Hespeler, Ontario

Hespeler
Dissolved town
Nickname(s): The Beehive[1]
Coordinates: 43°25′59″N 80°18′26″W / 43.43306°N 80.30722°W / 43.43306; -80.30722
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Regional municipality	Waterloo
City	Cambridge
Settled	1830
Incorporated (town)	1901
Amalgamated (city)	1973
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Forward sortation area	N1P, N1R, N1S, N1T, N3C, N3H
Area code(s)	519 and 226
NTS Map	040P08
GNBC Code	FCKDQ

Hespeler is a former town and neighbourhood within Cambridge, Ontario, located along the Speed River.

History

In 1830, Joseph Oberholtzer purchased land along the Speed River. The settlement that followed was to become known as New Hope. In 1845, Jacob Hespeler arrived in New Hope. Hespeler purchased land along the river and built several industrial mills. Hespeler brought strength to the village, with was aided by Great Western Railway stopping in the settlement between Galt and Guelph. In 1857, Hespeler called for a Census to find out if the number of residents in the settlement would be enough to name it a village. The Census took place in July, 1858, and the settlement became the Village of Hespeler on January 1, 1859. The village continued to grow until it was incorporated as the Town of Hespeler in 1901.

Hespeler flourished into the 20th century and housed Dominion Woollens and Worsteds Ltd., one of the largest textile producers in the country.

The town also developed a history in hockey, as a hockey stick manufacturer located there, and consequently named Hespeler, manufactured hockey sticks. The Hespeler Shamrocks, is the name of the minor hockey teams in town run by Hespeler Minor Hockey Association under the Ontario Minor Hockey Association . Graduates include Kirk Maltby and Paul Woods of the Detroit Red Wings, Tim Brent of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ken Ellacott of the Vancouver Canucks, Don "Red" Laurence of the Atlanta Flames and former NHL Linesman Bob Hodges.^[2]

In 1973, Hespeler amalgamated with the City of Galt and the Town of Preston to form the City of Cambridge.

Downtown

The new Hespeler Library was created by building a glass enclosure around the historic Carnegie library.

Queen Street is the downtown core of Hespeler, on which many local businesses and dining establishments are situated.

The Old Town & Fire Hall is one of the oldest buildings in Hespeler. It originally functioned as a Town Hall when Hespeler operated as an independent municipality. It still functions as a fire hall and is also the home of the Company of Neighbours, a heritage organization founded by Bill O'Krafka.

The Hespeler Library was originally an early nineteenth century carnegie-style library. In the early 2000s, it was determined that an expansion was needed. Rather than constructing another structure onto the preexisting building, a glass enclosure was built around the existing library, which both expanded the surface area and protected the historic significance of the building.

The Hespeler Train Station, formerly located on Guelph Avenue, was used for passenger trains in the early 1900s to 1950s. Queen Elizabeth passed through the station in the 1950s. It was destroyed following an act of arson on October 31, 2003.

Riverbank Lofts Development

New developments have recently been coming to the downtown area of Hespeler. Once considered a run-down downtown area^{[citation needed]}, upscale real-estate development began with the new library. Soon following, developers started planning to turn the old American Standard factory into high-end condos.^[3] Construction on the project, dubbed the 1847 Riverbank Project, is expected to start sometime 2010 and be completed in 2011. However, the project has still yet to be started, as the designers are attempting to gain approval from the Grand River Conservation Authority. To cater to the needs of the oncoming high-end demographic, several high-end businesses opened.

Education

Hespeler has several elementary schools and one high school, Jacob Hespeler Secondary School, named after the town's founder.^[4]

The sole source of post-secondary education in Hespeler is Heritage Baptist College and Heritage Theological Seminary.

Recreation

Hespeler offers many different recreational activities for its residents. There are many parks, two of the largest being Woodland and Forbes, the latter housing a tennis club.

The Johnson Centre, a community centre, is located just across the street from Forbes Park. Its facilities include a swimming pool, sauna, gymnasium, exercise rooms, and areas for local organizations and clubs to meet in.

The Speed River offers various recreational activities, such as canoeing and fishing.

There are several trails running throughout Hespeler. The Mill Run Trail, beginning at Sheffield Street, leads through Chilligo Conservation Area and part of the former site of Idylwild Park, to Cambridge's largest park, Riverside Park, in the town of Preston.^[5][6][7]

Transit terminal

The terminal is located curbside at the southwest corner of Groh Avenue and Holiday Inn Drive,^[8] just down Groebel Avenue from Queen Street. It serves as a transfer and connection point for Grand River Transit (GRT) bus routes.

GRT bus service

• Route 51 Hespeler Rd. to Ainslie St. Transit Terminal
• Route 53 Franklin
• Route 65 Fisher Mills
• Route 66 Winston
• Route 71 Melran

See also

• Cambridge, Ontario
• Preston, Ontario
• Regional Municipality of Waterloo
• Speed River
• List of Carnegie libraries in Canada

References

External links

• The Evolution of Hespeler, City of Cambridge web-site
• Company of Neighbours, Hespeler heritage association
• Hespeler at Geographical Names of Canada
• Hespeler Village downtown B.I.A.

Coordinates: 43°25′59″N 80°18′26″W / 43.43306°N 80.30722°W / 43.43306; -80.30722