Editing Waterloo, Ontario (section)

==History==
=== Indigenous peoples and settlement ===
[[Indigenous peoples in Canada|Indigenous peoples]] such as the [[Haudenosaunee|Iroquois]], [[Anishinaabe]] and [[Neutral Nation|Chonnonton]] lived in the area.<ref name=WaterlooHistory>{{cite web|url=https://www.waterloo.ca/en/things-to-do/waterloo_s-history.aspx|title=Waterloo's history|date=March 8, 2021 |access-date=29 March 2021|archive-date=April 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429090948/https://www.waterloo.ca/en/things-to-do/waterloo_s-history.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

After the end of the [[American Revolution]], [[Joseph Brant]], a [[Mohawk people|Mohawk]] war chief, wanted [[Frederick Haldimand]] to give the Mohawk and [[Six Nations of the Grand River|Six Nations]] a tract of land surrounding the [[Grand River (Ontario)|Grand River]], in return for their loyalty to the British in the war.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|2007|pp=18–19}}<ref name=":11">{{cite web |title=Haldimand Proclamation, The Canadian Encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/haldimand-proclamation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805214208/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/haldimand-proclamation |archive-date=August 5, 2019 |access-date=August 27, 2019}}</ref> Haldimand's 1784 ''[[Haldimand Proclamation]]'' granted the land "six miles deep from either side of the [Grand River] beginning at Lake Erie and extending in that proportion to the very head of the said river."{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|2007|pp=18–19}}<ref name=":11" /> Haldimand, who had previously ordered for potential mill sites to be identified in the region, decreed in 1788 that mill sites would be included in the grant (which would not have been included otherwise).{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|2007|pp=15}} In 1796, [[Richard Beasley (politician)|Richard Beasley]] purchased Block Number 2 of the grant from [[Joseph Brant]] (on behalf of the [[Six Nations of the Grand River|Six Nations]]) with a mortgage held by the Six Nations.<ref name=":12" /> Block 2, 94,012 acres in size, was situated in the District of Gore. To meet his mortgage obligations, Beasley had to sell portions of the land to settlers.<ref name=":12">{{cite web | url=https://www.waterlooregionmuseum.ca/en/collections-and-research/waterloo-township.aspx | access-date=August 27, 2019 | title=History of Waterloo Township | archive-date=July 27, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727143149/https://www.waterlooregionmuseum.ca/en/collections-and-research/waterloo-township.aspx | url-status=live }}</ref> This was counter to the original mortgage agreement, but subsequent changes to the agreement were made to permit land sales.

