Wilmot, Ontario
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The Township of Wilmot is a rural township in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in southwestern Ontario, Canada.
History
Archaic and Woodland periods
Template:AnchorThe 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.<ref name=digging-deep /> 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.<ref name=murphy />Template:Rp 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.<ref name=murphy>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Rp
Template:AnchorArchaeological investigation in Wilmot in the 1980s uncovered the largest known historic remains of a longhouse in North America. Originally Template:Convert in length, it was extended to reach a final length of Template:Convert 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.<ref name=digging-deep>Template:Cite news</ref>
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.<ref name="wilmot.ca">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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.<ref name="wilmot.ca"/>
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).<ref name="Smith 1846 220">Template:Cite book</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> There were also two Roman Catholic Separate Schools in the township of Wilmot in 1864.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Smith 1846 220"/>
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.<ref name="wilmot.ca"/>
Communities
The township comprises the communities of Baden, Berlett's Corners, Foxboro Green, 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.<ref name="wilmot.ca"/> 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.<ref name="waterlooregionmuseum.com">Template:Cite web (section: St. Agatha)</ref>
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.<ref name="waterlooregionmuseum.com"/>
Demographics
Template:Historical populations
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Wilmot had a population of Template:Val living in Template:Val of its Template:Val total private dwellings, a change of Template:Percentage from its 2016 population of Template:Val. With a land area of Template:Convert, it had a population density of Template:Pop density in 2021.<ref name=2021census>Template:Cite web</ref>
| Ethnic origin | Population | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| German | 8,305 | 40.9 |
| Canadian | 5,785 | 28.5 |
| English | 5,525 | 27.2 |
| Scottish | 4,500 | 22.2 |
| Irish | 3,830 | 18.9 |
| French | 1,980 | 10.0 |
| Dutch | 1,570 | 7.7 |
| Polish | 1,005 | 5.0 |
| Italian | 615 | 3.0 |
| Ukrainian | 455 | 2.2 |
| Source: StatCan, 2016 (includes multiple responses)<ref name=census2016 /> | ||
At the time of the 2016 Canadian Census, Template:Percent of the population lived in single detached houses, higher than the Template:Percent in the Region of Waterloo overall,<ref name=statscan-rmow>Template:Cite web</ref> as well as the Template:Percent in nearby Kitchener.<ref name=statscan-kitchener>Template:Cite web</ref> The single largest self-reported ethnicity was German (Template:Percent); Template:Percent also reported knowledge of the German language and Template:Percent reported it as a mother tongue. The second-largest self-identified ethnic origin was Canadian (Template:Percent), followed by English (Template:Percent), Scottish (Template:Percent), and Irish (Template:Percent). Template:Percent of people identified themselves as Eastern European, of which the largest ethnic group was Polish (Template:Percent). Template:Percent of people identified themselves as Southern European, of which the largest ethnic group was Italian (Template:Percent). Template:Percent of people identified themselves as Indigenous (Template:Percent as First Nations and Template:Percent as Métis).<ref name=census2016 />
Transportation
Wilmot is bisected by both a mainline railway (the CN Guelph Subdivision) and a provincial highway (dual-designated as Template:Jcon and Template:Jcon 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.<ref name=moving-forward>Template:Cite report</ref>
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 Template:Stn 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Template:As of, 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Athletics
- Wilmot Aquatic Aces Swim Club
- New Hamburg Firebirds (Hockey)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- New Hamburg Huskies (Hockey)
- Wilmot Warthogs (Rugby)
See also
References
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