Historical Plaques of
Waterloo County

In 1824, this site, where Cedar Creek enters the Nith River, became a source of water power for Ayr's earliest industry and settlement, Mudge's Mills. Later in 1884, along with Jedburgh (1832 in the east) and Nithvale (1837 in the west) the three settlements were incorporated as the village of Ayr. In 1868, John Watson, a Scottish immigrant, purchased the Abel Mudge property and built the Dam. In 1865 the John Watson Manufacturing Company (1884) transferred its water rights to the Grand River Conservation Authority and the Village of Ayr, in an overall program of beautification and water conservation. Watson's dam represents one of the important historic features for which the Grand River was designated a Canadian Heritage River in 1994.

The Pergola, which takes its name from the Italian word for "open arbor", was built by the Imperial Order of Daughters of the Empire of Galt in 1907 to honour the memory of Galt's early settlers.

The Pergola stands on the site formerly occupied by St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, which was built in 1835 and contains grave markers dating from 1835 to 1873. The markers record the names of 207 of Galt's earliest settlers, 112 of whom can be identified as members of St. Andrew's Church. The others almost undoubtedly originated in the Cemetery of the United Presbyterian Church.

St. Andrew's Church was vacated around 1880 when the congregation became a founding component of Central Presbyterian Church and was demolished in 1889.

This structure thought to be unique in North America, was designated in 1984, by the City of Cambridge, in recognition of its historical significance, on the recommendation of the local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee.

The Pergola has benefited from extensive renovations completed in 1994 by the City of Cambridge.

Construction of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, later affectionately referred to as the Auld Kirk (Old Church) was begun on this site in 1833. Construction was not completed until 1835, delayed by the onset of the cholera epidemic of 1834 that claimed the live's of almost 20 percent of Galt's population.

The founding Minister of the congregation was Rev. William Stewart, sent as a missionary to Galt in 1831 by the Church of Scotland. He was succeeded, in 1835, by Rev. John Bayne who was soon to become a leading force in a movement to sever all connections between the Presbyterian Church of Canada and the established Church of Scotland.

At a synod of the Canadian Presbyterian Church, held in Kingston in 1844, Rev. Bayne became the guiding light to a group within the church who were disturbed by the direct interference by British State authorities in the affairs of the Church of Scotland.

The majority of the congregation of St. Andrew's Church supported Rev. Bayne's position and, with him, left the Auld Kirk in July 1844 to form Knox's Presbyterian Church. The remaining members of the St. Andrew's congregation continued on this site until 1880 when they agreed to join the Union Presbyterian Church to form Central Presbyterian Church.

This union was not without its opponents and a few dissenters were determined that the "departing brethren" would not get the old church bell that had called the members of St. Andrew's congregation to services since the church was built. In the dark of night the bell was removed and hidden, not to surface again until some time in the 1890's when it was presented, without fanfare, to Knox's Presbyterian Church where it remains to this day.

St. Andrew's Church was demolished in 1889.

This structure, the only remaining covered bridge in Ontario was designed by John Bear in 1880, on the authority of Woolwich Township Council, to replace an earlier bridge over the Grand River. Built a year later by John and his brother Benjamin, the 198 foot bridge was covered to protect the wooden flooring and frame against the elements. Known locally as the Kissing Bridge, it later came under the jurisdiction of Waterloo County. In 1937 the province assumed responsibility for the Guelph-Elmira Road, including the West Montrose Bridge, and its floor and sub-structure were subsequently rebuilt and reinforced.

Canada's 10th prime minister was born in Berlin (Kitchener)on Dec 17, 1874. A grandson of William Lyon Mackenzie, he joined the Canadian civil service in 1900 as a specialist in labour relations. Elected to the federal parliament as a Liberal member for Waterloo North in 1908, he served as minister of Labour under Sir Wilfred Laurier. In 1919 he became leader of the Liberal party and prime minister in 1921. Thereafter King continued to lead the government until 1948 except for a brief interval in 1926 and the term of 1930-35. His tenure of over twenty-one years was longer than that of any other prime minister in the Commonwealth.

