Woolwich, Ontario

Woolwich
Township (lower-tier)
Township of Woolwich
Woolwich
Coordinates: 43°34′N 80°29′W / 43.567°N 80.483°W / 43.567; -80.483Coordinates: 43°34′N 80°29′W / 43.567°N 80.483°W / 43.567; -80.483
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Regional municipality	Waterloo
Settled	1798
Government
• Type	Township
• Mayor	Sandy Shantz
• Governing Body	Woolwich Township Council
• Councillors	Scott Hahn, Patrick Merlihan, Murray Martin, Larry Shantz, Mark Bauman
• MP	Harold Albrecht (CPC)
• MPP	Michael Harris (PC)
Area[1]
• Land	326.15 km2 (125.93 sq mi)
Population (2016)[2]
• Total	25,006
• Density	76.7/km2 (199/sq mi)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s)	519 and 226
Website	www.woolwich.ca

Woolwich within Waterloo Region

The Township of Woolwich is a rural township in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, considered as a municipality. A full ten small communities make up the Township which is located in the northeast part of Waterloo Region and is made up of 10 small communities, with Elmira, Ontario the largest and St. Jacobs, Ontario the second largest. The population at the time of the 2016 Census was 25,006, up slightly from the 2011 population of 23,145. Waterloo Region is still home to the largest population of Old Order Mennonites in Canada, particularly in the areas around St Jacobs and Elmira.^[3] They are often seen on the local roads using their traditional horse and buggy transportation; many also use horses to pull the implements in their farm fields.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9]}

Woolwich is part of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and is located directly to the north and east of the City of Waterloo. It is bounded by the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge. The township is a municipality as established by the Regional Municipality of Waterloo Act 1972, which created a regional government structure and established limits of the local municipalities effective January 1, 1973. Woolwich Township has its own municipal government consisting of five Councillors and a Mayor; the latter also serves on the Waterloo Region Council.^[10]

History

The land which now makes up Woolwich Township, with the Grand River on the East, and the Conestogo River on the West, originally belonged to the Huron Nation followed by the Mohawk Nation. The first settlers arrived in the late 18th century. In 1798, William Wallace was one of the first settlers after he was deeded 86,078 acres (348 km2) of land on the Grand River for a cost of $16,364. Originally Block three of Indian Lands, this area now comprises a large part of Woolwich Township. The parcel of land called "Woolwich" was probably named (in 1816) after a town in Kent, England. The early settlers were primarily from England or Ireland until about 1830; they settled to the east of the Grand River. Afterwards, German Mennonite families from Pennsylvania and from Waterloo Township settled west of the river.^[11]

In 1807, Wallace sold the major portion of his tract to Mennonites from Pennsylvania, trustees for the German Company, many of whom would settle this area.^[12] Wallace sold 45,185 acres (183 km²) of land to the German Company at $1.00 an acre. Captain Smith, a loyalist from Vermont, settled at the confluence of the Grand and Conestogo Rivers in 1807. Their large log home served as an inn for travelers and he operated a stagecoach for carrying mail from 1835 to 1850.^[13]

St. Jacobs, like nearby Conestogo (both in Woolwich), was primarily Germanic and was first settled in 1830.^[14] In 1834, Edward Bristow from Sussex, England^[15] became one of Elmira's first settlers when he purchased 53 acres (210,000 m²) of land at this location for 50 cents per acre. He started the first store, tavern and potashery.^[16] A community by the name of Bristow's Corners was already in existence in 1839 when a post office was assigned there; it was renamed Elmira in 1853.

Old Order Mennonite buggy still common in Woolwich Township

Records about the entire township from 1846 indicate that the area was thinly settled although the land was excellent and there were large tracts of hardwood. There were two grist and two saw mills and an Episcopal church. The population count in 1841 indicated 1009 people.^[17]

A significant influx to the St. Jacobs area did not happen until the early 1850s however, primarily Mennonites from Pennsylvania. Farmer and pioneer industrialist Jacob C. Snider, of Swiss German descent, was the most important settler at the time and the community was named after him: Jakobstettel (Jacob's Village). He built a dam to power several mills and then built a sawmill, woolen mill and flour mill by 1852. This helped to attract others to the small community.^[18][19] The St. was added to the name simply to make it sound more pleasing and the pluralization was in honour of the combined efforts of Jacob C. Snider (1791–1865) and his son, Jacob C. Snider, Jr. (1822–1857), founders of the village.^[20] The first post office in St. Jacobs opened in 1852, called St. Jacobs and the village was incorporated in that year. By 1855, the population was 400.^[21]

In 1864, the vast majority of the Township was rural, with some small settlements. The only incorporated villages were St. Jacub's, Conestogo, Winterbourne and Elmira.^[22] Mennonites formed a significant proportion of the population in the 1850s. Most were the so-called Pennsylvania Dutch, not referring to the Netherlands but a misnomer for Deitsch or Deutsch (German). They became known as Old Order Mennonite due to their very conservative, traditional lifestyle. (Other Mennonites in the area now have a less conservative lifestyle.) ^{[23][24][25][26]}

St. James Lutheran Church, Elmira

In the early 1900s, Woolwich Township exhibited a strong German culture and those of German origin made up a third of the population in 1911. Because of increased immigration direct from Germany, Lutherans were the primary religious group by that time; there were nearly three times as many Lutherans as Mennonites.^[27][28]

A rail line did not reach St. Jacobs or Elmira until 1891.^[29][30] The Grand Trunk and the Canadian Pacific railways provided useful transportation and as a result, furniture manufacturing and other industries began to open in Elmira.

