When driving along the gravel roads northeast of Assiniboia, Emmanuel Prairie Gardens emerges above the fields as an ivory palace of wood surrounded by flowerbeds, shrubbery and trees.
According to the Assiniboia and District Historical Society and Museum, Emmanuel Gardens, once known as the Assiniboia Area Emmanuel Lutheran Church Cemetery, is situated on four acres of land positioned on the quadrants of E 16-9-29-2.
The church was built on land formerly owned by George Brown.
Officially named Immanuel (in reference to Swedish spelling) the congregation of Scandinavian settlers started organizing their fellow Lutheran believers in the district in 1913.
Five years later, the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church north of Assiniboia and east of Woodrow, became dedicated on September 29, 1918.
The Depression of the 1930s affected the congregation’s size, but the Swedish Evangelical Lutherans revived as the Messiah Lutheran Church in Assiniboia starting in 1952. Thereafter, Emmanuel Lutheran and Messiah Lutheran represented a two-congregation parish.
The Emmanuel Church publicly joined Assiniboia’s Messiah Lutheran Church in January 1966. The church later received the name of Emmanuel Prairie Gardens in 1994.
Still used for special services, the church rests on a rebuilt foundation and has an entry bell. This sanctuary rising over the prairies is also known for having well-kept gardens.