Captain Smith, a loyalist from Vermont, came to Upper Canada in the late 18th century. He settled with his wife Mary Weaver and three of their children at the confluence of the Grand and Conestogo Rivers in 1807. Their daughter Priscilla, born in 1808, was the first non-native child born in Woolwich Township. The Smith's two-storey log house provided lodging for the settlers arriving in the area. From 1835 to 1850 Captain Smith operated the stagecoach that carried mail from Winterbourne to Preston via Berlin.

The Ontario Heritage Foundation, the Woolwich Historical Foundation and the Waterloo Historical Society have sponsored the erection of this plaque.

The paintings adorning the walls of this remarkable Italianate villa are distinguished by their fine decorative quality and high level of execution. Of particular merit are the robust strongly coloured compositions, dating to 1878, in the hall and library. Combining figurative art with arabesque designs and trompe l'oeil, or illusionistic scenes, they are rare examples of the 19th-century attempt to reestablish the Renaissance tradition of fresco painting. Their survival enriches our understanding of the interrelationship of classical art and architecture in this period.

Founder of Ontario's public hydro-electric system. Adam Beck (1857-1925) was born in Baden. He lived in this community until 1885 when he moved to London Ontario. Beck was elected mayor of that city in 1902 and the following year was appointed to a provincial commission to investigate the development and distribution of power from Niagara Falls. He served as a member of the Ontario legislature where in 1906 he introduced the bill which set up the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario. As chairman of that body 1906-25 he was largely responsible for its successful establishment and growth and was knighted in 1914.

Born in Wanckum, Prussia on November 28, 1831, Reverend Eugene Funcken joined the Congregation of the Resurrection in 1852 and was ordeined a priest in Rome 5 years later. Within several weeks of his ordination he was sent to Canada arriving in the Waterloo area on August 14, 1857. The first Resurrectionist in North America, Father Funcken served as superior and director of the Congregation's missionary work in the United States and present day Ontario. In addition to these activities he founded St. Agatha orphanage in 1859, co-founded with his brother, Reverend Louis Funcken, C. R., St. Jerome's college in 1865, and laboured as pastor of St. Agatha Roman Catholic Church for three decades until his death on July 18, 1888.

ST. JEROME'S COLLEGE
Was founded here by
Rev. Louis Funcken C.R.
Erected by grateful alumni 1935

In 1822 Christian Nafziger, an Amish Mennonite from Munich, Germany, came to Upper Canada to find land on which to settle some 70 German families. With the assistance of a group of Mennonites headed by Jacob Erb, who had settled nearby, a petition was made to the government for land here in present-day Wilmot Township. Surveyed two years later by John Goessman, this "German Block" was peopled primarily by Amish from Europe. In 1824-25 Bishop John Stoltzfus of Pennsylvania organized the first congregation and ordained as ministers John Brenneman and Joseph Goldschmidt. Services were held in the homes of members until 1884 when a simple frame meeting house, which served until 1946, was erected near this site.

This attractive public building was designed and built in 1857-8 by H.B. Sinclair, a local resident, as a "Town Hall and Market House". Galt had become an incorporated town on January 1, 1857, and the first mayor, Morris C. Lutz, was elected by the new Council that month. On May 13, he laid the corner-stone of this structure. It is classical in general style, and the "Italianate", particularly Tuscan, influence is quite predominant. Various additions were made in later years, and in 1963-64 a thorough rehabilitation of the building was carried out.

Born at Preston, Upper Canada, and educated at Toronto and Michigan Universities, Klotz joined the public service in 1879. For thirty years he was engaged in topographical surveys in British Columbia, the Canadian Northwest, and Alaska. Appointed Assistant Chief Astronomer in 1908, he became director of the Dominion Observatory in 1917. The author of many papers on astronomy and geography, he was elected to fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada in 1910. He died at Ottawa.

N� � Preston (Haut-Canada), Klotz �tudia � Toronto et au Michigan. Entr� au service public en 1879, il oeuvra pendant trente ans aux lev�s topographiques en Colombie-Britannique, au Nord-Ouest canadien et en Alaska. Astronome-chef adjoint en 1908, il devint directeur de l'Observatoire du Dominion en 1917. Il publia nombre d'articles portant sur l'astronomie et la g�ographie et devint membre de la Soci�t� royale du Canada en 1910. lI mourut � Ottawa.

