Wilmot Township in New Hamburg in Waterloo Region, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)

The Founding of New Hamburg

Photographed by Tim Boyd, June 11, 2024

1. The Founding of New Hamburg Marker

Inscription. A grist-mill built by Josiah Cushman about 1834 formed the nucleus around which a small community of Amish Mennonites and recent German immigrants developed. A village plot was surveyed in 1845 and six years later a post-office, New Hamburg, was established with William Scott, an early mill-owner, as postmaster. By then the village, with a population of 500, contained several prosperous industries, including a pottery, and the carriage-works and foundry of Samuel Merner, a prominent Swiss-born entrepreneur. The construction of the Grand Trunk Railway, completed in 1856, and agricultural prosperity stimulated the community's development as an important centre for milling and farm machinery production. New Hamburg was incorporated as a Village, with about 1100 inhabitants, in 1857 and as a Town in 1966.

Erected by the Ontario Heritage Foundation, Ministry of Culture and Recreation

Erected by Ontario Heritage Foundation.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Immigration • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Canada, Ontario Heritage Trust

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series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1834.

Location. 43° 22.687′ N, 80° 42.716′ W. Marker is in New Hamburg, Ontario, in Waterloo Region. It is in Wilmot Township. It is at the intersection of Huron Street and Union Street, on the right when traveling east on Huron Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 121 Huron Street, New Hamburg ON N3A 1K1, 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 8 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Nith River / La rivière Nith (within shouting distance of this marker); Hartman Bridge (within shouting distance of this marker); Rev. Frederick William Bindemann (1790-1865) (approx. half a kilometer away);

Photographed by Tim Boyd, June 11, 2024

2. The Founding of New Hamburg Marker

The First Amish Settlement (approx. 2.7 kilometers away); St. James Anglican Church (approx. 3.5 kilometers away); Castle Kilbride/ Le Château Kilbride (approx. 4.4 kilometers away); Sir Adam Beck’s Birthplace (approx. 5.1 kilometers away); Fryfogel’s Inn (approx. 7.4 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in New Hamburg.

Also see . . . New Hamburg. The Canadian Encyclopedia website entry:

At first called simply Hamburg, after the port of departure of many German emigrants in the 19th century, it grew as a result of the railway boom created by the expansion of the Grand Trunk Railway in 1857 and the influx of German and Amish immigrants in the mid-19th century. Nearby, the sixth generation of pioneer farmers of German origin remain on the land, and the settlement today is primarily an agricultural service centre.

(Submitted on June 16, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario.)

Mural depicting the history of New Hamburg image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Boyd, June 11, 2024

3. Mural depicting the history of New Hamburg

1860

4. The Village of New Hamburg, 1860

From the Historical Atlas of Warterloo County

Credits. This page was last revised on July 5, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 16, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. This page has been viewed 491 times since then and 68 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on June 16, 2024, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.