Barons School

On longer road trips we’ll often take a mid-day break and have a picnic in some small town (and we’ll purchase eats local if we can). We’ll search out a park or green space, plop ourselves down for a half hour and just relax. A great recharge from the road, this sort of time out is something we heartily recommend. Our subject, historic Barons School in little Barons Alberta, has been the backdrop for one of these stops more that a few times. It’s like an old friend.

And while we don’t always break out the camera, the conditions demanded it this day. Those dramatic clouds! Fast moving, we used them our advantage with the soft cottony wisps coming from a long exposure adding a pleasing element to the scene. You can see a side effect from shooting this way, the flag blurred on account of it flapping while the shutter was open.

Called Barons Consolidated School in the early days the building dates from 1930, although in the same reference book 1931 also makes mention. Consolidated = a larger centralized school made from the merger of several smaller (and often rural) ones. Today it’s just plain Barons School, even if old signage above both entryways displays it the old way. It then goes on to add it’s in District No. #8. Two sets of doors? Back when, it was common for there to be separate entrances for boy and girls.

Before this, the town had a smaller school (built ca 1912) a block away that soon proved inadequate for the growing region.

Barons School as built was outfitted with eight class rooms, a “well equipped laboratory”, along with a library and offices. The gymnasium/auditorium addition was added later and while it’s not said when, the 1950s-1960s period seem likely. Physical activities in many old schools were originally done out of doors (if at all), so buildings of the era we’re not always constructed with facilities of this type.

Up until the mid-1960s grades one through twelve were taught here, but afterwards high school students travelled to Lethbridge to attend class. Closing in 1998, Barons was reopened a decade later by the Palliser School Board specifically for children of a “Low German Mennonite” background. Many rural areas down this way have a large Mennonite presence. Grades one through six are taught with about a hundred and fifty students presently attending.

The school sits at the northeastern edge of town and beyond it’s open fields.

The building’s claim to fame was as a backdrop for the 1978 film Superman and was a teenaged Clark Kent’s alma mater. We can see why the producers choose it as Smallville High and is picture perfect in its portrayal of a small town school (because in fact it is one). One must be curious why the building wasn’t used in the same capacity in the later Superman III (1983). For reasons unknown, High River’s Spitzee School then took on the role. See it here: As Seen In: Superman III / Silver Streak.

The building is little changed from its movie role and with fans of the franchise is a revered holy ground. Many make the pilgrimage to pay it a visit – we’ve seen it happen. There’s no one more loyal than a Superman fan, especially those into the first three instalments of the original franchise. To them, it’s not just an appreciation but more a religion. Here’s a before/after piece shot at the school: Superman 1978 Highschool Then and Now.

Now that we know more and are better at it, we should redo some of those early Then & Nows. More than a few are cringe bad, but then again, much of our work from that time often is. Not that we’ve masters of anything today, but are better than we were.

Barons was founded in 1910 concurrent with the arrival of the railway. Like most small prairie towns, it boomed at the start, but interestingly the population has not shrunk precipitously as has happened elsewhere. While it did drop for a time after the 1910s-1920s boom period, census information from the early days show the head count then similar to today (so roughly 350).

We can likely attribute any new growth to town’s reasonably close proximity to the city of Lethbridge. It’s a half hour drive and so offers the best of both worlds – rural charm and city shopping. Then as now, many more folks lived on farms in the area but more so in the old days.

The town’s grain elevator row, down by the tracks, is also seen in Superman (and witness to Clark’s football super-kick) but today only one of these buildings remain. Look for it in the west.

Here’s some useful search term if want to know more: Barons Alberty History, Superman 1978 Filming Locations and to see Superman places the Team’s visited in person, go here: Search BIGDoer.com: “Superman”.

Y’all come back now, ya hear.

They’re saying…

”Great stories and history!” David Downey.

Taking you to school…
Roland School.
Netherhill Saskatchewan School.
Bay Island One Room School.

If you feel like chatting or want more information on what you’ve seen here feel free to contact us!

Date of Adventure: June, 2020.
Location(s): Barons, AB.
Article references and thanks: Book – Wheat Heart of the West : A History of Barons and District along with the Palliser School Board.

Barons School in Barons Alberta.