Built in 1907, Southward School served as Selkirk’s high school before being replaced by a new building in 1950. Following a community naming contest, the school became known as Daerwood School.
Southward School was built in 1907, located on the west side of Main Street. The school was built after the school district voted to upgrade Central School and to build another school building for $11,000. Two years later, Southward School was chosen to be exclusively used for high school students.
Hugh Gibbs, author of “A Magical Place”, recalled that the school would close at lunchtime, and students had to walk home to eat. He also remembered that the building had five chimneys, with each classroom heated by a potbelly stove that heated the entire school.
“All I know is that I quickly learned that a desk in the exact middle of the classroom was ideal. If it were at the back of the room close to the stove it was excessively hot. A front row seat was a little on the cool side.”
Gibbs remembers that the long grasses around Southward School would often catch fire, especially in the spring, which kept the firemen very busy. He recalled visiting one of these grass fires near the school in 1946, when his uncle was one of the firemen working to put it out.
Southward School Gets a New Addition and a New Name
In May of 1949, construction of a new school began behind the old Southward School. Winnipeg-based architect Edgar Prain designed the plans, and the construction contract was awarded to Leitch Construction Company for $150,000. The new Southward was a one-story stone building with eight classrooms, an auditorium, and a home economics classroom.
On June 30th, 1949, a contest was held to choose a new name for the school. More than 300 contestants participated. Suggestion number 15 was selected, the name “Daerwood,” submitted by Barry Gordon, the son of Selkirk Mayor William E. Gordon. The name comes from Lord Selkirk’s elder brother, Basil William Douglas, who had been given the title of Lord Daer. When Lord Daer died, the title passed to his younger brother, Thomas Douglas, who became the 5th Earl of Selkirk.
In January 1950, the new building opened for students. A few years later, the old Southward School building was demolished. In 1976, Daerwood School had a new expansion added onto the west side of the building.
List of Principals for Southward/ Daerwood School
| 1907-1920 | |
| 1920-1922 | Beulah Lyall Dickinson Morrison |
| 1922-1927 | |
| 1927-1928 | F.M. Pringle |
| 1928-1929 | |
| 1929-1935 | George Egerton Snider |
| 1935-1936 | |
| 1936-1937 | John Macgregor Wilkie |
| 1937-1942 | Frederick Andrew Richard Justus |
| 1942-1943 | |
| 1943-1968 | Mary McLaren Gardiner |
| 1968-2014 | |
| 2014-???? | Darcelle Saunders |
Southward School / Daerwood School Collection
Click on images to enlarge
Grass Fire Near South Ward School, 1946, Hugh Gibbs
Sources
“About Our School.” Daerwood School, Lord Selkirk School Division
“Historic Sites of Manitoba: South Ward School / Daerwood School (211 Main Street, Selkirk).” Manitoba Historical Society
“Manitoba Business: Peter Leitch Construction Company.” Manitoba Historical Society
“Memorable Manitobans: Edgar Prain (1881-1958).” Manitoba Historical Society
Selkirk Enterprise, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1976
