Hespeler, Ontario: History of a Cambridge Community
Hespeler is a neighbourhood and former town in the northeast of Cambridge, Ontario, along the Speed River in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. A Cambridge Now item from around 2018 reported on the conversion of a former retail building on Queen Street West into an event space. Below is the background on the community where that building stands.
Quick facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Location | Northeast Cambridge, on the Speed River |
| Region | Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario |
| Incorporated as a village | 1859 |
| Incorporated as a town | January 1901 |
| Amalgamated into Cambridge | 1973 |
| Main street | Queen Street |
Early history
The land around Hespeler was once Attawandaron territory, a people French explorers called the Neutrals. In 1798 a group of Mennonites from Pennsylvania purchased a large block of Grand River land, and the first settler in the Hespeler area, Abraham Clemens, arrived in 1809. A blacksmith named Cornelius Pannabecker followed in 1810. The settlement was first called Bergeytown, then New Hope from about 1835.
Jacob Hespeler arrived in 1845, bought a tract on the Speed River and built an industrial complex that became the base of the community's woollen and textile industry. A population count from 1846 shows about 100 people. The railway arrived in 1859, the same year Hespeler was incorporated as a village, and by 1869 it had 1,200 residents.
Industry and growth
The largest employer for many years was a woollen mill that began as J. Schofield Co. in 1864. By 1928 it was Dominion Woollens and Worsteds and advertised itself as the largest woollen mill in the British Empire. During the Second World War it supplied much of the wool for Canadian uniforms. Textile companies declined from the late 1940s, and Dominion Woolens faced bankruptcy by 1959. An electric railway reached Hespeler by 1911.
Amalgamation and today
In 1973 Hespeler, Preston, Galt and the hamlet of Blair joined to form the City of Cambridge. The combined census tracts covering Hespeler had 26,391 residents in 2016. Many downtown buildings date from the early 1900s. Film and television productions have used Queen Street as a location. A former post office built in 1928 now houses the Fashion History Museum.
The Queen Street West reuse
The building discussed in that report was a former Beer Store outlet. The Beer Store operates as Brewers Retail, founded in 1927 as a consortium of Ontario brewers, and has played a part in the province's beer retail since. Ontario passed legislation in June 2019 to end its 10-year contract with the company early, which opened the way to broader beer sales. The report said the site would be converted for events and would open in 2019. That has not been confirmed by a second source.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hespeler a separate town? No. It was a town until 1973, when it became part of the City of Cambridge.
What was Hespeler known for historically? Woollen and textile mills along the Speed River.
Who is the community named after? Jacob Hespeler, who arrived in 1845 and built the first major industrial complex.
When was The Beer Store founded? In 1927, as Brewers Retail.
Is the former Beer Store building on Queen Street West still an event space? Not confirmed here. The only source is that local report.
Sources
Wikipedia articles on Hespeler, Ontario, Cambridge, Ontario and The Beer Store.