| Self-guided
historic walking tour of the Village of St. Jacobs
Explore the Village of St. Jacobs and its history with this new
walking tour brochure, now available at The Visitor Centre in St.
Jacobs ($2.00 a copy). Fundraising project for "The Mennonite Story"
Interesting facts about St. Jacobs
The following information and photos are from "The Early History
of Jakobstettel", by Virgil Emerson Martin, Published in 1979. (Copies
of his book are available at the Stone Crock Restaurant in St. Jacobs.)
| • |
14,000 years ago, the area of St. Jacobs was covered by a
glacier. The Hawkesville Hill, three miles west of St. Jacobs,
is the result of the retreat of the Lake Huron and Lake Ontario
ice lobes. Newly exposed land looked like the tundra of Northern
Canada today. This area was the first in Southern Ontario to
see the ice recede. |
| • |
The first non-native settler in this area was a loyalist
from Vermont - Captain Thomas Smith, his wife and three sons.
A daughter, Priscilla, was born in January 1808 and is believed
to be the first white child born in the township. |
| • |
In the early days of the settlement, fences were built to
keep livestock out of fields. Cattle and pigs were left to fend
for themselves in the uncleared bush for most of the year. |
| • |
Bank barns were introduced here by the Pennsylvanians and
were first constructed in Woolwich Township in the 1840's. This
area became noted for the size of its barns, the largest in
Canada at the time. |
| • |
St. Jacobs was first known as "Jakobstettel" which means
"Jacob's Village". St. Jacobs was officially named in 1852,
the "St." being added "for the sake of euphony" and the pluralization
was in honour of the combined efforts of Jacobs C. Snider and
his son by the same name - founders of the Village. |
| • |
The first creamery in Ontario (the third in Canada) was begun
in St. Jacobs in 1874. During its 98 years of operation, St.
Jacobs Creamery won prizes and wide acclaim for the superb quality
of its butter. |
| • |
Local businessman Elias Weber Bingeman Snider was chairman
of two committees (1902-1906) which were the beginning of Ontario
Hydro and his contribution is recognized on the monument north
of the Village of St. Jacobs. |
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Some of the many
noteworthy historic buildings in St. Jacobs
| • |
BENJAMIN'S RESTAURANT & INN
(1430 King Street. Formerly the Farmers Inn, a stage coach stop
built in 1852) |
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THE MILL & VILLAGE SILOS
(Pioneer Roller Flour Mill - operational in 1852. Basement turbine
provided the firsts electric power to the Village in 1887) |
| • |
28 ALBERT STREET (Private home)
(28 Albert Street, home of E.W.B. Snider, 1842-1921, owner of
the Pioneer Roller Flour Mill and a founder of Ontario Hydro)
|
| • |
ST. JACOBS SCHOOLHOUSE THEATRE
(The second schoolhouse in St. Jacobs, built in 1867 to replace
a log structure. In use as a school until 1929.) |
| • |
THE STEINER HOUSE
(1401 King Street, now Baby's At Home: The oldest building in
the Village, pre-dating industries that established St. Jacobs
as a village. Child's shoe found in a wall during renovations
was a good luck token placed when the house was built and can
still be seen in the wall today!) |
| • |
BLACKSMITH SHOP
(1411 King Street, now Hamel Brooms and Robert Brown Glass Studio,
built in the late 1800's.) |
The Mennonites of St. Jacobs Country
The Mennonites trekked from Pennsylvania in Conestoga Wagons and
settled in and around St. Jacobs in the late 1700s and early 1800s,
making St. Jacobs one of the original Mennonite settlements in Ontario.
Today, the rural areas around St. Jacobs Country are populated with
many Old Order Mennonite farmers who retain the religion, customs
and lifestyle of their 19th century forefathers. Interest in this
unique group of people has increased dramatically over the past
20 years and visitors from all over the world want to learn about
the culture of the Old Order Mennonites.
Note
Journey through Anabaptist history at "Telling The Mennonite Story"
at the Visitor Centre in the Village of St. Jacobs. Mennonite History
"True evangelical faith cannot lie sleeping,
for it clothes the naked,
it feeds the hungry,
it comforts the sorrowful,
it shelters the destitute,
it serves those that harm it,
it binds up that which is wounded,
it overcomes evil with good,
it has become all things to all people."
~ Menno Simons, 1539 ~
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