Editing Cambridge, Ontario (section)

===History of the Town of Preston===
{{Main|Preston, Ontario#History}}

[[File:Grand River Rwy car on Speed River bridge.jpg|thumb|An interurban streetcar connected Preston to neighbouring towns.]]

Preston was formed on land belonging to the German Company Tract, along the [[Speed River]], which was purchased earlier from the [[Iroquois Confederacy|Six Nations Indians]]. The name Preston is from the hometown of William Scollick, who was surveyor and a native of [[Preston, Lancashire]] in [[England]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cambridge.ca/city_clerk/city_archives/historical_information_evolution_of_preston |title=Historical Information - Evolution of Preston |access-date=2010-05-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212040258/http://www.cambridge.ca/city_clerk/city_archives/historical_information_evolution_of_preston |archive-date=February 12, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

In the 1800s a group of German-speaking Mennonites from Pennsylvania arrived in the area and purchased land. Among the first settlers to arrive in what was later to become Preston was John Erb, a Mennonite from Lancaster County, who arrived in 1805. He bought {{convert|7500|acre|km2}} including land at the confluence of the Grand and Speed Rivers in what later became Preston.<ref name="waynecook1"/> and later built a sawmill in 1806 and a gristmill in 1807. This settlement became known as Cambridge Mills.

Even in the early 1800s, the area included homes, a store, an inn, small shops operated by artisans and craftsmen, mostly immigrants from Germany. The Erb sons had hired William Scollick for their development business and the latter completed a full survey in 1834; he also convinced the Erbs to rename the Cambridge Mills area Preston.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mills |first=Rych |date=9 May 2015 |title=Flash From the Past: Trailblazers nostalgia behind Preston's name
 |url=http://www.therecord.com/living-story/5607666-flash-from-the-past-traiblazer-s-nostalgia-behind-preston-s-name/ | work=Record |location=Kitchener |access-date=10 March 2017}}</ref> After Erb's death in 1832, a son sold off property on both sides of the Speed River. What eventually became Preston started as a large settlement on the north side.<ref name="cambridge1"/>

There were only 250 inhabitants in 1836, many from Pennsylvania, but the population had reached about 1600 by 1855, with some 70% originally from Germany. By then, the area had eight hotels and taverns.

The Canadian Gazetteer of 1846 indicates a population of about 600 inhabitants, two churches, a post office that receives mail each day, a steam grist mill, and tradesmen of various types. At the time, there was no significant industry.<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/8 8]}}</ref>

The Preston post office opened in 1837 and the population continued to grow primarily because of immigration from Germany. Preston was incorporated as a village in 1853. The population declined in the late 1800s but by 1900, it had increased to 2,000 partly because of the new electric railway systems that started in 1894. In 1911, the line reached Hespeler, Berlin (later called Kitchener) and Waterloo; by 1916 it had been extended to Brantford/Port Dover.<ref name="CambridgeInfluence" /> This made visiting other communities and carrying of goods very convenient.<ref name="therecord.com">{{cite news |last=Mills |first=Rych |date=10 January 2017 |title=Flash From the Past: Preston Car and Coach goes up in smoke 
 |url=http://www.therecord.com/living-story/7058983-flash-from-the-past-preston-car-and-coach-goes-up-in-smoke/| work=Record |location=Kitchener |access-date=10 March 2017}}</ref>

Due to continued growth, by 1879 there were many industries such as a foundry, carriage manufacturer, potteries and a furniture company. This was also the year that the Cherry Flour Mills started, which would later become the Dover Flour Mills, a Preston company that still operates today.

By 1888, the Preston Springs Hotel, then called the Del Monte Hotel, was operating.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mills |first=Rych |date=6 March 2016 |title=Flash From the Past: Preston Car and Coach goes up in smoke |url=http://www.therecord.com/living-story/6378036-flash-from-the-past-preston-intersection-is-big-part-of-region-s-history/ | work=Record |location=Kitchener |access-date=10 March 2017}}</ref> Demolition of the building began in December 2020 for reasons of public safety.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/2020/12/30/preston-springs-comes-down.html |title=Preston Springs comes down |date=30 December 2020 |publisher=Waterloo Region Record |access-date=31 December 2020 |quote=The building has been vacant for decades, and subject to trespassing and vandalism over the years.}}</ref> 
 
On September 30, 1899, Preston was incorporated as a town with a population of just under 11,000. The Great Road between Dundas and Berlin (Kitchener) as well as the railroad connections helped the community to continue growing into an important industrial centre. Products made here included flour, agricultural implements, furniture, stoves, shoes and textiles.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.waterlooregionmuseum.com/collections-and-research/place-names-in-waterloo-region/waterloo-township/preston/ |title=Preston - Previous Names: Cambridge Mills, East Preston |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2011 |website=Region Museum |publisher=Waterloo Region |access-date=10 March 2017 |archive-date=February 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227143523/http://www.waterlooregionmuseum.com/collections-and-research/place-names-in-waterloo-region/waterloo-township/preston/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Preston grew and continued to be a successful industrial area; expansion followed in the 1950s and 1960s.<ref name="cambridge1"/>

While most of the population of what became [[Waterloo County, Ontario]] was Protestant in 1911, Preston had a larger share of Roman Catholics, 844, while 862 were Lutherans, 707 Methodists, 704 Anglicans, and 525 Presbyterians.<ref name="uwaterloo1911"/>