Salem | |
---|---|
Compact Rural Community | |
Coordinates: 43°41′36″N80°26′49″W / 43.69333°N 80.44694°W [1] | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Ontario |
County | Wellington County |
Township | Centre Wellington |
Elevation | 400 m (1,300 ft) |
Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
Forward sortation area | |
Area code(s) | 519, 226, 548 |
NTS Map | 040P09 |
GNBC Code | FDTDG |
Salem is a compact rural community and unincorporated place in the incorporated township of Centre Wellington, Wellington County, in southwestern Ontario, Canada. [1] [3] [4]
Salem was founded by Sem Wissler. Wissler purchased the land (in what was then Nichol Township) [5] : 175 for the settlement in 1844, with the first building being constructed in 1845. He was born in Clay Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and participated in the Pennsylvania German migration to Waterloo County, Ontario which occurred in the early 19th century. Wissler, of German descent, married a relative of one of the Scottish settlers of nearby Bon Accord. He considered Irvine Creek to have potential and chose land near to it to settle. [6]
By the 1850s, a businessman named William Tamblyn was active, operating a lime kiln and constructing a number of buildings. He opened a brewery at Salem in 1857 or 1858, which was eventually taken over by Conrad Doerbecker in 1865. A German-born professional brewer, Doerbecker may have previously operated the brewery for Tamblyn. Doerbecker produced lighter, lager-style beers which competed with the English-style ales produced by the brewery in Elora. [7]
Doerbecker, who also owned a brick-making business, soon had a new brewery building constructed in 1867 out of brick. The brewing business in Salem went through significant changes over the next few decades, as Doerbecker at first sold his brewery to a former employee named Jacob Reuter in 1868, before opening a new brewery, known as the Irvine Brewery, in 1872. The two competed alongside the Dalby brewery in Elora. [7]
Doerbecker (and later his son, Mike) sought to expand to a regional market in Waterloo and Wellington counties, where they distributed with a fleet of wagons. However, by the 1890s, the brewing industry in Ontario was becoming heavily consolidated even as beer consumption increased. The Irvine Brewery was competing with Waterloo's Huether and Kuntz breweries, as well as the Sleeman Brewery in Guelph. However, financial problems drove it toward acquisition by the Kuntz brewing company in 1910, which shut it down and ended Salem's commercial brewing history, as well as ending its last major industry. [7]
The small village of Salem has since merged geographically with its much larger southeastern neighbour, the Historic Village of Elora, although longtime residents of the area still distinguish between the two as of the year 2023.
Local business area in Salem is mainly found along and near Woolwich Street (County Road) and County Road 7 including:
Salem has two bridges that span over Irvine Creek:
Wellington County Road 7 and Wellington County Road 10 (Woolwich Street West and Geddes Street) are then main primary roads connecting Salem with other communities. Most of the roads in Salem are gravel other than the two aforementioned county roads. Within Salem there is one traffic light at Woolwich and Wellington County Road 7 with all other intersections controlled by stop signs.
Salem Public School is the only school situated in Salem and belongs to the Upper Grand District School Board. Secondary students need to travel to Fergus, Ontario to attend Centre Wellington District High School.
The old Salem School House at 93 Woolwich Street West (Woolwich Street and Wellington County Road 7) has been home to many businesses since the school moved to its current location on Woolwich Street East. In recent years it has been home to Old Soul Resale Furniture and Art, Strata Gallery, Soulworks Studio, and Shades4U.
The nearest Catholic school (within the Wellington Catholic District School Board) is St. Mary's Catholic School in Elora Ontario. The closest Catholic high school is found in Guelph, Ontario.
Recreation facilities located within Salem are largely passive, and include Veteran's Park.
Most residents live along the areas along Irvine Creek and is known for its many historic stone houses. In recent years, Salem's size has grown due to an urban development on William Street, between Water Street and Victoria Street.
Guelph is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly 22 km (14 mi) east of Kitchener and 70 km (43 mi) west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wellington County Road 124. It is the seat of Wellington County, but is politically independent of it.
Wellington County is a county located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada and is part of the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The county, made up of two towns and five townships, is predominantly rural in nature. However many of the residents in the southern part of the county commute to urban areas such as Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, Brampton, Mississauga, Toronto and Hamilton for employment. The northern part of the county is made up of mainly rural farming communities, except for a few larger towns such as Mount Forest and Arthur. According to the 2021 census, the population of the county was 241,026.
Puslinch is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, in Wellington County, surrounding the south end of Guelph. The main source of production is agricultural, spring water bottling and mining. Aggregate mining has been dominant throughout the county. About half of the township is forested, and a conservation area lies to the southwest. Near the western edge of the township, just outside Cambridge, Ontario, is Puslinch Lake, the largest kettle lake in North America. It is part of the Guelph census metropolitan area.
