An Insider's Guide to Waterloo Region

…One of the sites from Wellesley, the Nith River Chop House, taken at The Apple Butter and Cheese Festival (see previous post).

The village of Ayr in North Dumfries township is very picturesque and home to many historic buildings. This old hardware store is now a pizzeria. The movie Cold Creek Manor (2003) was filmed in Ayr and other local locations in 2002. I did home care visits here at that time and remember that the store signs were removed on the buildings for the movie set.

The sign for Luxemburg is on Waterloo Street between Baden and New Hamburg. I found nothing about the history of this tiny community and there is nothing suggestive of a village or hamlet as you drive through. Pfennings Organic farm is located here and the Nith River curves near the road. (The Nith River is a very curvy waterway!)

I found a list of communities around Kitchener and Waterloo at this web site. Some are familiar and others are as obscure as Luxemburg. It would be interesting to know the history that goes with some of the names.

Kitchener, Waterloo, St. Jacobs, Heidelburg, Josephburg, St. Clements, Petersburg, Wilmot Centre, Mannheim, Schindelsteddle, Ayr, New Dundee, Baden, Luxemburg, New Hamburg, Wellesley, Conestogo, Winterbourne, Maryhill, Bloomingdale, Breslau, Kossuth, Freeport, Doon, Hagey, Blair, Bridgeport, Rummelhardt, Erbsville, Haysville, St. Agatha, Elmira, West Montrose, Zuber Corners, Weissenburg, St.Clements, Wellesley, Berlett’s Corners, New Prussia, Phillipsburg, Drayton, Linwood, Waldau, Berlets Corner, Trussler, Williamsburg, Bamburg, Hawkesville, Wallenstein, Macton, South Plains, Roseville, Huron Park, Country Hills, Strasburg, Rosendale

Heritage Water Wheel in New Hamburg, Ontario

New Hamburg boasts the largest working water wheel in North America. It is beside the Nith River which winds through the town and is a symbol of water-powered mills which were important to the economy of the area.