New Hamburg, Ontario

New Hamburg
Unincorporated community
Peel Street in New Hamburg
Coordinates: 43°22′44″N 80°42′39″W / 43.37889°N 80.71083°W / 43.37889; -80.71083
Country Canada
Province Ontario
Regional municipality Waterloo
Township Wilmot
Time zone UTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
Forward sortation area N3A
Area code(s) 519 and 226
NTS Map 040P07
GNBC Code FEBVH

New Hamburg is a community of approximately 7,930 (2011 stats) in Wilmot Township. Founded in 1854 it is a rural township of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario. It is bordered by Baden to the east and Perth County to the west, and close to the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Stratford.

The Nith River winds through town and flows through the downtown core, which is home to a 50-foot waterwheel built in 1990.

The weekly newspaper serving the community is the New Hamburg Independent. The downtown has been designated a Heritage Conservation District.[1]

History

Located on the Nith River just over 20 kilometers from Berlin (now Kitchener) this settlement - established in 1830 by William Scott and called New Hamburgtown - is in an area with rich soil, that was subsequently settled primarily by Germans, both Mennonites and others direct from Germany. The settlement was laid out in 1832.[2][3] A historical plaque honours Josiah Cushman, an Amish Mennonite from Germany, who built a grist mill in the village in about 1834.[4] Later, the village was called Cassel but by 1840, it had been changed to New Hamburg.[5]

In 1851 the New Hamburg post-office was established by mill owner William Scott. The population was 500 at the time and there was a pottery, a carriage works and a foundry. The Grand Trunk Railroad reached the area in 1856 and helped the village to establish milling and farm machinery manufacturing. In 1869 the population was 1,400 and the settlement had a railway station.[6]

New Hamburg was incorporated as a Village in 1857, with a population of about 1100 and then as a Town in 1966.[7] The river was an excellent source of power for two wool factories and two flour mills in 1864. There was also a foundry that manufactured agricultural implements. Several large companies made carriages, buggies and wagons. By that time there were three churches and a school with 100 students.[8]

Neighbouring communities

Notable people

Notable Landmarks

  • New Hamburg is home to the largest working wooden waterwheel in North America.
  • New Hamburg hosts the largest Mopar Festival in Canada (in July or August).

Notable businesses

References

  1. ↑ http://www.wilmot.ca/en/living-here/History-of-Wilmot-Township.aspx
  2. ↑ http://ontarioplaques.com/Plaques/Plaque_Waterloo17.html
  3. ↑ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/001075/f2/e010780571_p3.pdf, page 163
  4. ↑ http://www.waynecook.com/awaterloo.html
  5. ↑ http://www.wilmot.ca/en/living-here/History-of-Wilmot-Township.aspx
  6. ↑ https://books.google.ca/books?id=z6wOAAAAYAAJ, page 333
  7. ↑ http://ontarioplaques.com/Plaques/Plaque_Waterloo17.html
  8. ↑ County of Waterloo Gazetteer and General Business Directory, For 1864 (PDF). Mitchell & Co. 1864. p. 163.
  9. ↑ No, Author Stated (Dec 30, 2010). "Howie Meeker proud of Order of Canada honour". The Record. Retrieved Sep 21, 2013.

Coordinates: 43°22′44″N 80°42′39″W / 43.37889°N 80.71083°W / 43.37889; -80.71083

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.