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

Site of the Samuel Bechtel Meeting House and Burial Ground

Photographed by Tim Boyd, April 4, 2025

1. Site of the Samuel Bechtel meeting House and Burial Ground Marker

Inscription. By the 17th century this land was part of the Chonnonton Nation. They were conquered during the Beaver Wars by the Iroquis Confederacy. In 1784, this land became part of Haldimand Tract. Through a contested transfer, it became part of the German Company Tract in the early 1800's.

Pioneer Mennonite and Tunker families gathered for Sunday Worship at the home of Samuel and Barbara Bechtel until 1829 when a larger facility was needed. On August 8, 1829, local citizens selected this site for a community meeting house, school and burial ground. The land was donated by Samuel Bechtel on March 15, 1830 and the building illustrated here became the first meeting house in the vicinity.

In 1837 on land donated by Henry Wanner, a yellow brick meeting house was built on the corner of Beaverdale and Maple Grove Roads. In 1938 the current Wanner Mennonite Church was built at the same location.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Religion & Religious Structures • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical date for this entry is August 8, 1829.

Location. 43° 25.043′ N, 80° 19.804′ W.

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Marker is in Cambridge, Ontario, in Waterloo Region. It is in Hespeler. It is on Stager Place 0.2 kilometers north of Beaverdale Road, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 40 Stager Place, Cambridge ON N3C 2W4, 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 3 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Waterloo Township Community Meeting House School and Burial Ground (here, next to this marker); First Mennonite Sunday School (approx. 1.7 kilometers away); History of the Riverbank (approx. 2.2 kilometers away); Hespeler Cenotaph (approx. 2.3 kilometers away); Tannery Street/ Forbes Park Area (approx. 2.3 kilometers away); Jacob’s Landing and Hespeler Mill Pond

Photographed by Tim Boyd, April 4, 2025

2. Site of the Samuel Bechtel Meeting House and Burial Ground Marker

(approx. 2.3 kilometers away); Otto Julius Klotz (approx. 3.3 kilometers away); Preston Cenotaph (approx. 3.3 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cambridge.

Site of the Samuel Bechtel Meeting House and Burial Ground marker illustration detail image. Click for full size.

3. Site of the Samuel Bechtel Meeting House and Burial Ground marker illustration detail

Bechtel Homestead 1816

4. Site of the Samuel Bechtel meeting House and Burial Ground marker illustration detail

Samuel Bechtel Meetinghouse 1830

Site of the Samuel Bechtel Meeting House and Burial Ground marker illustrations detail image. Click for full size.

5. Site of the Samuel Bechtel Meeting House and Burial Ground marker illustrations detail

Wanner Meeting House 1837, and church 1938

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 220 times since then and 51 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on April 9, 2025, by Tim Boyd of Hamilton, Ontario. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.