During the 1960s, due to the poor disposal practices of chemical manufacturers, contamination seeped down to the aquifer in and around Elmira. This contamination forced local water wells to close in 1990. Water is now delivered via a pipeline from Waterloo and other near local areas.^[31][32][33]

Government

The township is governed by five elected Councillors and a Mayor, Sandy Shantz for the 2014 to 2018 term. Council meetings are held in the chambers at 24 Church Street West, Elmira.^[34] Sandy Shantz is also a Regional Councillor and sits on the various boards, including Waterloo North Hydro, Grand River Conservation Authority, Regional Library Board, Kiwanis Transit Board, Waterloo Region Community Housing Committee, Kissing Bridge Trailway Advisory Committee and Airport Master Plan Committee.^[35]

Waterloo Region Council is made up of the Chair and eight Councillors, as well as the mayors of the seven municipalities: Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo, and the Townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich.^[36]

Economy

The St. Jacobs Market is a major tourist attraction

Elmira is the primary industrial centre of Woolwhich Township. Major employers include Trylon TSF,^[37] Sanyo Machine Works, Elmira Pet Products, Chemtura, Toyota Boshoku formerly Trim Masters, Engineered Lifting Systems, and Southfield Windows & Doors. Since the 1970s, tourism has become an increasingly important industry in Elmira and especially in St. Jacobs which has a very popular Farmers' Market and many quaint stores in its downtown area.^{[38][39] [40]}

St. Jacobs features dozens of artisans in historic buildings, such as the Country Mill, Village Silos, Mill Shed, and the Old Factory. Visitors may watch artisans make pottery, quilts, designer clothes, jewellery, glass vases, woven wall hangings tiffany lamps, stained glass doors, miniature doll houses and more. There are also two blacksmith shops. The two-kilometre millrace is a pleasant, treed hiking path along the Conestogo River. The Visitor Centre in downtown St. Jacobs is a Mennonite interpretation centre, providing information and education about the Mennonite people in the township.^[41]

The original Home Hardware building

St. Jacobs is also the headquarters of Home Hardware, a national chain of over 1000 independent hardware retail stores located across Canada that was founded in the village in 1963. The first store opened in St. Jacobs in 1964. It remains in use by the chain as the furniture outlet but a new store was built across the street, opening in November 2014.^[42]

Economic development for the township is handled by the Region of Waterloo. Elmira and St. Jacobs have their own Business Improvement Area committees.^[43][44]

Communities

Street scene in Elmira

Woolwich consists of an extensive rural area along with residential communities and industrial/commercial areas. The residential communities include: Elmira, St. Jacobs, Breslau, Conestogo, Heidelberg, Maryhill, North Woolwich, Bloomingdale, Weissenburg, West Montrose, Floradale, Winterbourne, Crowsfoot Corners, Mundil, Weber, Shanz Station, Martin Grove Village, Eldale, and Zuber Corners.

The three largest areas offering a range of residential, industrial, commercial and recreational uses are in Elmira, St. Jacobs and Breslau; the latter adjoins Kitchener and is the fastest growing community in the township.

The Township contains an area of approximately 31,912 hectares (78,854 acres), with population of 25,006 in 2016.

Woolwich Memorial Centre

The Woolwich Memorial Centre (WMC) is the Township of Woolwich's newest state-of-the-art facility comprising two NHL-sized ice surfaces, two pools, a fitness centre and walking track. The facility also includes a community centre, seniors centre, youth centre, Concourse Cafe, two meeting rooms and offices for minor sport teams.

Trails

Woolwich Township has eleven trails; much of the 45 kilometre long Kissing Bridge Trailway runs through this area.^[45]

Transport

Region of Waterloo International Airport

Airport

• Region of Waterloo International Airport (YKF), Breslau

Bus

• Grand River Transit Bus 21 services Elmira and St.Jacobs

Rail Services

• CN Railway, South Woolwich (Breslau Area) Passenger/Freight
• Region of Waterloo Waterloo to Elmira Freight

Highways

• Highway 7: Southern Portion of Woolwich (Breslau Area)
• Highway 86: Entering Woolwich from the City of Waterloo
• Highway 8: Approximately 20 km (12 miles) to Elmira and 12 km (7.5 miles)to the Woolwich boundary
• Highway 401: Approximately 28 km (17 miles) to Elmira and 20 km (12 miles) to the woolwich boundary

Demographics

Population trend:^[46]

• Population in 2011: 23,145 (2006–2011 population change: 17.7%)
• Population in 2006: 19,658
• Population in 2001: 18,201
• Population in 1996: 17,325
• Population in 1991: 17,365

Private dwellings occupied by usual residents: 7913 (total dwellings: 8046)

Gallery

• 
  West Montrose Covered bridge; Grand River
• 
  Woolwich Countryside
• 
  Maryhill, Woolwich
• 
  Woolwich Trail

See also

• List of townships in Ontario

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Woolwich, Ontario.

• Township of Woolwich official website