St. Jacobs St. Jacobs is located in southwest Ontario just north of Waterloo with a Mennonite heritage. The Conestogo River, which powered the village's original gristmill, runs through the village. St. Jacobs was settled in 1819 and was first known as "Jakobstettel" which means "Jacob's Village." The St. was added to the name to make it sound more pleasing and the pluralization was in honour of the combined efforts of Jacob C. Snider and his son, Jacob C. Snider, Jr., founders of the village. St. Jacobs' developed as a thriving business community throughout the 1800s with a felt factory,...

Elmira is the largest community within the Township of Woolwich in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and is located 15 kilometres (9 miles) to the north of the city of Waterloo. The land comprising Woolwich Township originally belonged to the Huron and then the Mohawk Indians. The first settlers arrived in Woolwich Township in the late eighteenth century. In 1798, William Wallace, one of the first settlers in the area, was deeded 86,078 acres of land on the Grand River for a cost of $16,364. In 1806, Wallace sold the major portion of his tract to Mennonites. Benjamin Eby, the secretary of...

The Township of Wellesley is the rural, north-western township of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. The township comprises the communities of Bamberg, Crosshill, Hawkesville, Heidelberg, Kingwood, Knight's Corners, Linwood, Macton, St. Clements, Wallenstein and Wellesley. The country scenery and rolling hills, along with its small town feel, have transformed the township into a commuter town with the population travelling into the nearby cities of Kitchener and Waterloo for work. Wellesley Township was surveyed in 1842, but settlers were in this area long before. The town of Wellesley's...

The Township of Wellesley is the rural, north-western township of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. The township comprises the communities of Bamberg, Crosshill, Hawkesville, Heidelberg, Kingwood, Knight's Corners, Linwood, Macton, St. Clements, Wallenstein and Wellesley. The country scenery and rolling hills, along with its small town feel, have transformed the township into a commuter town with the population travelling into the nearby cities of Kitchener and Waterloo for work. Wellesley Township was surveyed in 1842, but settlers were in this area long before. The town of Wellesley's...

Listowel Listowel is located in the municipality of North Perth, northwest of Kitchener/Waterloo, and west of Elmira on Highway 86. Settler John Binning arrived in 1857 and was the first to create a permanent residence in the area. The community was originally named Mapleton, but the name was changed when a post office was established. The new name was chosen by a government official and refers to Listowel, Ireland (a market town in County Kerry situated on the River Feale, 28 kilometres, or 17 miles, from the county town, Tralee.) The majority of early settlers were of Protestant Irish...

Thames Centre is a municipality in Middlesex County located in southwestern Ontario a few kilometres east of London. Communities in the township include: Avon, Belton, Cherry Grove, Crampton, Cobble Hill, Derwent, Devizes, Dorchester, Evelyn, Fanshawe Lake, Friendly Corners, Gladstone, Harrietsville, Kelly Station, Mossley, Nilestown, Oliver, Putnam, Salmonville, Silvermoon, Thorndale, Three Bridges, and Wellburn. Dorchester is the residential and commercial core of the township. Mossley Until 1840 the Mossley area was an untouched wilderness of pines, maples, and beeches. The first settlers...

Fergus is the largest community in Centre Wellington, a township within Wellington County. It lies on the Grand River about 25 kilometres north of Guelph. The first settlers to this area were freed slaves who formed what was known as the Pierpoint Settlement, named after their leader, Richard Pierpoint. Along with half a dozen other men, Pierpoint was granted land in Garafraxa Township in what is now Fergus. Adam Fergusson visited Canada in 1831 to investigate emigration for the Highland Society of Scotland. In 1833 in partnership with a fellow Scot, James Webster, they purchased over 7,000...

Elora is located in Wellington County on the Grand River and is about twenty kilometres north of Guelph, and twenty kilometres northeast of Kitchener-Waterloo. Elora was founded in 1832 by Captain William Gilkison, a British officer recently returned from India. Originally called Irvine Settlement, the village was renamed Elora when the post office was established in 1839. Gilkison named the community after his brother's ship, which was itself inspired by the Ellora Caves near Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. The Elora Gorge, located at the western edge of the village, is one of the most...

Palmerston is located in Wellington County, west of Arthur, northeast of Listowel, and northwest of Kitchener and Waterloo. The opening in 1871 of a station on the main line of the Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway soon to be completed from Guelph to Southampton, provided the nucleus around which a community developed. In its original concept the railroad was to run from Guelph to Harriston and would not have gone through Palmerston. Listowel needed to be linked to the railroad and it was decided to bend the route toward Listowel. It was also decided that a yard with maintenance shops would...

Aylmer is located in southern Ontario just north of Lake Erie on Catfish Creek. It is 20 kilometres south of Highway 401. It is located on Highway 3 between St. Thomas to the west, and Tillsonburg to the east. In October 1817, John Van Patter, an emigrant from New York State, obtained 200 acres of land and was the first settler on the site of Aylmer. During the 1830s a general store was opened and village lots sold. Originally called Troy, in 1835 it was renamed Aylmer after Lord Aylmer, then Governor-in-Chief of British North America. By 1851 local enterprises included sawmills and...