The Eldon School District was organized formally in December 1895 and a one-room log schoolhouse was erected at NW28-25-22W in what is now the Municipality of Gilbert Plains. In 1905, it was replaced by a brick-veneer structure. The school closed in 1961 and the district was dissolved the following year. The remaining students went to Brickburn Consolidated School. The building still stood as of 2012 although its exterior brickwork was extensively damaged. A small brick model was erected by former students in July 1992 using bricks from the school building.
Among the teachers of Eldon School was Lloyd S. Smith (1938-1941, 1945-?).
Eldon School (no date) by H. L. Albright
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-2, page 14.
The former Eldon School building and commemorative monument (May 2012)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
The former Eldon School building (May 2012)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
The former Eldon School building showing damage to brick veneer (May 2012)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Interior of the former Eldon School building (May 2012)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Interior of the former Eldon School building (May 2012)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
The former Eldon School building and commemorative monument (March 2014)
Source: Alan Mason
The former Eldon School building and commemorative monument (August 2021)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N51.19852, W100.49742
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
MHS Resources: Manitoba Bricks and Blocks
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.
A Study of Public School Buildings in Manitoba by David Butterfield, Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism, 1994, 230 pages.
Country Schools of Gilbert Plains by Barry Randell, 2006.
Obituary [Lloyd S. Smith], Grandview Exponent, 22 August 2006, page 23.
We thank Ed Arndt, Alan Mason, and George Penner for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 5 September 2021
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