Wilmot, Ontario Explained

Wilmot
Official Name:Township of Wilmot
Settlement Type:Township (lower-tier)
Motto:Building a Sure Foundation
Flag Size:120x100px
Pushpin Map:CAN ON Waterloo#Canada Southern Ontario
Coordinates:43.4°N -119°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Type2:Region
Subdivision Name2:Waterloo
Established Title:Settled
Established Date:1822
Established Title2:Incorporated
Established Date2:1850
Leader Title:Mayor
Leader Name:Natasha Salonen[1]
Leader Title1:Councillors
Leader Title2:Federal riding
Leader Name2:Kitchener—Conestoga
Leader Title3:Prov. riding
Leader Name3:Kitchener—Conestoga
Area Land Km2:263.78
Population As Of:2016
Population Total:20545
Population Density Km2:77.9
Timezone:EST
Utc Offset:-5
Timezone Dst:EDT
Utc Offset Dst:-4
Postal Code Type:Postal Code
Postal Code:N3A
Area Code:519, 226, 548
Elevation M:370
Website:www.wilmot.ca

The Township of Wilmot is a rural township in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in southwestern Ontario, Canada.

History

Archaic and Woodland periods

The earliest concrete evidence of human activity within Wilmot dates to around 8,300 years ago, in the Early Archaic period, though some artifacts are thought to be as old as 13,000 years. Early Archaic evidence is in the form of artifacts from the Hunsberger Creek site (AiHd-83). This site on the upper part of Hunsberger Creek saw occupation during the Early and Middle Archaic periods, as well as the Middle and possibly Late Woodland periods. In one interpretation of the site, it represents a place of significant repeated short-term occupation; namely, a "headwater camp" where mobile hunter-gatherers stopped near the uppermost part of a waterway before possibly returning down the waterway or migrating to another drainage system.[2]

Archaeological investigation in Wilmot in the 1980s uncovered the largest known historic remains of a longhouse in North America. Originally 60m (200feet) in length, it was extended to reach a final length of 123.75m (406feet) and was home to up to 120 people. Along with three smaller longhouses, it formed the core of a village which may have had up to 600 inhabitants at its peak. Dated to between 1400 and 1450 CE (falling within the Late Woodland period), it is associated with the Neutral people, an Iroquoian society.[3]

Arrival of Europeans

Wilmot Township was a Crown Reserve by 1791. After a survey in 1824, Mennonites from Waterloo Township and Amish from Europe began to settle here. The first settlement area was prepared by Christian Nafziger, an Amish Mennonite from Pennsylvania, but originally from Germany. After 1828, Roman Catholics and Lutherans from Alsace and Germany, Anglicans from Britain and others arrived and began to develop the area and construct buildings and roads.[4] Most settlers were farmers. Much of the area was settled by those of German heritage, but also included some of Scottish, English, and Irish origins; the latter groups owned land primarily in the southern third of the township.[5]

Likely to have been the first settler in what has been called Hamburgh or New Hamburg since about 1840, millwright Josiah Cushman arrived from Germany in the early 1830s. He dammed Smith's Creek and built a sawmill that helped attract others. William Scott, (Lord Campfield in Scotland), now considered to be the founder of New Hamburg, arrived in 1838, after Cushman's death. He renamed Smith's Creek the Nith River, built a new dam and constructed a new lumber sawmill. The mill continued to plane lumber until 1902 when it burned down. The replacement building was a feed mill, later known as B-W Feed and Seed; that entity still exists, now as a sales outlet for feed.[6] [7]

Arriving in Wilmot in 1838, were John Meyer, Peter Wilker, Jacob Stoebler, Deobold Segler, and John Marteyne. In 1840, the township became part of the District of Wellington and received the right to elect officials and to tax land owners. The first Township council was elected in January 1850.[4]

At the 1841 population count there were 2,200 people in the township, most of whom were self-described as "Germans". The post office opened in 1844.

Records from 1846 indicate that the township consisted of 51,463 acres of which 15,310 were being cultivated. Existing villages included Hamburg and Haysville, and there were two grist mills and nine sawmills on the Nith River (previously called Smith's Creek).[8]

By 1864, the township included a Lutheran church, a tannery, one store, two hotels, two wagon makers, shoe and boot makers, as well as carpenters and mechanics. The school had about 60 students. The settlement was receiving mail daily.[9] There were also two Roman Catholic Separate Schools in the township of Wilmot in 1864.[10] [8]

Some of the original settlements have Heritage signs indicating their location in the 1800s: Holland Mills, Josephsburg, New Prussia, Pinehill, Punkeydoodle's Corner, Rosebank, Victoriaburg, and Waldau.[4]

Communities

The township comprises the communities of Baden, Berlett's Corners, Haysville, Josephburg, Luxemburg, Mannheim, New Dundee, New Hamburg, New Prussia, Petersburg, Phillipsburg, St. Agatha, Schindelsteddle and Wilmot Centre, as well as most of Punkeydoodles Corners, a crossroads which straddles the municipal boundaries of Wilmot, East Zorra – Tavistock and Perth East.