[[Mennonites]] from [[Pennsylvania]] counties [[Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]] and [[Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Montgomery]] were the first wave of immigrants to the area.<ref name="cow history">{{cite web | url = http://www.waterloo.ca/150Anniversary/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=1780 | title = Our Proud History | access-date = August 30, 2007 | publisher = City of Waterloo | archive-date = September 28, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928201452/http://www.waterloo.ca/150Anniversary/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=1780 | url-status = dead }}</ref> In the year 1800 alone, Beasley sold over 14,000 acres to Mennonite settlers.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}} A group of 26 Mennonites from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, pooled their resources into the German Company of Pennsylvania, which was then represented by Daniel Erb and Samuel Bricker.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}} The company purchased all the unsold land from Beasley in 1803, resulting in a discharge of the mortgage held by the Six Nations. This discharge allowed Beasley to clear his obligation with the Six Nations, and allowed the settlers to have deeds to their purchased land.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://waterloocountygenweb.weebly.com/waterloo-township.html | access-date=August 27, 2019 | title=Waterloo County GenWeb | archive-date=August 27, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827085345/https://waterloocountygenweb.weebly.com/waterloo-township.html | url-status=live }}</ref> The payment to Beasley, in cash, arrived from Pennsylvania in kegs, carried in a wagon surrounded by armed guards.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.waterlooregionmuseum.com/collections-and-research/place-names-in-waterloo-region/waterloo-township/ |title=Waterloo Township |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2013 |website=Waterloo Region Museum Research |publisher=Region of Waterloo |access-date=13 March 2017 |quote=To correct the situation, a formal agreement was arranged between Brant and Beasley. This arrangement allowed Beasley to sell the bulk of Block 2 in order to cover his mortgage obligations completely while giving the Mennonite buyers legal title to the land they had purchased. Beasley sold a 60,000-acre tract of land to the "German Company of Pennsylvania" represented by Daniel Erb and Samuel Bricker in November 1803. Beasley's sale to the German Company not only cleared him of mortgage debt but left him with 10,000 acres of Block 2 land which he continued to sell into the 1830s. |archive-date=February 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227143026/http://www.waterlooregionmuseum.com/collections-and-research/place-names-in-waterloo-region/waterloo-township/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Many of the pioneers who arrived from Pennsylvania after November 1803 bought land in a 60,000-acre tract of Block 2 from the German Company of Pennsylvania. The tract included almost two-thirds of Block 2. Many of the first farms were least 400 acres in size.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=http://www.whs.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/1930.pdf |title=History |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1930 |website=Waterloo Historical Society 1930 Annual Meeting |publisher=Waterloo Historical Society |access-date=13 March 2017 |archive-date=February 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227233215/http://www.whs.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/1930.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Development (19th century) ===
The Mennonites divided the land into smaller lots; two lots owned by [[Abraham Erb]]—who is often called the founder of the Village of Waterloo{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|2007|pp=16}}—became the central core of Waterloo. Erb had come to the area in 1806 from Pennsylvania.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|2007|pp=15}} He had bought {{Convert|4000|acre}} from the German Company Tract and settled where there was enough water power to operate mills.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|2007|pp=15}} He founded a [[sawmill]] in 1808 and [[Gristmill|grist mill]] in 1816; they saw business flourish.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|2007|pp=16}} Other early settlers of what would become Waterloo included Samuel and Elia Schneider, who arrived in 1816. Until about 1820, settlements such as this were quite small.<ref name="auto"/><ref name="erb">{{cite web
| url = http://www.city.waterloo.on.ca/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabID=898
| title = Erb-Kumpf House, 172 King Street South, Designated: February 19, 1979
| access-date = August 30, 2007
| publisher = City of Waterloo
| archive-date = September 30, 2007
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070930153950/http://www.city.waterloo.on.ca/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabID=898
| url-status = dead
}}</ref> Erb also built what is now known as the [[Erb-Kumpf House]] in c. 1812, making it likely one of the oldest homes in Waterloo.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=February 13, 2009|title=Erb-Kumpf House|url=https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=11185|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305115127/https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=11185|archive-date=March 5, 2016|access-date=December 28, 2020|website=Canada's Historic Places}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=The Erb-Kumpf House|url=https://www.wrxpropertygroup.com/the-erb-kumpf-house/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201229053510/https://www.wrxpropertygroup.com/the-erb-kumpf-house/|archive-date=December 29, 2020|access-date=December 29, 2020|website=WRX Property Group}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Erb-Kumpf House, 172 King Street South|url=https://www.historicwaterloo.ca/buildings/172kingstreetsouth|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201229054409/https://www.historicwaterloo.ca/buildings/172kingstreetsouth|archive-date=December 29, 2020|access-date=December 29, 2020|website=Historic Waterloo}}</ref>

[[File:First School in Waterloo, Ontario (1820).jpg|thumb|The first schoolhouse in Waterloo, built in 1820]]

The first school in what is now the City of Waterloo was built on land donated by Erb; the log building was constructed in 1820. A larger school house of stone was built in 1842 and was replaced with a brick school building in 1852. Over the decades, the log building was moved, eventually to [[Waterloo Park]], where it still stands.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://waterlooheritage.com/2014/06/01/the-legacy-of-the-1820-log-schoolhouse-part-ii/ |title=The Legacy of the 1820 Log Schoolhouse: Part II |date=1 June 2014 |work=Waterloo Heritage News |access-date=19 May 2021 |quote= |archive-date=May 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519144811/https://waterlooheritage.com/2014/06/01/the-legacy-of-the-1820-log-schoolhouse-part-ii/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The German spoken in Waterloo County is based upon the 18th century Pennsylvania Dutch dialect.{{sfn|Kraemer|2003|p=36}} In turn, the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect is based upon the dialect of German spoken in southwestern Germany.{{sfn|Kraemer|2003|p=36}}