This park was officially opened as part of the town of
Preston's incorporation day on September 30, 1899. Taking
part in those ceremonies were reeve Otto Homuth,
members of council, as well as South Waterloo M.P.P.
George A. Clare. A metal fountain dedicated to the
memory of Dr. W.B. Duck, a prominent physician and town
supporter, stood near the Argyle-Duke Street corner
and a large gazebo once graced the park opposite the
church. The gazebo was once a venue for concerts by
the famous Preston Silver Band.

Sitting adjacent to the commercial businesses on King
Street, the old Preston School and the old Farmer's
Market. Central Park was a focal point within the
Preston community. As you view the park now many of
the trees shading it were saplings when it was
first opened. A new pavilion was installed in 1978 in
memory of a much loved resident, Jack Harris.

The Preston Cenotaph, honouring Preston residents
killed in the service of their country, was dedicated on
November 8, 1926 in a ceremony involving Ontario Lt. Gov.
Henry Cockshutt. The names of Preston' soldiers killed
in the second world war were added in 1949.

This plaque was erected by the Preston Towne Centre
Business Improvement Association and the City of
Cambridge, with the assistance of Heritage Cambridge,
in honour of the town's centennial anniversary.

Born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, John Erb (1764-1832) was a Mennonite of Swiss ancestry. He came to Upper Canada in 1805, acquired 7500 acres of land from the German Land Company, and settled on the site of Preston. The following year he built a sawmill and in 1807 a grist-mill around which the community grew. The numerous descendants of John Erb and his relatives have played an important role in the development of Waterloo County. This town, known as "Cambridge Mills", was renamed after Preston, England.

An Englishman, Frederick Hobson emigrated to Canada in 1904 after serving in the South African War. Eight years later, he moved to Galt (now Cambridge) with his family. When war broke out in 1914, he joined the Norfolk Rifles, then enlisted with the 20th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his heroic action at Hill 70, near Lens, France on August 18, 1917. During an intense German counter-attack, Hobson rushed from his trench, reactivated a buried Lewis gun, and engaged the advancing enemy single-handed. When the gun jammed, the wounded Hobson fought with bayonet and rifle until he was shot. In the time gained reinforcements approached to drive the enemy back.

Born at Deseronto on June 8, 1894, he attended Galt Collegiate from 1908 to 1913 and joined the 3rd Battalion, C.E.F. in 1914, going to France in 1915. As a Corporal, he won the Military Medal at Mont Sorrel in June, 1916. Recovering from his wounds in England, he was appointed a Lieutenant and returned to his unit in July, 1917. He won the Military Cross at Amiens in August, 1918, and a second MC at Bourlon Wood when not fully recovered from earlier wounds. On September, 27, 1918, he won the Victoria Cross at Bourlon Wood when he rushed a stronghold and single-handed captured four machine guns and 31 prisoners. In Canada, he continued with Militia service and a business career in Toronto, where he died on December 8, 1929 and was buried with full military honours in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

Erected by the Highland Fusiliers of Canada with the support of the citizens of the City of Cambridge and the Ontario Heritage Foundation. Captain Kerr is honoured by a Provincial Plaque at Deseronto.

Samuel Honey was born in Conn, Wellington County on February 9, 1894. A school teacher at 17, he enlisted on January 25, 1915, in the 34th Battalion, C.E.F. Being raised in Galt, and went to England as a sergeant in October, 1915. In France, he won the Military Medal in January, 1917 and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for gallant leadership in April, 1917. After completing officer training, he returned to his unit in France and won the Victoria Cross at Bourlon Wood on September 27, 1918. With all other officers killed or wounded, he took command of his Company and single-handed rushed and captured a machine-gun post and ten prisoners. He died of wounds on September 29, 1918, and is buried at Queant Cemetery, France.

Erected by the Highland Fusiliers of Canada with the support of the citizens of the City of Cambridge and the Ontario Heritage Foundation. Lieutenant Honey is honoured by a Provincial Plaque at Conn.

