Bateman was a small hamlet

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

 in the southwest region of Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 situated 26 kilometers north of the Red Coat Trail

Red Coat Trail

The Red Coat Trail is a route that approximates the path taken in 1874 by the North-West Mounted Police in their quest to bring law and order to the Canadian West.-Travel route:...

, and was named after Jim Bateman the first settler to come to the area with his family in 1908.

Bateman was once a prosperous town, which had a peak population of more than 300 citizens in the late 1920s. In 2000, the last resident left, and many of the remaining buildings were torn down by the government of Saskatchewan.

History

Upon arrival in 1908, Jim Bateman took possession of a quarter section

Quarter section

A quarter section, often shortened to quarter, is an area of one-fourth of a square mile, or . It was a common size of a tract in homesteading in the United States and Canada.For details on its use, see*Dominion Land Survey in Canada...

 of land on the banks of Notukeu Creek. Then in 1911, Bateman would open a post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

. His daughter Lydia was sworn in as the post mistress and drove up to St. Bostwells, 10 kilometers northwest of Bateman with her father to pick up the towns first mail bag.

During its pioneer and times of great prosperity, Bateman would have over 300 residents during the late 1920s. Bateman was also a focal point for small family grain farmers in the region. The town once boasted four grain elevators, a bank, a theatre, restaurants, two gas stations, two churches, three grocery stores, skating and curling rink, and two implement businesses. The town even had its own power plant and street light system.

Education

Bateman once had a school that covered grades k-12, but due to Consolidation of schools. In 1966 Bateman lost its grade 12 classes, and a few years after that the school would again lose grades 10 and 11, to the neighbouring town of Gravelbourg

Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan

-Education:The town has for the past four decades been noteworthy for College Mathieu, a francophone boarding school for boys and girls who wish to acquire or retain fluency in French...

, leaving only grade nine for the high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 level, eventually being moved there as well, leaving just the elementary classes. In 1996 Bateman's school finally closed for good.

Today the once impressive brick school has been demolished due to the poor condition the building was in. All that remains of the former school is the foundation and a commemorative sign.

Notable people

• Gordon James McNeill, who died on July 14, 1999, was a Member of this Legislative Assembly
  Legislative Assembly
  Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....
  
   from 1975 until 1978, representing the constituency of Meadow Lake for the New Democratic Party
  New Democratic Party
  The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
  
  . Mr. McNeill was born in Bateman on August 17, 1922. He was raised in Shamrock
  Shamrock, Saskatchewan
  Shamrock is a community in Saskatchewan.-References:...
  
   and later married Henrietta Elizabeth (Nickie) Smith.

Footnotes