Waterloo County, Ontario
| Waterloo County | |
|---|---|
| Former County | |
 |
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| Established | 1853 |
| Dissolved | 1973 |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) |
Waterloo County, created in 1853 and dissolved in 1973, was the forerunner of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. It consisted of five townships: Woolwich, Wellesley, Wilmot, Waterloo, and North Dumfries. The major population centres were Waterloo, Kitchener (known as Berlin prior to 1916), Preston, Hespeler, Blair, and Doon in Waterloo township; Galt in North Dumfries; Elmira in Woolwich; and New Hamburg in Wilmot. All are now part of the Regional Municipality.
Waterloo County was once one of the most densely wooded sections in North America. Oak trees three to four feet in diameter, maple, beech, elm, ash oak and great pines were common. The county, located in the northerly edge of the Attiwandaronk or Neutral Indian country was excellent for hunting and fishing.
In 1784, the British Government granted the Grand River valley to its Indian allies of the American Revolution, the Iroquois confederation refugees from central and western New York State. The area was from Lake Erie to the Elora falls, and the width being six miles on each side of the river. The First Nations soon offered almost half of the upper area for sale. It was divided into four blocks. Blocks 1, 2 and 3 were sold by 1816; this large area became the townships of Waterloo, Woolwich and Dumfries.
The western part of this area was initially by Mennonites of German extraction from Pennsylvania; most settled the area that would become Kitchener, St. Jacobs, Elmira and surroundings. The southern part (now Cambridge) - as well as areas that would become Fergus and Elora, just outside Waterloo County - were settled by Scots. Except for grist, woolen and saw mills, there was little industry in any of these area until about 1870.
Settlement of the what became the Township of Waterloo started in 1800 by Joseph Schoerg and Samuel Betzner, Jr. (brothers-in-law), Mennonites, from Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Other settlers followed mostly from Pennsylvania typically by Conestoga wagons. The early group purchased land from Richard Beasley who had acquired it from the Six Nations. The first school was begun in 1802 near the village of Blair. The first teacher's name was Rittenhaus of Pennsylvania.
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