Virden, Manitoba

 1,257 miles

Jan 29 – Virden began as a farming community known as Gopher Creek.   In 1882, it became a railway-builders’ tent town.  The next year the site of the railway structures, including a railway siding, a bridge, a small station, and a water tower, was named Virden, after the country estate of The Duke of Manchester, a major Canadian Pacific Railway shareholder.  Thanks to the brick and flour industries that were developed here, it grew into a town.  In 1951 oil was discovered, and Virden became known as the "Oil Capital of Manitoba".

Virden currently has a population of about 3,114.  It is a regional service center because of its location, and its commercial sector includes several restaurants, gas stations, body shops, a movie theatre, and a performing arts theatre.

Virden train station

In 1906, this picturesque design for a new train depot was created by R.B. Pratt, a notable station designer, first with the CPR and then for their rival, Canadian Northern. The Virden station was based on a standardized set of plans, used on several other Manitoba stations. The design was distinguished by its remarkable roof, an impressive and complicated composition with dormers and beak-like canopies. The Virden Station is the only one in Manitoba constructed of fieldstone.

Virden Collegiate Institute

The regional alternative high school is called Virden Collegiate Institute.  Its motto is: “Modeling respect, learning and responsibility to motivate students to become productive, caring citizens.”  The desperation of the motto is jarringly incongruous with the pretentiousness of the name.

station image & info:  http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/hrb/prov/p079.html

VCI image & info:  http://vci.flbsd.mb.ca/