Description of Historic Place

Scentgrass School is a Municipal Heritage Property located on a .8-hectare parcel of land in the Rural Municipality of Meota. The property features an extensively renovated one-room schoolhouse constructed in 1918, surrounded by a shelterbelt of trees.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of Scentgrass School resides in its status as one of the few remaining country schools in the Rural Municipality of Meota. In 1913, the Scentgrass Lake School District No. 3133 was established, but the outbreak of the First World War delayed construction of a schoolhouse until 1918. When opened in 1919, the building featured the typical one-room, wood-frame, hip-roof design, similar to the standard school plans circulated by the Department of Education in 1901. Over its lifetime, the school was used for various social functions, including Christmas concerts, box socials, variety nights, dances, picnics, and sports days, as well as church services. In the 1960s, rural school districts were amalgamated and many schools closed, including Scentgrass School in 1967. Students were then bussed to North Battleford. Though the building has been significantly modified and moved a few metres from its original foundation, its significance to the community remains, and it continues to be used for community events such as picnics, anniversaries, and reunions.

Located on its original parcel of land, it is surrounded by open grounds and a shelterbelt of trees.

Source:
Rural Municipality of Meota Bylaw No. 7/90.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of Scentgrass School resides in the following character-defining elements:
-features that express the building's long-standing connection to the community and its role as a gathering place, including the building's location on the original parcel of land, the open grounds, the building's simplicity of form, and its interior meeting space.