Media Release
July 2002

A New Self-Guided Historical Walking Tour For St. Jacobs

Small but mighty - population 1,400. For a village its size, St. Jacobs can lay claim to a remarkable number of firsts for the province of Ontario:

• The first commercial creamery
• The first police village to have hydro-electricity
• Site of the first Home Hardware store
• First to have a flour mill shipping to the United Kingdom

These were some of the interesting anecdotes about St. Jacobs that were plucked from several local historic documents and presented in a new brochure entitled "Self-Guided Historic Walking Tour of the Village".

The walking tour brochure was created by St. Jacobs Country tourism officials for guests booking a new accommodation package called 'Old World Traditions in the New World Setting of St. Jacobs'. In addition it has also been made available as a fundraiser for The Mennonite Story, the local Mennonite interpretive centre. Sponsors Stone Crock Inc. and St. Jacobs Printery assisted in covering costs of production.

St. Jacobs Country Tourism Manager, Mary Price says, "St. Jacobs has always been considered an historical village, but not everyone knew exactly why. The walking tour brochure will help our visitors to learn more about significant Village history and all within a short walking distance".

The route leads visitors north from The Mennonite Story on King Street, across the Conestoga River to the E.W.B. Snider Monument and back again to Isabella Street, Spring Street and Cedar Street.

Sketches, historical and architectural comments, as well as amusing 'signs-of-the-times' are shared in the 30 different points of interest included in the tour. There's even a tip on where to see the boyhood home of everyone's favourite Toronto Maple Leaf Captain, Darryl Sittler.

Copies are available for a donation of $2.00 at The Mennonite Story, 1406 King Street in St. Jacobs.

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Media Contact:

St. Jacobs Country
Toll Free: 1-800-265-3353, ext.220
E-mail: getaway@stjacobs.com