This is a list of One Room Schools that used to exist in a 40 mile radius of Unity in west central Saskatchewan. A retired farmer and local historian Mr. Frank Oatway has spent the last two years searching for information as to their names, locations and other archival information in order to preserve this part of Saskatchewan history.

            When Mr. Oatway started his search he contacted the Provincial Archives and the 16 rural municipalities included in the area. These provided him with what information they had, including old maps that listed the rural schools, but a good deal of the information he obtained was from going out and talking to the people that lived in the area.

             In total Mr. Oatway has compiled the names and locations of over 240 one room schools in this area, of these 146 are marked. Some markers are very simple cement or stone cairns with plaques (like the ones at  Phippen and Nottawa School sites) while others like the one bottom plow at Ovenstown School and the steamer tractor rim at Cottesloe School site are more elaborate.            

                        Usually the schools were located 4 -5 miles apart, but in some cases children who lived close to one school had to travel 3 or 4 miles to another school because where their parents paid school taxes determined which school they attended.  In some areas Mr. Oatway found that there were two locations for the same school and in questioning this he was told that sometimes the schools were moved if there weren’t enough students in one area or if two school districts amalgamated resulting in two schools becoming too close together.

            Some of these school buildings like the Adanac school have been preserved (it was moved to the Unity Heritage Museum).  While a few have been converted to other uses the majority have been torn down. They are now lost forever and along with them a piece of Saskatchewan history. 

Sincerely,
Marlene Lefebvre , submitter.
Frank Oatway, researcher.