Linwood

In the heart of Mennonite country, Linwood is the village that keeps the farms around it thriving, with quiet lanes and big gardens. It sits among farm fields in the north of Wellesley Township, where Ament Line meets the old railway line. Along its main streets, general stores and a hardware store keep their doors open, and Schnurr's General Store has been run by the same family since 1858. The steeple of St. Peter's Lutheran Church rises over the houses, and an old drive shed still stands on Gordon Hain Street. On summer evenings the ball diamonds fill for the Linwood Chiefs, and the Kissing Bridge Trailway carries walkers and cyclists out past the fields. In August the village welcomes Elvis tribute performers for its yearly festival, and in winter it holds Snofest.

The north-west of the township was settled mainly by Irish families, and Linwood was established in 1846. Its Welsh name is understood to mean "a pool in the woods". Schnurr's General Store opened in 1858. By 1906 a railway leased to the Canadian Pacific ran through Linwood to Goderich, and that line is now the Kissing Bridge Trailway. The Jones feed mill began here and is now the township's largest employer.

The 2021 census counted about 280 homes in Linwood. About nine in ten are single detached houses. About half of the homes were built in 1960 or earlier, and most of the rest between 1981 and 2000.

Linwood is about 26 km by road from Uptown Waterloo, a drive of about 25 minutes. The route is Ament Line and Hawkesville Road (Regional Road 17), then Conestoga Parkway (Highway 85). Elmira is about 14 km east. Highway 401 is reached through Kitchener. The Kissing Bridge Trailway, a 45 km trail on the former railway line from Guelph to Millbank, passes through the village. Grand River Transit does not yet serve the township.

The Linwood Playground at the community centre, 5279 Ament Line, has a playground and a large covered patio with picnic tables. The Region of Waterloo Library's Linwood branch shares the address. The village has a hardware store and two general stores, including Schnurr's General Store. The Linwood Chiefs are the township's main junior fastball club. The Linwood Elvis Festival has been held every August since 2008, and Snofest brightens the winter.

• Linwood Public School — JK to Grade 8. The public elementary school for the village, on Pine Street.
• Elmira District Secondary School — Grades 9 to 12. The public secondary school for the village, in Elmira.
• St. Clement Catholic Elementary School — JK to Grade 8. The nearest Catholic elementary school, in St. Clements, about 9 km away.
• St. David Catholic Secondary School — Grades 9 to 12. The Catholic secondary school that St. Clement students go on to, in Waterloo.