in a social role.