Founded in 1847 by John Watson, a Scottish moulder and first reeve of Ayr. In continuous family operation for over 127 years, the foundry originally made cast iron pots and stoves but expanded into agricultural machinery in the 1880's becoming the . . . — — Map (db m248612) HM
In 1824, this site, where Cedar Creek enters the Nith River, became a source of water power for Ayr’s earliest industry and settlement, Mudge's Mills. Later in 1884, along with Jedburgh (1832 in the east) and Nithvale (1837 in the west), the three . . . — — Map (db m248618) HM
The Goldie Family and the Village of Greenfield
From 1817 to 1819, Scottish botanist John Goldie (1793-1886) visited Canada and the northern US to collect plant specimens. He returned with his family in 1844 to settle here on a . . . — — Map (db m248670) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m248672) HM
Founder of Ontarios public hydro-electric system, Adam Beck (1857-1925) was born in Baden. He lived in this community until 1885 when he moved to London, Ontario. Beck was elected mayor of that city in 1902 and the following year was appointed to a . . . — — Map (db m248908) HM
In 1822 Christian Nafziger, an Amish Mennonite from Munich, Germany, came to Upper Canada to find land on which to settle some 70 German families. With the assistance of a group of Mennonites headed by Jacob Erb, who had settled nearby, a petition . . . — — Map (db m284030) HM
Castle Kilbride
The paintings adorning the principal rooms of this remarkable Italianate villa are distinguished by their fine decorative quality and high level of execution. Of particular merit are the robust, strongly coloured . . . — — Map (db m248902) HM
The Galt Grammar School was established in 1852 in a former township hall, and William Tassie (1815-1886) became headmaster the following year. Previously assistant headmaster at the Gore District school in Hamilton. Tassie had come to Canada from . . . — — Map (db m259411) HM
Spanning the Generations From the early days of settlement on the banks of the Grand River and its tributaries, bridges were important focal points for communities. Our significant heritage bridges have become distinctive landmarks that . . . — — Map (db m196196) HM
Captain George Fraser Kerr, VC, MC and Bar, MM
Born at Deseronto on June 5, 1899, he attended tended Galt Collegiate from 1908 to 1913 and joined the 3rd
Battalion, C.E.F. in 1914, going to France in 1915. As a corporal, he won . . . — — Map (db m259244) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m269809) HM
Former Galt Post Office
This building, begun in 1884 and
finished in 1887, was erected to house
the post office, customs, and other
government services. It was designed
under Dominion chief architect
Thomas Fuller and built by . . . — — Map (db m231734) HM
This attractive public building was designed and built in 1857-8 by H.B. Sinclair, a local resident, as a "Town Hall and Market House". Galt had become an incorporated town on January 1, 1857, and the first mayor, Morris C. Lutz, was elected by the . . . — — Map (db m196195) HM
Grand River
The Grand River, flowing 290 kilometres from the Dundalk Highlands to Lake Erie, is aptly named, for its valley is the largest in Southern Ontario. A mosaic of Aboriginal
and European cultures combined to shape the . . . — — Map (db m231798) HM
Jacob's Landing sits on the property purchased by Jacob Hespeler in 1845 from the Abraham Clemens estate. Abraham Clemens was a Pennsylvanian Mennonite who settled in the area in 1809 on 515 acres where much of Hespeler sits today.
Clemens built . . . — — Map (db m282964) HM
Samuel Honey was born in Conn, Wellington County on February 9, 1894. A school teacher at 17, he enlisted on January 25, 1915, in the 34th Battalion, C.E.F. being raised in Galt, and went to england as a sergeant in October, 1915. In . . . — — Map (db m259345) HM
Wooden bridges 1819, 1832, 1834, 1840, 1854, 1857, 1867
Steel bridge 1878
Concrete bowstring arch bridge 1931
Restoration 2008
Spanning the Generations
Since the early days of settlement along the banks of the Grand River and . . . — — Map (db m231743) HM
A Brief History of Galt
In 1816, prominent lawyer and businessman William Dickson (1769-1846) purchased Block 1 of the Haldimand Tract (94,305 acres / 382 km2).
