Grenfell, Saskatchewan

1,153 miles

Jan 20 - The land around here is characterized by lush rolling grasslands, interspersed with poplar groves and open sloughs.   

The town of Grenfell itself has a population of 947, while outside of town are several First Nation reserves which include 1,340 people of the Sakimay, Shesheep, Little Bone, and Minoachuk.  Grenfell has a 14,700 ton concrete terminal as well as a large grain elevator located at the Canadian Pacific Railway line.

European settlement began in 1882, just before the Canadian Pacific Railway reached the site of this town.  The post office was established in 1883, and the town was named for Pasco du Pre Grenfell, a railway company official.  Initial settlers were from eastern Canada and the British Isles, followed shortly thereafter by Germans.  As in many other prairie towns, Chinese railworkers from the building of the CPR in the 1880s settled down and established local businesses.  As late as the 1960s there were two Chinese cafés on Main Street.

United Church of Canada

I was pleased to learn that several Protestant denominations in Canada (Presbyterians, Methodists and Congregationalists) very sensibly combined to become the United Church of Canada in 1925.  Similar unifications happened in Vermont, but only locally, town by town, as fires destroyed wooden buildings and membership declined.  This pretty Methodist church building now houses the united congregation in Grenfell. 

info:  Wikipedia.com