• Born Galt, Ontario 10 December, 1885
• Commissioned in 29 Waterloo Regiment of Infantry - 1912
• Volunteered for overseas service in the Great War with 18th
  Battalion CEF - 1914
• Twice wounded, twice Mentioned in Dispatches for bravery
• Awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) at the Battle of
  Courselette - 1918
• Mobilized the Highland Light Infantry of Canada for service in 1940
  and led them overseas to England.
• Promoted to full Colonel, he returned to Canada to command
  Military Districts 2 and 10 as well as the Camp Borden
  Training Complex
• Except for Wartime service Colonel McIntosh served as Postmaster
  for Galt from 1919 until retirement in 1951. He served two
  terms on City Council and was head of the Civil Defence
  Organization for eight years.
  He passed away in Galt on 07 September 1970 at age 85.
  "One of Canada's Citizen Soldiers"

Born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Eby came to Upper Canada in 1806 and purchased extensive lands in this vicinity on which he settled the following year. He was ordained a minister of the Mennonite Church in 1809 and in 1812 was made a bishop. Through his efforts the first Mennonite church in western Upper Canada was built in this settlement in 1813. Eby was for many years the religious and secular leader of this community which was known first as Ebytown named Berlin about 1830, and in 1916 re-named Kitchener.

This house, constructed in 1820 by Joseph Schneider (1772-1843), is the oldest surviving dwelling in Kitchener. Built of frame and originally covered with roughcast, it has been little changed externally since 1850. Schneider, a native of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, purchased this lot in April, 1807 in the German Company tract in Waterloo Township. He arrived here in June of that year, and after clearing his farm and cutting a road along the line of Queen Street, built a sawmill in 1816. Shortly thereafter a small settlement began to form along "Schneider's Road", partly on his land, which became the village of "Berlin" and the nucleus of the city of Kitchener.

Built around 1816, this house is a reminder of the migration of Pennsylvania-German Mennonites to Waterloo County in the early 19th century. The movement was led by Joseph Schneider, the builder of the house, and his brother-in-law Bishop Benjamin Eby, with the goal of creating a new colony in Upper Canada. The city of Kitchener grew up around their properties, becoming the centre of German culture in Ontario. One of the best preserved pioneer dwellings in the region, the house faithfully reflects the distinctive vernacular plan developed by Mennonites in the pre-revolutionary American colonies.

Cette maison rappelle la principale vague d'immigrants mennonites germanophones partis de Pennsylvania pour s'�tablir dans le comt� de Waterloo au d�but du XIXe si�cle, Joseph Schneider et son beau-fr�re, l'�v�que Benjamin Eby, dirig�rent ce groupe venu fonder une nouvelle colonie dans le Haut-Canada. Celle-ce donna naissance � la ville de Kitchener, laquelle devint le carrefour culturel allemand en Ontario. B�tie vers 1816 pars Joseph Schneider, cette maison de pionniers, l'une des mieux pr�serv�es de la r�gion, pr�sente un plan type tel que con�u par les Mennonites avant la R�volution am�ricaine.

The peace of Frankfurt in 1871 ended the Franco-Prussian war which was the last major European conflict of the 19th century. King Wilhelm 1 of Prussia (1797-1888) led the numerous German States to victory and, as Kaiser Wilhelm 1, united them into one powerful nation. The resulting balance of power within Europe helped ensure peace among the major nations for more than forty years. The coming of the Peace Treaty signalled celebration - FRIEDENSFEST - on May 2, 1871 in the newly incorporated town of Berlin, Ontario. The mainly Germanic population of 2,700 welcomed ten thousand visitors for parades, speeches, dancing, mass choir-singing and fireworks. Twenty-five years later, many of the original Friedensfest revellers gathered again in Berlin to relive the celebration. From this 1896 reunion came a public fund-raising campaign to erect a memorial - Denkmal - to honour the 1871 Friedensfest. On August 13, 1897 a ten foot granite monument, topped with a four foot bronze bust of Kaiser Wilhelm 1 was unveiled with great ceremony. The project was organized by the town's Germanic community and was supported by most other citizens. The bust was pulled down on August 23, 1914, three weeks after the outbreak of World War 1. It was recovered from Victoria Lake, put into storage and disappeared mysteriously 18 months later. The Park Board ordered the granite monument broken up on March 1, 1916.

This new monument honours the history of our city. May it serve in the spirit of the original memorial as we seek peace for all people for all time.

Like many pioneers of this district, the founder of Waterloo was a German Mennonite from Franklin County, Pennsylvania. In 1805 he purchased 900 acres of bush land on the site of this town. He settled here in 1806 and erected the first sawmill two years later. His gristmill, built in 1816, remained in continuous operation for 111 years and formed the nucleus and social centre of a thriving community.