He named the area Dumfries Township, after his birthplace in Scotland, and . . . — — Map (db m259506) HM
On August 12, 1998, two lives were lost at the Parkhill Dam.
Mark Gage drowned while swimming, and Police Officer David
Nicholson died during the recovery efforts. We learned about the
power and danger of the river, the heroism of a Police . . . — — Map (db m287142) HM
An Englishman, Frederick Hobson emigrated to Canada in 1904 after serving in the South African War. Eight years later, he moved to Galt (now Cambridge) with his family.
When war broke out in 1914, he joined the Norfolk Rifles, then . . . — — Map (db m284033) HM
Construction of St. Andrews Presbyterian
Church, later affectionately referred to as the
Auld Kirk (Old Church), was begun on this site
in 1833. Construction was not completed until
1835, delayed by the onset of the cholera
epidemic of 1834 . . . — — Map (db m282884) HM
The Honourable James Young 1835-1913
Born in Galt, Young was educated locally, and from 1853 to 1863 was editor and publisher of the Dumfries Reformer. From 1867 to 1878 he represented South Waterloo in the Canadian Parliament, and from 1879 . . . — — Map (db m231717) HM
On this site, a building known as the Turnbull Mill
was owned by Charles and John Turnbull who operated it as a
knitting mill. This building replaced the old Wardlaw Mill which the Turnbulls used from 1890 until it burned down in 1897. . . . — — Map (db m282886) HM
The Pergola, which takes its name from the Italian
word for "open arbor", was built by the Imperial
Order of Daughters of the Empire of Galt in 1907 to
honour the memory of Galt's early settlers.
The Pergola stands on the site formerly . . . — — Map (db m282883) HM
To honour the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service, and to express thanks to the City of Galt, where they received their basic training 1942-1946 Pour honorer le service féminin de la Marine Royale du Canada, et en remerciement â la ville de Galt, . . . — — Map (db m199808) HM WM
The first bridge to cross the Grand River in this area, was a covered, shingle roofed structure built sometime in the late 1830's.
It was this bridge which gave the settlement of Blair one of it's early names, "Shingle Bridge." In 1913, a third . . . — — Map (db m260138) HM
In 1870, the Grand Trunk Railway decided it required a branch line between Galt and Berlin (now Kitchener). The route followed the west bank of the Grand River through Blair, Doon and German Mills. By 1874 several freight and passenger trains a day . . . — — Map (db m260140) HM
Jacob Hespeler immigrated to Upper Canada in 1835 after working for the Hudson's Bay Company.
After moving to Waterloo County, he constructed a grist mill, and vinegar distillery. He became a prominent member of his community, serving as Captain of . . . — — Map (db m282976) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m269814) HM
In the Heart of Hespeler
A walk up Tannery Street, through Forbes Park, and down Cooper Street to Queen Street reveals many
aspects of Hespeler’s built heritage and civic history.
Tannery street (formely Jackson street), as it curves gently . . . — — Map (db m282962) HM
On August 8, 1829, local citizens of
Waterloo Township
selected this site for a
community meeting house,
school and burial ground,
the first school in this vicinity.
The land was donated March 15, 1830,
by Samuel Bechtel. He and John . . . — — Map (db m269812) HM
Born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. John Erb (1764-1832) was a Mennonite of Swiss ancestry. He came to Upper Canada in 1805, acquired 7,500 acres of land from the German Land Company, and settled on the site of Preston. The following year he . . . — — Map (db m259412) HM
Born at Preston, Upper Canada, and educated at Toronto and Michigan Universities, Klotz joined the public service in 1879. For thirty years he was engaged in topographical surveys in British Columbia, the Canadian Northwest, and Alaska. . . . — — Map (db m259427) HM
This park was officially opened as part of the Town of
Preston's incorporation day on September 30, 1899. Taking
part in those ceremonies were Reeve Otto Homuth,
members of council, as well as South Waterloo M.P.P.
