Editing Kitchener, Ontario (section)

====County seat (1853)====
[[File:Waterloo County Jail and Governor's House.jpg|thumb|Waterloo County Jail and Governor's House, Kitchener, built 1852]]

Previously part of the United County of Waterloo, Wellington, and Grey, Waterloo became a separate entity in 1853 with Berlin as [[county seat]]. Some contentious debate had existed between Galt and Berlin as to where the seat would be located; one of the requirements for founding was the construction of a [[courthouse]] and jail. When local merchant Joseph Gaukel donated a small parcel of land he owned (at the current Queen and [[Weber Street]]s), this sealed the deal for Berlin, which was still a small community compared to Galt. The courthouse at the corner of the later Queen Street North and Weber Street and the [[Waterloo County Gaol|gaol]] were built within a few months. The first county council meeting was held in the new facility on 24 January 1853, as the county officially began operations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.guelphmercury.com/living-story/7420397-flash-from-the-past-seven-meetings-that-decided-waterloo-county/|title=Flash from the Past: Seven meetings that decided Waterloo County|first=Rych|last=Mills|date=July 14, 2017|website=Therecord.com|access-date=November 14, 2020}}</ref><ref name="hist places 1">{{cite web |url= http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=9216 |title= Waterloo County Jail and Governor's House |author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website= Canada's Historic Places |access-date= July 1, 2015 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150713055721/http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=9216 |archive-date= 13 July 2015 |df= dmy-all }}</ref>

The Waterloo County Gaol is the oldest government building in the Region of Waterloo.<ref name="hist places 1"/> The Governor's House, home of the "gaoler", in a mid-Victorian Italian Villa style, was added in 1878. Both have been extensively restored and are on the [[Canadian Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="hist places 1"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/discoveringTheRegion/resources/Kitchener.pdf |title=Discovering the Region |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2015 |website=Doors Open, Region of Waterloo |publisher=Region of Waterloo |access-date=23 March 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829164706/http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/discoveringTheRegion/resources/Kitchener.pdf |archive-date=29 August 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>