The Buffalo Lake School District was formed officially in April 1917 and a one-room schoolhouse operated at the northwestern corner of NE34-20-2W in the Rural Municipality of Armstrong. It closed in the early 1930s due to insufficient students, during which time students in the area attended Spruce View School as part of the Armstrong Municipal School District No. 1842. The school later reopened and, in the early 1950s, the building was moved to SE7-21-2W. A few years later, the building was destroyed by fire. Records for the school are held at the Chatfield Park of Souvenirs Museum.
Among the teachers who worked at Buffalo Lake School through the years Herbert Milton Bell (Fall 1926), Joseph K. Lamb (Spring 1926), Eliza Dixon (Spring 1929 - Fall 1931), William Murray Bur [Beer?] (Spring 1932), Mary Swirski (1932-1933), Walter Korny (Fall 1933), Percy N. Hunt (Spring 1934 - Spring 1935), Olavia Palsson (1936-1937), Elizabeth Bainbridge Morland (1937-1938), Kristjana Stefansson (May 1939 - June 1942), Bernice Ovens (September 1942 - February 1943), Lura? Margaret Ritchie (April-June 1943), Louise Peters (August-September 1943), Elizabeth Shirley Sheffield (October 1943 - June 1944), and Josephine Melnychuk (1944-1945).
Site Coordinates (lat/long): N50.77148, W97.65966
denoted by symbol on the map above
School District Formation Files [Armstrong Municipal School District No. 1842], GR1688, E0027, 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.
Wilderness to Wildlife: Chatfield and District History by Chatfield Oldtimers Club, c1981. [Manitoba Legislative Library, F5648.C45 Wil]
Manitoba School Records Collection, Buffalo Lake School District No. 1881 - Daily Registers, GR11220 , Archives of Manitoba.
Departmentally appointed school trustee files (E 0034), Buffalo Lake School District No. 1881 - Daily Registers, GR1629, Archives of Manitoba.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 17 December 2022
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!