George A. Clare. A metal . . . — — Map (db m259422) HM
On May 24, 1929, the Cenotaph was unveiled by Honourable W,D. Ross, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario in memory of those who died in World War I. This replica of the British Empire memorial in Whitehall, London, first stood in Frederick Street and was . . . — — Map (db m196193) HM
[Top plaque]
City of Kitchener
Heritage Landmark
1939
[Bottom plaque]
A.D. 1852 – 1938
This new registry office
building was erected in
the years A.D. 1938-1939
to replace the old brick
building constructed by
the . . . — — Map (db m196192) HM
In 1848 one acre of land was purchased from John U.
Tyson, a native of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania,
for £15 to be kept for the sole purpose of a Free
Meeting House for Divine Worship and Burying Ground
of all denominations.
The first . . . — — Map (db m269759) HM
Founded in 1857, St. Mary's is the oldest Roman Catholic parish in Kitchener (previously Berlin) The early congregation was largely German and Polish. Father George Laufhuber, S.J., was the first pastor.
Father Edward Glowacki, C.R. was . . . — — Map (db m244291) HM
Waterloo County
Waterloo County held its first council meeting on January 24, 1853, on this site, at the newly-built county courthouse in Berlin (now Kitchener). Council's 12 members came from five townships (North Dumfries, . . . — — Map (db m244266) HM
Canada's tenth prime minister was born in Berlin (Kitchener) on December 17, 1874. A grandson of William Lyon Mackenzie, he joined the Canadian civil service in 1900 as a specialist in labour relations. Elected to the federal parliament as . . . — — Map (db m244261) HM
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 claimed 2,917 lives including 343 FDNY Firefighters, 60 Police Officers and 8 Paramedics
Kitchener Connection
Kitchener Fire and the community responded to New York City's 9-11 call for help . . . — — Map (db m244206) HM
Born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Eby came to Upper Canada in 1806 and purchased extensive lands in this vicinity on which he settled the following year. He was ordained a minister of the Mennonite Church in 1809 and in 1812 was made a bishop. . . . — — Map (db m244322) HM
Site of the
First Church in Waterloo County
Built of logs in 1813
by Benjamin Eby, a bishop
of the Mennonite church
Replaced by frame building, 1834
The present church was built in 1902
Tablet placed by
the Waterloo Historical . . . — — Map (db m244305) HM
The first Presbyterian worship service in Doon was conducted on July 7, 1853 by Dr. John Bayne of Galt. Two days later an organizational meeting was held at which plans were made to build a church. A committee was formed to promote Presbyterianism . . . — — Map (db m269489) HM
This sleeping cabin is one of 15 cabins
which lined the edge of the property
The first five were built in 1949 by Ross Hamilton
others were added until all 15 were complete
Restored by
students and instructors
of the Renovation . . . — — Map (db m269518) HM
An intimate knowledge and love of nature enabled Homer Watson to paint the environs of his birthplace, Doon, with rare sensitivity. Self-taught for the most part, he dignified pioneer motifs through his use of form and composition. In his . . . — — Map (db m269516) HM
Mackenzie King, grandson of William Lyon Mackenzie, was born in Berlin, now Kitchener, Ontario. As a public servant he organized the Department of Labour, and was recognized as an authority on industrial relations. Entering politics in . . . — — Map (db m244311) HM
William Lyon Mackenzie King, tenth Prime Minister of Canada, spent his adolescent years at Woodside, where he lived from 1886 to 1893. The country setting he enjoyed during this formative period among books and family mementos fostered . . . — — Map (db m244295) HM
Spanning the Generations
From the early days of settlement on the banks of the Grand River and its tributaries, bridges have been important focal points for communities. Our significant heritage bridges have become distinctive landmarks that . . . — — Map (db m269617) HM
Before it was settled by Mennonite pioneers, the area now known as Pioneer Tower West was part of a large tract of land set aside by the British Crown in 1784 as a reserve for the Six Nations (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora). . . . — — Map (db m259492) HM
In the spring of 1800, Joseph
Schoerg and Samuel Betzner, Jr.,
brothers-in-law mennonites, from
Franklin County Pennsylvania
began the first two farms in
the County of Waterloo, Schoerg
on land adjoining this farm,
Betzner on the west bank . . . — — Map (db m259457) HM
Waterloo Pioneers
In the year 1800 a small number of Mennonite families
arrived from Pennsylvania to settle Block 2, former Six
Nations land along the Grand River. Others, mainly
Mennonites, followed during the next three . . . — — Map (db m259451) HM
Kitchener Horticultural Society
1872 to 2022
Congratulations to the Kitchener Horticultural Society (gardenKitchener)
on its 150th Anniversary.
