Photo Gallery on Assiniboia Times
Verwood Tour
These pictures are from a Saturday morning tour of Verwood on August 29.
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Coulee lands northeast of Verwood. Verwood in the R.M of Excel is 2,400 feet [732 m] or a ½ mile above sea level. To the right of the bushes at the front of this prairie scene, a white-tailed deer is ready to run over the hills or into the woodland behind.
A legend said the name of the village 32 kilometres east of Assiniboia was decided upon to honour the first resident who died amongst them. So, the village was named after six-year-old Vera Ann Wood who passed away from the after-effects of a tragic fire. This main thoroughfare passes the Verwood Presbyterian Church to the left.
In addition to having Verwood named after her, Vera Wood’s death led to the creation of the Verwood Cemetery on the north side of Hwy 13. The first burial in the Verwood district of Jane Ann "Annie" Wood (by legend called Vera Wood) occurred on the future C.P. railway bed in July 1908.
Six-year-old Jane Ann was helping her older sister make tea for the haying crew. When she stoked the fire in the kitchen stove with a handful of hay, Jane’s dress caught fire. She died from her injuries. The C.P.R. later purchased a right-of-way from Jane Ann's father, Edward W. Wood. Jane Ann's grave was exhumed and interred in the Verwood Municipal cemetery to make way for the railway in 1912. Note: there’s also a Verwood in the UK county of Dorset.
Some residents in Verwood were up quite early on Saturday morning to greet visitors. Before December 31, 1954, Verwood was an incorporated village. After 1954, Verwood was restructured as an unincorporated community under the jurisdiction of the RM of Excel.
Although the main offices for Superior Pulses are located in Greater Toronto, their most important facility is situated in Verwood. Superior Pulses is a world supplier of pulses and special crops.
A beautiful mansion still standing in Verwood.
St. John Lutheran Church at Verwood's north entrance. In the autumn of 1962, the former St. Lukas Lutheran Church of Congress was purchased then moved to Verwood and placed over the church basement built in 1934. The former church site never held a completed church until 1962-1963, because the Depression of the 1930s halted an early attempt to construct a church there.
Verwood Presbyterian Church (1916).