In 1816, the new Waterloo Township was officially incorporated while being named after [[Waterloo, Belgium]], the site of the [[Battle of Waterloo]] (1815), which had ended the [[Napoleonic Wars]] in Europe.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.waterlooregionmuseum.ca/en/collections-and-research/waterloo-township.aspx | title=History of Waterloo Township | access-date=August 27, 2019 | archive-date=July 27, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727143149/https://www.waterlooregionmuseum.ca/en/collections-and-research/waterloo-township.aspx | url-status=live }}</ref> After that war, the new township became a popular destination for German immigrants. By the 1840s, German settlers had overtaken the Mennonites as the dominant segment of the population. Many Germans settled in the small hamlet to the southeast of Waterloo. In their honour, the village was named Berlin in 1833 ([[Berlin to Kitchener name change|renamed]] to [[Kitchener, Ontario|Kitchener]] in 1916). The first Catholic family to arrive were the Spetz family from Alsace who came in 1828.{{sfn|Kraemer|2003|p=76}}

By 1831, Waterloo had a small post office in the King and Erb Street area, operated by Daniel Snyder, some 11 years before one would open in neighbouring Berlin.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.therecord.com/living-story/7165738-flash-from-the-past-tracking-waterloo-s-mail/|title=Flash from the Past: Tracking Waterloo's mail|first=Rych|last=Mills|date=March 6, 2017|newspaper=Waterloo Region Record|access-date=June 12, 2017|archive-date=March 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308160603/http://www.therecord.com/living-story/7165738-flash-from-the-past-tracking-waterloo-s-mail/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Bloomfield|1995|p=76}} The ''Smith's Canadian Gazetteer'' of 1846 states that the Township of Waterloo (smaller than Waterloo County) consisted primarily of Pennsylvanian Mennonites and immigrants directly from Germany who had brought money with them. At the time, many did not speak English. There were eight grist and twenty sawmills in the township. In 1841, the population count was 4424. In 1846 the village of Waterloo had a population of 200, "mostly Germans". There was a grist mill and a sawmill and some tradesmen.<ref>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Wm. H. |date=1846 |title=Smith's Canadian Gazetteer - Statistical and General Information Respecting all parts of The Upper Province, or Canada West|url=https://archive.org/details/smithscanadianga00smit |location=Toronto |publisher=H. & W. Rowsell |pages=[https://archive.org/details/smithscanadianga00smit/page/205 205]–206}}</ref> By comparison, Berlin (Kitchener) had a population of about 400, also "mostly German", and more tradesmen than the village of Waterloo.<ref>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Wm. H. |date=1846 |title=Smith's Canadian Gazetteer - Statistical and General Information Respecting all parts of The Upper Province, or Canada West |url=https://archive.org/details/smithscanadianga00smit |location=Toronto |publisher=H. & W. Rowsell |page=[https://archive.org/details/smithscanadianga00smit/page/15 15]}}</ref>

Berlin was chosen as the site of the seat for the County of Waterloo in 1853. By 1869, the population was 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/provinceontario00mcevgoog|title=The Province of Ontario Gazetteer and Directory: Containing Concise ...|last=Henry McEvoy|date=March 5, 1869|publisher=Robertson & Cook|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> Waterloo was incorporated as a village in 1857 and became the Town of Waterloo in 1876.<ref name="WaterlooHistory" /> The [[Kitchener Public Utilities Commission]] began providing streetcar service in the region in 1888. In the 19th century, Waterloo was dominated by people of German origin with 76% of Waterloo residents in the 1911 census listing their family origins as being in Germany.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=57}}