The early history of a horticultural organization in this community dates
back to 1872, . . . — — Map (db m306890) HM
In 1930, The Rockery was built by local relief workers
during the Great Depression. Two thousand tons of limestone
rocks were shipped from Sheffield, Ontario and unloaded
from the electric train tracks that once ran beside King Street.
The . . . — — Map (db m306891) HM
Original Settlers
This area has been inhabited for more than 10,000 years. In the
early 1800s, the first settlers of European background arrived.
Among these were four Mennonite families from Pennsylvania who farmed near this crossroads: . . . — — Map (db m269575) HM
In 1827 Dr. William “Tiger" Dunlop of the Canada Company opened the line of the Huron Road some 95 miles from Goderich to Guelph whose townsites were established that year. Improved in 1828 to promote the sale of Company lands in the million-acre . . . — — Map (db m244373) HM
In 1912, the Waterloo Historical Society was formed to preserve the unique heritage of Waterloo County. Meeting in the Berlin (later Kitchener) Public Library, WHS began collecting and preserving local artifacts, photographs and documents under the . . . — — Map (db m244375) HM
Erected by the German-Canadian
Business and Professional Association
to mark the
Centennial of Victoria Park
1896-1996
and to remember the founders of this city who,
from 1833 to 1916, proudly knew their
industrious village, town and city . . . — — Map (db m244275) HM
The Peace of Frankfurt in 1871 ended the Franco-Prussian
war which was the last major European conflict of the 19th
century. King Wilhelm I of Prussia (1797-1888) led the
numerous German states to victory and, as Kaiser Wilhelm I,
united them . . . — — Map (db m262449) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m244284) HM
This house, constructed in 1820 by Joseph Schneider
(1772-1843), is the oldest surviving dwelling in Kitchener.
Built of frame and originally covered with roughcast, it
has been little changed externally since 1850. Schneider,
a native of . . . — — Map (db m244278) HM
Westmount was planned from 1912 by Talmon Rieder, local industrialist and entrepreneur, who incorporated winding streets, wide boulevards and a canopy of trees into his "fine piece of property," about which he consulted the firm established by . . . — — Map (db m269669) HM
In June 1907, twenty-eight local women had the initiative and foresight to form the New Dundee Branch of the Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario (FWIO). Established in 1897, and becoming a world-wide women's not-for-profit organization, FWIO . . . — — Map (db m248710) HM
An outstanding Canadian archaeologist, Wintemberg was born
in New Dundee and, as a youth, developed an avid interest in
this region's folklore and prehistory. After 1901, he pursued various trades in Toronto but, encouraged by David Boyle of the . . . — — Map (db m248711) HM
John Millar and his two brothers immigrated to Canada from Dundee, Scotland in the early 1800s. John purchased Crown land here in 1830 and 1832 and dammed Alder Creek to create a mill pond for his sawmill. A village grew next to the mill-pond which . . . — — Map (db m248739) HM
Spanning the Generations
From the early days of settlement on the banks of the Grand River and its tributaries, bridges were important focal points for communities. Our significant heritage bridges have become distinctive landmarks that . . . — — Map (db m196213) HM
In 1842 services, according to the Anglican Rite, were first held in a building erected opposite this site which served as a school house and church. The nave of St. James Church was built in 1854. The Canada Land Company formally deeded this site . . . — — Map (db m248742) HM
The Nith River The Grand River, including its major tributaries, the Speed, Eramosa, Nith and Conestogo, flowing from the Dundalk Highlands to Lake Erie, is aptly named, for its valley is the largest in Southern Ontario. A mosaic of . . . — — Map (db m248815) HM
The Rev E. W. Bindemann arived in Waterloo County in 1833, He was a travelling preacher who
established many early Lutheran congregations in this area. Known as the marrying preacher, he was one of the few Protestant clergy licenced to perfore . . . — — Map (db m248824) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m248851) HM
On August 1, 1863, 2,500 people gathered in Hawkesville to celebrate Emancipation Day which marked the end of slavery in the British Empire, including British North America, in 1834. Black residents of the Queen’s Bush Settlement in northern . . . — — Map (db m269047) HM
Like many pioneers of this district, the founder of Waterloo was a German Mennonite from Franklin County, Pennsylvania. In 1805 he purchased 900 acres of bush land on the site of this town. He settled here in 1806 and erected the first sawmill two . . . — — Map (db m244169) HM
It was on this site in march, 1888 that the Dominion Life Assurance Company was first conceived. Mr. Thomas Hilliard,
local teacher and journalist, met here at Simon Snyder's Drugstore with other elite businessmen of the community.