St. Agatha was initially called Wilmot and then it was renamed probably after the local Catholic church that had been built in the 1830s.[4] Most early settlers to this area were German: Amish Mennonites, Lutherans, and Roman Catholics. The latter were the majority, making St. Agatha the centre of Catholic community in the Township. By 1834, there were two public log schools and a Catholic log school. More modern school buildings were erected about 20 years later. The Amish Mennonites built their meeting house in 1885.[11]

Some of the settlers moved on to other areas so the community remained small. In 1869, the population was only and by 1890 it had dropped to 200. By 1906, there was a hotel, a blacksmith shop, some stores and various tradesmen.[11]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Wilmot had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of 263.81km2, it had a population density of in 2021.[12]

10 largest self-identified ethnic groups:
Ethnic originPopulationPercent
German8,30540.9
Canadian5,78528.5
English5,52527.2
Scottish4,50022.2
Irish3,83018.9
French1,98010.0
Dutch1,5707.7
Polish1,0055.0
Italian6153.0
Ukrainian4552.2
Source: StatCan, 2016 (includes multiple responses)

At the time of the 2016 Canadian Census, of the population lived in single detached houses, higher than the in the Region of Waterloo overall,[13] as well as the in nearby Kitchener.[14] The single largest self-reported ethnicity was German ; also reported knowledge of the German language and reported it as a mother tongue. The second-largest self-identified ethnic origin was Canadian, followed by English, Scottish, and Irish . of people identified themselves as Eastern European, of which the largest ethnic group was Polish . of people identified themselves as Southern European, of which the largest ethnic group was Italian . of people identified themselves as Indigenous (as First Nations and as Métis).

Transportation

Wilmot is bisected by both a mainline railway (the CN Guelph Subdivision) and a provincial highway (dual-designated as and through the township), which both run east–west. The railway passes through the cores of both Baden and New Hamburg, while the highway bypasses the town centres to the south.[15]

Passenger trains on Via Rail's Québec City–Windsor Corridor pass through Wilmot daily, but run as expresses through the township and do not stop. The nearest passenger train stations are Stratford to the west and to the east. GO Train service on the Kitchener line is also available at Kitchener station, which is its western terminus. A GO train station and storage and maintenance yard were planned to be located near Baden, but these plans were deferred following the opening of a GO train depot on Shirley Avenue in Kitchener instead.[16]

, Wilmot is served by a single bus route, Grand River Transit's Route 77 Wilmot. It operates on a 12-hour weekday schedule and uses "flex stops" to provide more convenient service to riders in certain areas. The route connects New Hamburg, Baden, and Petersburg to the Boardwalk bus terminal on the west end of Kitchener-Waterloo.[17] After an initial pilot in 2016–17 which was funded by a provincial community transportation grant, the route was made a permanent part of the Grand River Transit system.[18]

Athletics

See also

References

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2018 Unofficial Election Results. Township of Wilmot. 2018-12-21.
  2. News: Murphy . Carl . October 1997 . 1991 . A Headwater Camp on Hunsberger Creek . KEWA . London Chapter, Ontario Archaeological Society . 97 . 6 . 0228-4111 .
  3. News: Digging Deep To Unearth Wilmot's Forgotten Indigenous History . Nigel . Gordijk . 1 July 2022 . Wilmot-Tavistock Gazette . 24 July 2022 . 8 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220808161446/https://wilmotpost.ca/news/article.php?Digging-deep-to-unearth-Wilmot-s-forgotten-Indigenous-history-2050 . dead .
  4. Web site: History of Wilmot Township . Township of Wilmot. May 22, 2019.
  5. Web site: History of Wilmot Township . 1 March 1997. Waterloo Region Museum. 17 February 2019 . Wilmot Township three tracts of horizontally divided land: the German Block, Block B in the north, and Block A in the South. The German Block was controlled by the Crown. It was settled primarily by immigrants of German heritage (by which influence it acquired its name) including those from Pennsylvania, Europe, and Waterloo Township. Blocks A and B to the south and north of it, respectively, were controlled by the Canada Land Company. Although Blocks A and B were also settled by immigrants of German heritage, they were part of a mix of other immigrants of Scottish, English, and Irish origins who also settled in these areas. When Blocks A and B were acquired by the Canada Land Company in 1825, they were incorporated with the German Block and given the name Wilmot Township..
  6. News: Flash from the Past: Wilmot Township mills in the spotlight. 15 February 2019. Waterloo Region Record. 17 February 2019.
  7. News: Local "history addict" sleuths story of town's founder. 12 August 2009. New Hamburg Independent. 17 February 2019.
  8. Book: Smith, Wm. H. . 1846 . Smith's Canadian Gazetteer - Statistical and General Information Respecting all parts of The Upper Province, or Canada West. Toronto . H. & W. Rowsell . 220.
  9. Book: County of Waterloo Gazetteer and General Business Directory, For 1864 . Mitchell & Co. . 1864 . 170.
  10. Book: County of Waterloo Gazetteer and General Business Directory, For 1864 . Mitchell & Co. . 1864 .
  11. Web site: Wilmot Township: Historical Place Names. Region of Waterloo. Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum . May 22, 2019. (section: St. Agatha)
  12. Web site: Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Ontario . . February 9, 2022 . April 2, 2022.
  13. Web site: Statistics Canada . Census Profile, 2016 Census - Waterloo, regional municipality [Census division], Ontario and Ontario [Province] ]. www12.statcan.gc.ca . 30 March 2021 . 8 February 2017.
  14. Web site: Statistics Canada . Census Profile, 2016 Census - Kitchener, city [Census subdivision], Ontario and Canada [Country] ]. www12.statcan.gc.ca . 30 March 2021 . 8 February 2017.
  15. Moving Forward: Goods Movement Report . Region of Waterloo . 2018.
  16. News: New GO train yard in Kitchener leapfrogs plans for Baden . Waterloo Region Record . 23 January 2015 . 30 March 2021.
  17. News: New GRT bus route to connect Wilmot Township with Kitchener . CBC News . . . 21 April 2016 . 30 March 2021.
  18. News: Wilmot votes to keep new Route 77 bus . Scott Miller . Cressman . New Hamburg Independent . 13 December 2016 . 30 March 2021.
  19. Web site: Firebirds. New Hamburg. New Hamburg Firebirds. 2018-03-29. 2018-03-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20180329122044/https://newhamburgfirebirds.com/. dead.