Victoria Park in Kitchener in Waterloo Region, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

Joseph Schneider Haus

Photographed by Tim Boyd, March 31, 2024

1. Joseph Schneider Haus Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Built around 1816, this house is a reminder of the migration of Pennsylvania German Mennonites to Waterloo County in the early 19th century. The movement was led by Joseph Schneider, the builder of the house, and his brother-in-law Bishop Benjamin Eby, with the goal of creating a new colony in Upper Canada. The city of Kitchener grew up around their properties, becoming the centre of German culture in Ontario. One of the best preserved pioneer dwellings in the region, the house faithfully reflects the distinctive vernacular plan developed by Mennonites in the pre-revolutionary American colonies.

Cette maison rappelle la principale vague d'immigrants mennonites germanophones partis de Pennsylvanie pour s'établir dans le comté de Waterloo au, debut du XIXe siècle. Joseph Schneider et son beau-frere, L’évêque Benjamin Eby, dirigèrent ce groupe vent fonder une nouvelle colonie dans le Haut-Canada. Celle-ci donne naissance à la ville de Kitchener, laquelle devint le carrefour culturel allemand en Ontario. Batie vers 1816 par Joseph Schneider, cette maison de pionniers, l'une des mieux préservées de la région, présente un plan type tel que conçu par les Mennonites avant la Revolution américaine. Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada Commission des lieur er monuments historiques du Canada Government of Canada - Gouvernement du Canada

Erected 2000.

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Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Canada, Historic Sites and Monuments Board series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1816.

Location. 43° 26.694′ N, 80° 29.665′ W. Marker is in Kitchener, Ontario, in Waterloo Region. It is in Victoria Park. It is at the intersection of Queen Street South and Mill Street, on the right when traveling south on Queen Street South. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 462 Queen Street S, Kitchener ON N2G 1W7, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Huron-Perth-Waterloo-Wellington Area

and in Southwestern Ontario.

It is also in Central Canada.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker:

Photographed by Tim Boyd, March 31, 2024

2. Joseph Schneider Haus Marker

The Joseph Schneider House 1820 (here, next to this marker); Centennial of Victoria Park (1896-1996) (about 210 meters away, measured in a direct line); Friedensfest 1871 Denkmal (about 210 meters away); Kitchener Cenotaph (approx. 0.8 kilometers away); St. Mary Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows Roman Catholic Parish (approx. 0.9 kilometers away); Waterloo County (approx. one kilometer away); Waterloo County Registry Office (approx. 1.1 kilometers away); William Lyon Mackenzie King, 1874-1950 (approx. 1.1 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Kitchener.

Also see . . . Dictionary of Canadian Biography - Schneider, Joseph.

Joseph Schneider was an active figure among the Mennonite settlers and, with Benjamin Eby, is often regarded as a founder of Kitchener. He helped open the first local road, which ran from his farmstead to the Dundas road and was known as Schneider’s road until the 1870s. In 1808–9 he and four other heads of families hired a teacher to open the first school in the area. He was involved four years later in the building of the first Mennonite meeting-house, headed by Eby; in 1834 Schneider
Photographed by Tim Boyd, March 31, 2024

3. The Joseph Schneider Haus
participated in the construction of a new church. Perhaps as early as 1816 he had built a sawmill on what is still known as Schneider’s Creek, and in the 1820s a blacksmith shop and tavern were erected by Phineas Varnum on land leased from Schneider.

(Submitted on April 4, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario.)

1875

4. Joseph Schneider house and mill, 1875

From a bird’s eye map of Berlin (Kitchener) (Source: University of Waterloo)

Credits. This page was last revised on April 9, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 4, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. This page has been viewed 236 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 4, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.