THE FOUNDING OF NEW HAMBURG
Title
THE FOUNDING OF NEW HAMBURG
Description
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.
Erected by the Ontario Heritage Foundation, Ministry of Culture and Recreation
Erected by the Ontario Heritage Foundation, Ministry of Culture and Recreation
Creator
Sarah J. McCabe
Date
October 7, 2018
Files
Collection
Citation
Sarah J. McCabe, “THE FOUNDING OF NEW HAMBURG,” Historic Plaques of Ontario: An Omeka Demo Site, accessed April 19, 2024, https://ontarioplaques.omeka.net/items/show/241.