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Berlo Bismark School No. 1482 (RM of Gimli)
In 1903, the first residents of this area in the Rural Municipality of Gimli arrived from German-speaking villages in Austria. The first school, named Goethe was built in 1909, in the southwest corner of 27-20-3 The school was renamed Bismark.
http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/sites/berlobismarkschool.shtml
http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/sites/berlofarm.shtml
The Berlo Farm Settlement featured several original sheds and barns, as well as the “stackwall” Schnerch House (1942) .
Sts. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church.
BERLO
A Gimli Heritage Community
THE LITTLE COMMUNITY BERLO, for many now just a spot on a map, has an
important story to tell. It was here, in the early 1900s, that a small group of German
immigrants to Canada set out to make a new life for themselves. And in their distinctive
strip-farm villages and interesting farm and church buildings, they also created a fascinating
part of the R.M. of Gimli’s ethnic composition, but also an important part of its heritage.
Beginning in 1903 and until at least the 1930s, the community of Berlo thrived as a distinct
enclave in a multicultural region that also included Ukrainians, Poles and of course the
dominant group, Icelanders
The strip-farm village at Berlo is reminiscent of the better known farm villages developed by Mennonites south of
Winnipeg, who were also from the same general area of Central Europe as the Berlo Germans. The imprint of the original Berlo
village site is a quarter mile wide, with linear farms on Sections 22, 27 and 28-23E, and is clearly visible on Google Earth.
The land ownership pattern has not changed significantly since its origins.
Besides the imprint of the village itself, there are several original buildings that recall the history of this place. Some log
houses, a log barn, a stackwall shed and log summer kitchen from the pioneer period remain fairly intact. The Berlo
Cemetery of 1907 also remains, located at the heart of the settlement. A monument marks the location of the former church
within the cemetery. A plaque marks the location of the second Bismark/later Berlo School. The school building has been
moved to NW22-20-3E, renovated, and is now the home of Rose Reichert and her son Ron and his wife Debra.
MORE AT:
https://heritagemanitoba.ca/images/pdfs/featuredProjects/Berlo_A_Gimli_Heritage_Community_Heritage_MB_complete.pdf
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