New Hamburg, Ontario 5.09

New Hamburg is a community of approximately 7,930 in Wilmot Township. Founded in 1854 it is a rural township of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario. It is bordered by Baden to the east and Perth County to the west, and close to the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Stratford.The Nith River winds through town and flows through the downtown core, which is home to a 50-foot waterwheel built in 1990.The weekly newspaper serving the community is the New Hamburg Independent. The downtown has been designated a Heritage Conservation District.HistoryLocated on the Nith River just over 20 kilometers from Berlin this settlement - established in 1830 by William Scott and called New Hamburgtown - is in an area with rich soil, that was subsequently settled primarily by Germans, both Mennonites and others direct from Germany. The settlement was laid out in 1832. A historical plaque honours Josiah Cushman, an Amish Mennonite from Germany, who built a grist mill in the village in about 1834. Later, the village was called Cassel but by 1840, it had been changed to New Hamburg.In 1851 the New Hamburg post-office was established by mill owner William Scott. The population was 500 at the time and there was a pottery, a carriage works and a foundry. The Grand Trunk Railroad reached the area in 1856 and helped the village to establish milling and farm machinery manufacturing. In 1869 the population was 1,400 and the settlement had a railway station.