In the early 1890's a little village was growing in the foothills about five miles north of the Assiniboine River. It was surrounded by forest and the pioneers settling in the area spent their time cutting trees and clearing the land. A large family by the name of Love moved into the district which for a short time became known as Loveville. Later, as settlers came from Ross Township, Renfrew County, Ontario, Loveville was changed to Rossendale. The post office was established in 1896 and operated by J.C. Glover about 1.75 miles (2.8 km) south and 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Rossendale. Mr. Glover made weekly trips to Bagot to collect the mail.

 Rossendale at this time was a thriving little community. The village was composed of three stores, two boarding houses, a bank, a blacksmith shop, seventeen dwellings and a population of 87. A log house was used for the first school and also served the settlers as a church for alternate Sundays by Presbyterian and Methodist students.

 The Rossendale Cemetery, formerly known as the South Rossendale Cemetery after the school district in which it is located, was started in 1898 by Matthew Vennard, who donated one acre of SW-28-09-09(-W1) for that purpose. This acre was divided down the centre by a ten-foot cement driveway into Sections A and B. It was surveyed into eight grave plots sixteen feet by sixteen feet, with a six-foot walk running north and south and a four-foot walk running east and west. The cemetery was enlarged when Andrew Aikens donated an adjoining acre of NW-28-9-9(-W1).

The cemetery serves the needs of the districts of Lavenham and Rossendale, plus the former school districts of Arbroath, South Rossendale, Lavenham, Elmwood, Allandale and Ladysmith.

It is located beside Provincial Road 242 on the crest of a small hill which makes it an ideal spot, and it has received many compliments from visitors for its cleanliness and neatness. A miniature church, donated by Mr. Jake Friesen, houses a guest book donated by Mr. and Mrs. Cliff Blagden. This book has signatures from every province in Canada, plus many places in the U.S.A.

The earliest internment on record is that of Wilson Latimer, son of William and Caroline Latimer, who passed away on August 15, 1898, followed in 1899 by Ethel V. Vennard on April 8, and Roy Latimer on June 19. All three were infants.

(Source: Rossendale Through the Years, pp 3f and 22 [1982; Adapted])

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Homesteads were first taken up in this district in 1891, by Dan Weir who had four sons; George Cook, a bachelor; George Love Sr., and a son. George Rowland arrived in 1903 from Portage la Prairie and built a two-storey log house which is still used as a dwelling. R. Goodrich and John Myers were the next to arrive from Ontario with two boxcars of settlers' effects. The latter bought a quarter-section from the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Other early settlers in the district were Messrs. Kelly, Chapman, Stanley, Splan, Ferguson, Dodson, McWilliams, Ford, Balmer, Armstrong and Frys. Mr. Buchanan's family arrived from Chatham, Ontario. Billy Ray, a railroad man from the United States, got a six-month leave of absence to try his hand at land clearing. He built a one-and-a-half-storey house, but this life was not for him so he left, and his house became the first school.

(Source: Trails Old and New, pp 84f [1967; Adapted])

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This cemetery was established in 1898.

(Source: Manitoba Historical Society [Adapted])

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Dominion Land Survey coordinates: LSD12-28-09-09-W1

In the Rural Municipality of Norfolk-Treherne

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As partially noted above, a part of the town's story, and those of its inhabitants, from the early days of European settlement through roughly 1998 is told in the volumes "Trails Old and New", and "Through Field and Dreams, A History of Norfolk and Macgregor (Volumes 1 and 2)", especially on the cited pages.

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 #0334), transcribed by a member or members in 1989. 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).