=== 20th and 21st centuries ===
The [[Galt, Preston and Hespeler electric railway]] (later called the [[Grand River Railway]]) connected to Waterloo in 1911 and ended service in 1931.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=19 January 2017 |title=Cambridge and its Influence on Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit |url=http://www.explorewaterlooregion.com/2017/01/railway-history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312053020/http://www.explorewaterlooregion.com/2017/01/railway-history/ |archive-date=March 12, 2017 |access-date=10 March 2017 |website=Waterloo Region }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Mills |first=Rych |date=10 January 2017 |title=Flash From the Past: Preston Car and Coach goes up in smoke |work=Record |location=Kitchener |url=http://www.therecord.com/living-story/7058983-flash-from-the-past-preston-car-and-coach-goes-up-in-smoke/ |url-status=live |access-date=10 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619190736/https://www.therecord.com/life/2017/01/10/flash-from-the-past-preston-car-and-coach-goes-up-in-smoke.html |archive-date=June 19, 2022}}</ref> The Kitchener Public Utilities Commission stopped providing streetcar service in 1947, and were replaced by electric [[Trolleybus|trolley coaches]]. Waterloo was incorporated as the City of Waterloo in 1948.<ref name="WaterlooHistory" /> The trolley coaches ended service in 1973.<ref>{{cite web |date=22 January 2021 |title=Flash From the Past: Faster, smoother, quieter trolleys take over King Street |url=https://www.therecord.com/life/local-history/2021/01/22/flash-from-the-past-faster-smoother-quieter-trolleys-take-over-king-street.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125120200/https://www.therecord.com/life/local-history/2021/01/22/flash-from-the-past-faster-smoother-quieter-trolleys-take-over-king-street.html |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |access-date=24 January 2021 |work=Waterloo Region Record |quote=From 1888 to 1947, Berlin/Kitchener and Waterloo had been connected by streetcars plying King Street. Initially powered by horses — but after 1895 by electricity via a single pole connecting with an overhead wire}}</ref> In 1911, a plan was mooted to pave King street.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=85}} William Snider who owned the town square, did not want to pay the higher taxes, which would refused from paving King Street.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=85}} Snider offered to deed the town square to town, which instead demanded he pay the higher taxes.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=85}} Snider sold the town square to the Molson Bank, which up a Beaux Arts style bank on the site of the town square in 1914.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=85}} In 1929, the H.V. McKay company of Australia proposed to open a factory for "one, man, self-propelled combine harvesters".{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=84}} The town provided the land for the factory from the Canada Barrels and Kegs and fixed the tax assessment at $25, 000 per year for the next 10 years in exchange for the factory being built.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=84}}> In 1911, Waterloo Lutheran seminary, which later became Wilfrid Laurier University, was opened.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=61}} On 5 May 1916, a group of soldiers sacked the German Acadian Club in Waterloo.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=63}} In October 1918, Spanish flu reached Waterloo.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=69}} Over 2, 000 people were "down with the malady".{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=69}} By November 1918, the Waterloo Chronicle reported that "twice as many had died from the influenza as had been killed in action in four years of war".{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=69}}

The presence of the [[University of Waterloo]] in the city caused technological and innovative companies to base in Waterloo,{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|2007|pp=171}} especially companies specializing in computing and [[software]]. For example, [[BlackBerry Limited|Research in Motion]] (now BlackBerry Limited), which developed [[BlackBerry]], was started by [[Mike Lazaridis]] and [[Douglas Fregin|Doug Fregin]] in 1984.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|2007|pp=174}} In 1965, the University of Waterloo was the second-largest private sector employer.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=139}} The construction of the buildings for the University of Waterloo made the unemployment rate very low in the 1960s.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=140}} By 1971, the population of Waterloo had grown 424% since 1945.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=140}} Kitchener was a working class city while Waterloo was a middle class city.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=141}} In 1981, the average annual household income in Kitchener was $26, 279 and in Waterloo was $31, 224.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=141}} In 1950, Waterloo had 55 factories that employed 2, 572 people, in 1970 had 79 factories that employed $5, 483 workers, and in 1980 132 factories that employed 7, 314 workers.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=141}} The founding of the universities led to the north-eastern area becoming developed as the new housing subdivisions were built while the area around Weber declined.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|pp=141–143}} The architecture of Waterloo changed from a more traditional [[Victorian architecture]] style to favouring a more streamlined look, incorporating elements from architectural styles such as [[Postmodern architecture]], which ultimately led to a movement to preserve Waterloo's historical core.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=143}} A 1994 issue of the ''[[Financial Post]]'' mentioned Waterloo-based companies [[MKS Inc.|MKS]], [[Watcom|WATCOM]], and [[OpenText|Open Text]] in a list of the top 100 independent software companies in Canada.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|2007|pp=174}} In 1960, a study revealed 50% of the buying by Waterloo consumers was done in Kitchener, leading to the city to develop a retail district.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|pp=109–111}}