In 1827 Dr. William "Tiger" Dunlop of the Canada Company opened the line of the Huron Road some 95 miles from Goderich to Guelph whose townsites were established that year. Improved in 1828 to promote the sale of Company lands in the million-acre Huron Tract, comprising parts of modern Huron, Perth, Middlesex and Lambton Counties, the route is now followed by provincial Highway 8 from Goderich to Waterloo County. Passing through Wilmot and Waterloo Townships to the Hespler area, via Haysville and Strasburg, it then approximated the present course of provincial Highway 24 to Guelph. Townships were surveyed and 5,905 persons, mostly immigrants, had by 1840 settled in the Huron Tract.

An intimate knowledge and love of nature enabled Homer Watson to paint the environs of his birthplace, Doon, with rare sensitivity. Self-taught for the most part, he dignified pioneer motifs through his use of form and composition. In his paitings of the Canadian landscape he attempted to convey an impression of the essence of the nation. A doyen of native artists, he served as founding president of the Canadian Art Club (1907-1911) and as president of the Royal Canadian Academy of Art (1918-1922). The Doon School of Fine Art was established in 1948 as a memorial to Watson.

Son amour de la nature permit � Homer Watson de peindre avec une tr�s grande sensibilit� la r�gion de Doon, o� il est n�. Autodidacte, il utilisa son sens de la forme et de la composition pour retrouver l'�me nationale dans les modes de vie des pionniers du pays. Porte-parole reconnu des peintures canadiens, il fonda le Canadian Art Club en 1907 et pr�sida l'Acad�mie royale canadienne des arts (1918-1922). Cette �cole fut fond�e en son honneur.

The first Presbyterian worship service in Doon was conducted on July 7, 1853 by Dr. John Bayne of Galt. Two days later an organizational meeting was held at which plans were made to build a church. A committee was formed to promote Presbyterianism and collect funds. Mr. Rober Ferrie donated land for the church. On December 31, 1854 this building was opened for public worship with Dr. Bayne and Rev. D. McRuer conducting the services. The first communion service was held on February 25, 1856.

A grist-mill built by Josiah Cushman about 1834 formed the nucleus around which a small community of Amish Mennonites and recent German immigrants developed. A village plot was surveyed in 1845 and six years later a post-office, New Hamburg, was established with William Scott, an early mill-owner, as postmaster. By then the village, with a population of 500, contained several prosperous industries, including a pottery, and the carriage-works and foundry of Samuel Merner, a prominent Swiss-born entrepreneur. The construction of the Grand Trunk Railway, completed in 1856, and agricultural prosperity stimulated the community's development as an important centre for milling and farm machinery production. New Hamburg was incorporated as a Village, with about 1100 inhabitants, in 1857 and as a Town in 1966.

An outstanding Canadian archaeologist, Wintemberg was born in New Dundee and, as a youth developed an avid interest in this region's folklore and prehistory. After, 1901, he pursued various trades in Toronto but, encouraged by David Boyle of the Provincial Archaeological Museum there, he devoted himself increasingly to archaeological field-work and study. Following his appointment in 1912 to the Victoria Memorial Museum in Ottawa, Wintemberg undertook excavations in eastern Canada, notably in Ontario, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. Through his earlier work, and systematic excavations completed in Ontario between 1912 and 1930, he gained international recognition as an authority on Iroquoian prehistory. Wintemberg's major site reports, long a basis for understanding Iroquoian and Algonkian cultures in southern Ontario, had contributed significantly to the advancement of archaeology.

In August, 1839, a camp meeting was held in this vicinity by Bishop Joseph Seybert and five preachers, which resulted in the formation of Upper Canada's first Evangelical Church congregation. This church and the United Brethren in Christ had been founded in Pennsylvania about 1800 by German-speaking settlers. In 1836 missionaries from the Evangelical Church had preached in the Niagara Peninsula and in this region. Their first church in Canada was opened in 1841 at Berlin (Kitchener), and in 1864 a separate Canada Conference was established. In later years congreations were formed throughout Ontario and Western Canada, and in 1946 the Evangelical Church joined with the United Brethren to form the Evangelical United Brethren.

