Established in 1902, in a most park-like setting lie the pioneers of the Elm Creek district. The cemetery includes a War Memorial.

The first settlers of this area were people holding Métis and half-breed land claims. Elm Creek was first known as "Rivière aux Ormes" which later took on the English translation of Elm Creek. The origin of the name is the numerous elms which may be found in the village along the creek.

The first station agent in Elm Creek was Jake Mason who came in 1885. Joe Rinn opened the first Post Office.

As for religious life in Elm Creek, the Methodist church began services in July 1896 in the schoolhouse. Parishioners of Holy Trinity Anglican Church also held services there, the first on Oct. 10 1901. Holy Trinity church was opened July 13 1905. The Presbyterians of the district had been meeting at the home of "Scotty" Woods since 1901 until their church opened July 2 1903 with the name St. Andrews Presbyterian. Roman Catholics worshipped in a room over the store of J J Halliday before 1906 and until the new church was built in 1910.

Both the local cemetery committee and a monument maker in Carman, MB. have approached a number of families who have members buried in unmarked graves regarding the putting up of gravestones.

(Source: Manitoba Genealogical Society [1986; Adapted])

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In 1906 the Rural Municipality of Grey was formed, separating from the northern portion of the Rural Municipality of Dufferin. The RM of Grey was named after the Governor-General of Canada at the time, Albert Henry George Grey, the fourth Earl of Grey. The first meeting was held on March 13, 1906, in Whitlam's Hall in the Village of Elm Creek. At that meeting the first Secretary-Treasurer, W.C. Soole, was appointed.

The Municipality is made up of 10 geographic townships extending 19.2 kilometres (12 miles) from north to south and 48 kilometres (30 miles) from east to west. The original settlers in the region were mostly French-Canadian, French, and to a lesser extent of English descent. The Métis community has also had, at times, a strong influence in the community. The turn of the (twentieth) century saw a larger immigration of people from different parts of Europe. Immigrants from Belgium, the Netherlands, the Ukraine, and other Slavic countries moved in to locate on prime farmland.

(Source: Rural Municipality of Grey website [2024/02; Adapted])

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Dominion Land Survey coordinates: LSD16-13-08-05-W1

In the Rural Municipality of Grey

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A part of the community's story, and those of its inhabitants, from the early days of European settlement through roughly 1992 is told in the volumes "A Century of Memories - Elm Creek Centennial History Book 1892-1992", "Ripples From the Creek", and a complementary later work entitled "Elm Creek Families - Past and Present". Due to the historical jurisdictional organization of the area in the RM of Dufferin prior to 1906, other parts of the stories of these people are told in the book "The Rural Municipality of Dufferin 1880-1980".

Free digital versions of these and many other Manitoba local history books can be found online in the University of Manitoba Digital Collections. There is also a list of such books organized by district and town name on the Manitoba Historical Society's website on their page entitled "Finding Aid: Manitoba Local History Books".

A list of burials in this cemetery is available from the Manitoba Genealogical Society (reference #0215), transcribed by a member or members in 1986. Also available to MGS members is a searchable online database named the "MGS Manitoba Name Index" (or MANI). Some additional information is contained in the 1996 MGS publication "Carved in Stone: Manitoba Cemeteries and Burial Sites" (revised edition, Special Projects Publication, 106 pages).

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Additionally, the South Central Regional Archives Inc. / Archives régionales Centre-Sud Inc. curates and makes available extensive records related to the communities established by the families of the area who contributed to the story of Manitoba.