The gentlemen; . . . — — Map (db m269701) HM
This was the first site of the K-W Municipal Airport, also
known as Lexington Airport after the nearby settlement.
The 83-acre airfield, part of the John Stroh farm on Lot 61,
German Company Tract, consisted of sandy loam with a quick
drying . . . — — Map (db m269757) HM
David Kuntz, a native of Weisbaden, Germany, emigrated to
Canada in the late 1830s. After moving to Waterloo in the
mid 1850s he established the "Spring Brewery" at King and
William streets in Waterloo. His son Louis took over
management in the . . . — — Map (db m269691) HM
The log schoolhouse is Waterloo's first school and one of the oldest remaining log schoolhouses in the Province of Ontario. Built in 1820, the school was originally located near the corner of King and Central Street on lands donated by Abraham Erb. . . . — — Map (db m244177) HM
The head office of The Mutual Life Assurance Company of Canada (now the head office of Sun Life Financial's Canadian operations) was completed in 1912. Designed by Canadian architect Frank Darling, of the Toronto firm Darling and . . . — — Map (db m284028) HM
Peter Roos was born in 1865 in Waterloo, Ontario and spent practically all of his lifetime in this community. He not only observed Waterloo change from a small community to a large city, but was involved in its development. Peter Roos had an impact . . . — — Map (db m269689) HM
On this site stands the first Lutheran seminary in Canada. This plaque commemorates the gift of five acres of land by the Board of Trade on behalf of the citizens of Waterloo on October 30, 1911, to the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary of Canada. The . . . — — Map (db m244140) HM
This cairn erected to commemorate
the one hundredth anniversary
of the incorporation of Waterloo
as a village
Unveiled during the Centennial
celebrations held June 26 - July 1 1957 — — Map (db m244188) HM
In 1956 community leaders, headed by Dr. J. Gerald Hagey, formed the Waterloo College Associate Faculties, a nondenominational corporation, to provide Waterloo with improved educational facilities, particularly in the technical, scientific and . . . — — Map (db m244166) HM
Founded in 1911 as the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary of Canada, and situated on land donated by the Board of Trade of Waterloo, this institution was originally established to train homegrown Lutheran pastors. It was expanded in 1914 with . . . — — Map (db m268550) HM
This central location for the Wellesley Township Hall
was chosen as the result of a petition presented to the
council by thirty-five ratepayers. Completed in 1855
it was used for church services by several denominations, Farmers Institute . . . — — Map (db m277947) HM
This structure, the only remaining covered bridge in Ontario, was designed by John Bear in 1880, on the authority of Woolwich Township Council, to replace an earlier bridge over the Grand River. Built a year later by John and his brother, Benjamin, . . . — — Map (db m108716) HM
The German Evangelical Lutheran Church began here in 1860. It was deeded land in the village of Shantz in 1862 by John Galt and his Wife. Other lands were donated over the years for the cemetery.
For almost a century and a half people of this . . . — — Map (db m312048) HM
