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

First Mennonite Sunday School

Photographed by Tim Boyd, April 4, 2025

1. First Mennonite Sunday School Marker

Inscription. The first Mennonite Sunday school to be established in America was in Waterloo County, in 1840, in the Wanner and Bechtel, now Preston, Meetinghouses. In October, 1841, der Deutsche Kanadier reported, "the sunday school started last year and begun anew this year which has been held interchangeably in the Wanner and Bechtel meetinghouses…is enjoying good progress. The number of children is increasing and amounted to seventy-five last Sunday”.

Erected 1963 by Waterloo Historical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical year for this entry is 1840.

Location. 43° 25.934′ N, 80° 20.168′ W. Marker is in Cambridge, Ontario, in Waterloo Region. It is at the intersection of Beaverdale Road and Old Maple Grove Road, on the right when traveling south on Beaverdale Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1725 Beaverdale Road, Cambridge ON N3C 2V3, Canada. Touch for directions.

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

and in Southwestern Ontario.

It is also

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

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 5 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Site of the Samuel Bechtel Meeting House and Burial Ground (approx. 1.7 kilometers away); Waterloo Township Community Meeting House School and Burial Ground (approx. 1.7 kilometers away); History of the Riverbank (approx. 2 kilometers away); Jacob’s Landing and Hespeler Mill Pond (approx. 2 kilometers away); Tannery Street/ Forbes Park Area (approx. 2.1 kilometers away); Hespeler Cenotaph (approx. 2.2 kilometers away); Black Bridge Road Bridge (approx. 3.7 kilometers away); Otto Julius Klotz (approx. 4.4 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cambridge.

Also see . . . Our History (Wanner Mennonite Church).

The first Mennonite settlers in the Cambridge area of Waterloo Township, Ontario, arrived in 1800. Pioneer
Photographed by Tim Boyd, April 4, 2025

2. First Mennonite Sunday School Marker
On the right of the doorway
Joseph Bechtel, ordained in 1804, was the first minister and Jacob Bechtel the first deacon. The Wanner and Hagey (Preston) congregations both evolved from this group. Meetings for preaching were rotated among various designated houses and later among meetinghouses. From 1812 to the 1850s, Benjamin Eby served as bishop for the area.

(Submitted on April 9, 2025, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario.)

Wanner Mennonite Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Boyd, April 4, 2025

3. Wanner Mennonite Church

Built in 1938, replacing the 1837 Wanner Meetinghouse

Credits. This page was last revised on April 10, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 9, 2025, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. This page has been viewed 158 times since then and 40 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 9, 2025, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.