From 1817 to 1819, Scottish botanist John Goldie (1793-1886) visited Canada and the northern U.S. to collect plant specimens. He returned with his family in 1844 to settle here on a farm they named "Greenfield". By 1850 the Goldies were operating a grist and oatmeal mill. In 1865 they opened a larger mill to refine local wheat for international markets. Many features of the village that grew up around it are evident today. In addition to the mill, the mill pond, dam, sluice gates and mill race can still be seen. Along this road stand former Goldie family homes and a row of "salt box" cottages that were built in the 1860s for mill workers and their families.

The Galt Grammar School was established in 1852 in a former township hall, and William Tassie (1815-1886) became headmaster the following year. Previously assistant headmaster at the Gore District school in Hamilton, Tassie had come to Canada from Dublin in 1834. Under his direction the Galt school, familiarly known as "Tassies", attained widespread recognition and attracted students from all over the continent. In 1853 the school was moved to a stone building which forms part of this structure, and in 1872 was among the first in the province to attain the status of Collegiate Institute. Finding the new system incompatible with his own methods of teaching, Dr. Tassie resigned in 1881.

One of several classical colleges established in Ontario during the mid-19th century, St. Jerome's was founded by Resurrectionist priests in 1865 to serve German Roman Catholics in Waterloo County. Under the charge of Reverend Louis Funcken, C.R., it offered two courses of study - a four year academic program designed to prepare students for professional studies or for the priesthood, and a two-year commercial program designed to produce strong Catholic business leaders. In the decades following its founding, the college developed gradually, both improving and expanding its curricula. In 1947 it affiliated with the University of Ottawa and in 1959 it gained independent university status. The next year, St. Jerome's entered into federation with the University of Waterloo as the founding church college of that institution.

In 1956 community leaders, headed by Dr. J. Gerald Hagey, formed the Waterloo College Associate Faculties, a non-denominational corporation, to provide Waterloo with improved educational facilities, particularly in the technical, scientific and engineering fields. A year later about seventy students, attracted by a pioneer programme in co-operative education, attended the institutions first classes. Full university powers were conferred by a 1959 Act and the next year the University awarded its first degrees. St. Jerome's College, a century-old Roman Catholic educational institution, federated with the University of Waterloo in 1960 and within the next year Renison (Anglican), St. Paul's (United Church) and Conrad Grebel (Mennonite) became affiliate colleges of the University.

Waterloo County held its first council meeting on January 24, 1853, on this site, at the newly-built county courthouse in Berlin (now Kitchener). Council's 12 members came from five townships (North Dumfries, Waterloo, Wellesley, Wilmot, Woolwich) and two villages (Galt, Preston) and selected the reeve of Waterloo Township, Dr. John Scott, as the county's first warden. With the establishment of Waterloo County emerged a series of enduring institutions including roads and bridges, a judiciary and jail, grammar (or high) schools, a House of Industry and Refuge, agricultural societies and local markets. On January 1, 1973 the Waterloo County area became the Regional Municipality of Waterloo.

Born in Berlin (Kitchener) and educated at Toronto and Johns Hopkins Universities, MacMechan served as professor of English at Dalhousie from 1889 until his death. Book critic for the Montreal Standard for twenty years, he himself, wrote several books about his adopted province and edited works by Tennyson, Carlyle and others. Elected to fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada in 1920, he was awarded the Lorne Pierce Medal in 1932. He died in Halifax.

Joseph Seagram, industrialist, politician and sportsman, was born near Galt, Upper Canada. In 1864 he came to Waterloo where he subsequently began the association with the distillery of which he became sole proprietor in 1883. As a leading businessman, he took an active part in local public affairs, and represented Waterloo in the House of Commons from 1896 to 1908. In addition to his business and political activities, Seagram was prominent in Canadian racing circles; many of his horses won the Queen's Plate and King's Plate and from 1906 to 1919 he was president of the Ontario Jockey Club. He died at Waterloo.

The head office of The Mutual Life Assurance Company of Canada (now the head office of Sun Life Financial's Canadian operations) was completed in 1912. Designed by Canadian architect Frank Darling, of the Toronto firm Darling and Pearson, the impressive Renaissance Revival style building is ornamented with features such as the two-storey fluted, paired Ionic columns supporting a large segmental arch above the main doors, elaborate window surrounds, and a parapet with a balustrade. It is clad in light brown and yellow Roman brick and embellished with projecting pedimented bays and quoins. Many of the decorative details on the fa�ade are made from imported English terra cotta. Situated within a Beaux Arts designed landscape, the building is a unique and iconic corporate pavilion. The monumental scale of the building and its rich ornamentation symbolize the importance and stability of Waterloo's first life insurance company and reflect the town's early 20th century prosperity and sense of civic pride.