In the 1980s, Waterloo came to have the character of a "post-industrial city".{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=144}} Mennonite farmers continued to come to Waterloo in their horse-powered buggies for shopping while the middle class people drove out to eat and drink at the numerous pubs and hotels out in the countryside.{{Sfn|McLaughlin|Jaeger|1990|p=144}}

In June 2011, the Waterloo Region council approved the [[Ion rapid transit|Ion]]: a [[light rail]] transit line connecting Conestoga Mall in north Waterloo and Fairview Park Mall in south Kitchener.<ref>{{cite web |date=2011-06-15 |title=Rail plan passes |url=http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/548497--rail-plan-passes |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312025134/http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/548497--rail-plan-passes |archive-date=March 12, 2012 |access-date=2012-02-20 |publisher=TheRecord}}</ref> Construction on the Ion began in August 2014. In 2016, two sections of a [[corduroy road]] were unearthed. One was in the [[King Street (Waterloo Region)|King Street]] area of the business district and the second was discovered near the [[Conestoga Mall (Waterloo, Ontario)|Conestoga Mall]]. The road was probably built by Mennonites using technology acquired in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, between the late 1790s and 1816.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}} The log road was buried in about 1840 and a new road built on top of it.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.therecord.com/news-story/8926047-university-of-waterloo-researchers-hoping-to-borrow-corduroy-road-samples/ |title=University of Waterloo researchers hoping to borrow corduroy road samples |first=James |last=Jackson |newspaper=Waterloo Region Record |date=September 26, 2018 |access-date=May 28, 2019 |archive-date=June 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619190728/https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/2018/09/25/university-of-waterloo-researchers-hoping-to-borrow-corduroy-road-samples.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.therecord.com/news-story/8599125-corduroy-road-gives-a-glimpse-into-waterloo-s-past/ |title=Corduroy road gives a glimpse into Waterloo's past |first=James |last=Jackson |newspaper=Waterloo Region Record |date=May 10, 2018 |access-date=May 28, 2019 |archive-date=June 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619190729/https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/2018/05/10/corduroy-road-gives-a-glimpse-into-waterloo-s-past.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A historian{{Who|date=June 2022}} explained that the road had been built for access to the mill but was also "one of the first roads cut through (the woods) so people could start settling the area".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/it-looked-like-a-giant-rib-cage-in-the-ground-the-centuries-old-origins-of-silicon-valley-north-laid-bare-by-lrt-build |title='It looked like a giant rib cage in the ground': The centuries-old origins of Silicon Valley north laid bare by LRT build |work=Canada's Historic Places|access-date=29 March 2021 |quote=}}</ref> Ion service began in 2019 and experienced a daily ridership of 25,000 in November 2020.<ref name="Ion Ridership">{{cite web |date=November 18, 2020 |title=Public transit numbers on the rise since Ion launch in June |url=https://www.keolis.ca/en/node/234 |access-date=November 19, 2020 |publisher=[[Keolis]]}}</ref>

{{wide image|Waterloo_Ontario_Pano.jpg|1000px|Uptown looking Northwest from the Uptown Parkade. Landmarks visible include the Marsland Centre on the extreme left and Waterloo City Hall on the extreme right.}}