Roseville in Ayr in Waterloo Region, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

Detweiler Meetinghouse

Photographed by Tim Boyd, June 11, 2024

1. Detweiler Meetinghouse Marker

Inscription. Devout Mennonite farmers built the Detweiler Meetinghouse on this location in 1855. It is the only surviving stone meetinghouse built by Mennonites in 19th century Ontario. Detweiler Meetinghouse, Inc., a nonprofit association, completed restoration of the building in 1999. The meetinghouse is available for uses that respect the work and spirit of early Waterloo County Mennonites.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Religion & Religious Structures • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1855.

Location. 43° 20.322′ N, 80° 29.419′ W. Marker is in Ayr, Ontario, in Waterloo Region. It is in Roseville. It is on Roseville Road half a kilometer west of Northumberland Street, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3445 Roseville Rd, Ayr ON N0B 1E0, 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,

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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 8 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: William J. Wintemberg 1876-1941 (approx. 3.4 kilometers away); New Dundee Women’s Institute (approx. 3.4 kilometers away); The Founding of New Dundee (approx. 3.9 kilometers away); The Goldie Family and the Village of Greenfield / La Famille Goldie au Village de Greenfield (approx. 4.5 kilometers away); Watson’s Dam (approx. 6.7 kilometers away); The John Watson Manufacturing Company (approx. 6.8 kilometers away); Waterloo Historical Society (approx. 8.1 kilometers away); The Huron Road (approx. 8.1 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ayr.

Also see . . . Detweiler Meetinghouse - History.

Mennonite pioneers began to settle Dumfries Township in 1822. A Mennonite farmer named Jacob Rosenberger is credited for giving his name to the nearby village of Roseville. He, his wife, and two children died in the cholera
Photographed by Tim Boyd, June 11, 2024

2. Detweiler Meetinghouse Marker
epidemic of 1834.

Jacob F. Detweiler was already ordained as a minister when he came to the Roseville area in 1822. Jacob H. Detweiler, possibly a third cousin of Jacob F., who was an ordained deacon in Pennsylvania, also came to the Roseville area at that time.

Prior to 1830 the congregation met in homes for worship. In that year Samuel Snyder conveyed an acre of his land to three trustees for the Mennonite congregation for a church, school and cemetery, and the log building would have been erected here about this time at this location.

The present meetinghouse was built in 1855, and was dedicated on December 2. As was the custom of the time, services were not held in the meetinghouse every Sunday. On “off” Sundays local families would either travel to a nearby meetinghouse where services were being held – such as Blenheim, or would use the day for visiting friends and relatives.

(Submitted on June 13, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario.)

Photographed by Tim Boyd, June 11, 2024

3. Detweiler Meetinghouse Marker

Detweiler Meetinghouse, from the Roseville Cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Boyd, June 11, 2024

4. Detweiler Meetinghouse, from the Roseville Cemetery

1919

5. Detweiler Meetinghouse in 1919

Source: Mennonite Archives (public domain)

Credits. This page was last revised on June 14, 2024. It was originally submitted on June 13, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. This page has been viewed 305 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on June 13, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.