The School Districts Tisdale School Division a compiled history

The “Old” Arborfield and Treasure School District #2785

WHICH SCHOOL? ARBORFIELD OR TREASURE?

Arborfield School #2785, one of the first in that area, was located at SE-20-47-12-W2 just South of the first Aborfield town site which was two miles west and two miles south of present day Arborfield. This town and school site are now-a-days referred to as "Old Arborfield". The school, with Adeline Dufour as the first teacher, was opened in 1911 and served the French/English student population at that location until 1930.

The CNR built grade and laid track from Crooked River to the newly surveyed site of present day Arborfield. In 1929 the town was relocated and in 1931 a new two-roomed school named Treasure School # 4864 was opened. Meanwhile, Zenon Park had also been surveyed and had built a new school

The influx of settlers and reorganization of school district boundaries meant that Arborfield School needed to be moved. Therefore, in 1930 a new Arborfield School was built in a location more central to the district at NE- I 0-47-12-W2, a mile and a half south and a mile and a mile and a half east of the original site.

But what confusion! The new town of Arborfield had a school called Treasure which served the town and the adjacent farms, while but four miles south and half mile west stood the new Arborfield School. Negotiations lead to a solution. School district names were exchanged. Hence, the district centred in the town of Arborfield became Arborfield School #4864, and the district to the south became Treasure School District #2785. With the march of progress, “Old Arborfield” has been all but forgotten. No sign or marker indicates that either the school or the town ever existed.

Submitted by Helen Clarke