Born in Galt, Young was educated locally, and from 1853 to 1863 was editor and publisher of the Dumfries Reformer. From 1867 to 1878 he represented South Waterloo in the Canadian Parliament, and from 1879 to 1886 was the member for North Brant in the Ontario Legislature. Appointed provincial treasurer in 1883, he was compelled by illness to resign the post four months later, though he remained a member until 1886. A frequent speaker and writer on commercial affairs, Young was also a noted local historian. He published a number of books, including Reminiscences of the Early History of Galt and the Settlement of Dumfries and Public Men and Public Life in Canada.

Founded in 1911 as the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary of Canada, and situated on land donated by the Board of Trade of Waterloo, this institution was originally established to train homegrown Lutheran pastors. It was expanded in 1914 with the creation of Waterloo College School, which included faculties for pre-theological education. In 1924, Waterloo College of Arts was established and the following year it became affiliated with the University of Western Ontario, thus offering its students the opportunity to attain arts degrees. This affiliation ended in 1960 when Waterloo College obtained degree-granting powers of its own and was renamed Waterloo Lutheran University. On November 1, 1973, it became a secular, provincially assisted university under the name Wilfrid Laurier University. In the ensuing decades, the university has grown to include multiple campuses and a diverse, international student body. Waterloo Lutheran Seminary remains an affiliate of the non-denominational university.

Mackenzie King, grandson of William Lyon Mackenzie, was born in Berlin, now Kitchener, Ontario. As a public servant he organized the Department of Labour, and was recognized as an authority on industrial relations. Entering politics in 1908, he became leader of the Liberal Party in 1919, Prime Minister in 1921, and except for three months in 1926, and the years 1930-1935, remained in office until his retirement in 1948. His great skill in compromise enabled him to maintain the political balance among Canada's peoples and regions. He died at Kingsmere, Qu�bec, and was buried in Toronto.

An Anglican clergyman who left the ministry in 1891 to work for most of the rest of his life as a civil servant in Ottawa, Campbell is known as a minor member of the "Sixties Group" which produced Canada's first noteworthy English verse. He was born in Kitchener, but the Bruce Peninsula where he spent his early days was the inspiration for his best poetry. As well, he wrote novels, histories, drama and travel books. His imperialism and his attempts to use Nature to reconcile Christian theology and Darwinism make him a significant reflection of Canadian Victorianism. He died in Ottawa.

William Lyon Mackenzie King, tenth Prime Minister of Canada, spend his adolescent years at Woodside, where he lived from 1886-1893. The country setting he enjoyed during this formative period among books and family mementoes fostered his later spiritual, moral and intellectual development. Close ties with his parents, sisters and brothers shaped his image of the ideal family life. The home, originally constructed in 1853, along with its picturesque gardens, also recalls the daily life of a genteel family in the late 19th century.

In the spring of 1800, Joseph Schoerg and Samuel Betzner, Jr., brothers-in-law, Mennonites, from Franklin County, Pennsylvania, began the first two farms in the County of Waterloo; Schoerg on land adjoining this farm, Betzner on the west bank of the river, 5 km downstream.

In the same year came Samuel Betzner, Sr., who took up a farm including this site.

Other settlers followed and in 1805 a company formed in Pennsylvania purchased 24,000 ha, the German Company Tract, comprising the greater part of Block 2, Grand River Indian Lands, now Waterloo Township. This constituted the first larger settlement in the then far interior of Upper Canada.

In the year 1800 a small number of Mennonite families arrived from Pennsylvania to settle Block 2, former Six Nation land along the Grand River. Others, mainly Mennonites, following during the next three years until problems regarding ownership of the land curtailed the migration. Representatives were sent back to Pennsylvania to raise the money necessary to secure clear title to the land, with the result that a joint stock company was formed and 24,000 ha purchased. Pennsylvania 'Dutch' settlers quickly took up this land, creating the first sizeable inland settlement in Upper Canada.