Elmira is the largest community in the township of Woolwich, Ontario, Canada. It is 15 kilometres (9 mi) north of the city of Waterloo near the Regional Municipality of Waterloo's northern border with Wellington County. The community was listed in the 2016 Canadian census as having a population of 10,161.
Elora is a community in the township of Centre Wellington, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada. It is well known for its 19th-century limestone architecture and the geographically significant Elora Gorge.
The Township of Woolwich is a rural township in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, considered as a municipality. The Township is located in the northeast part of Waterloo Region and is made up of 10 small communities, with Elmira, Ontario the largest and St. Jacobs, Ontario the second largest. The population at the time of the 2021 Census was 26,999, up from the 2016 population of 25,006. Waterloo Region is still home to the largest population of Old Order Mennonites in Canada, particularly in the areas around St Jacobs and Elmira. They are often seen on the local roads using their traditional horse and buggy transportation; many also use horses to pull the implements in their farm fields.
Waterloo County was a county in Canada West in the United Province of Canada from 1853 until 1867, then in the Canadian province of Ontario from 1867 until 1973. It was the direct predecessor of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo.
West Montrose is an unincorporated rural community in Woolwich Township in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. As of the 2016 census, the population of the community was 257.
Fergus is the largest community in Centre Wellington, a township within Wellington County in Ontario, Canada. It lies on the Grand River about 18 km NNW of Guelph. The population of this community at the time of the 2016 Census was 20,767, but the community is growing as new homes are being built for sale.
King's Highway 7, commonly referred to as Highway 7 and historically as the Northern Highway, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. At its peak, Highway 7 measured 716 km (445 mi) in length, stretching from Highway 40 east of Sarnia in Southwestern Ontario to Highway 17 west of Ottawa in Eastern Ontario. However, due in part to the construction of Highways 402 and 407, the province transferred the sections of Highway 7 west of London and through the Greater Toronto Area to county and regional jurisdiction. The highway is now 535.7 km (332.9 mi) long; the western segment begins at Highway 4 north of London and extends 154.1 km (95.8 mi) to Georgetown, while the eastern segment begins at Donald Cousens Parkway in Markham and extends 381.6 km (237.1 mi) to Highway 417 in Ottawa.
Sleeman Breweries is a Japanese-owned Canadian brewery founded by John Warren Sleeman in 1988 in Guelph, Ontario. The company is the third-largest brewing company in Canada. Along with its own Sleeman brands, the company produces under licence the Stroh's family of brands, Maclays Ale and Sapporo Premium beers for sale in Canada. The company's parent Sapporo owns 4.2 per cent of Ontario's primary beer retailer The Beer Store.
The Hanlon Expressway or Hanlon Parkway is a high-capacity at-grade suburban limited-access road connecting Highway 401 with the city of Guelph in the Canadian province of Ontario. The 17 km (11 mi) route travels in a generally north–south direction on the city's west side. It is signed as Highway 6 for its entire length; from Wellington Street to Woodlawn Road it is concurrent with Highway 7. The speed limit alternates between 70 and 80 km/h.
King's Highway 6, commonly referred to as Highway 6, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. It crosses a distance of 480 km (300 mi) between Port Dover, on the northern shore of Lake Erie, and Espanola, on the northern shore of Lake Huron, before ending at the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 17) in McKerrow.
Maryhill is an unincorporated rural community in the township of Woolwich, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada. The population was 576 in 2016.
Formosa is a community located in the municipality of South Bruce, in Bruce County, Ontario, Canada.
Wellington Brewery is a brewery in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1985 and was one of the first North American breweries to revive the ancient technique of brewing cask-conditioned cask ale. Phil Gosling was the founder. By 2011, the volume of sales required the company to expand its brewing capacity. Two new 150HL tanks were installed. In January 2013, four more tanks were installed to keep up with demand for Wellington products. In 2015, the company's facility was expanded with a 12,000-square-foot addition, including a 40-hectolitre brew house and new packaging line. At that time, the company employed a staff of 45. The company also has a distribution warehouse in Toronto.
Floradale is an unincorporated rural community in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is part of the township of Woolwich in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. The community is located 5 kilometres to the north of the town of Elmira, Ontario and 20 kilometres to the north of the city of Waterloo, Ontario. Canagagigue Creek, a tributary of the Grand River, flows through the village. The community is located in an area where there is an historically large settlement of Old Order Mennonites noted for their traditional customs, dress, and use of horse and buggies.
StoneHammer Brewing was located in Guelph, Ontario and was a member of the Ontario Craft Brewers Association (OCB). The brewery was established in August 1995 as F&M Breweries by Rich Fortnum, Bruce Fortnum, Antonia Smits and Charles MacLean. They produced StoneHammer Pilsner, MacLean's Pale Ale, and a dry-hopped dark mild sold only in casks to select publicans. During this time, F&M started contract brewing in Ontario for a handful of contracts while under contention under LCBO licensing. Their StoneHammer Pilsner was also invited into the Great British Beer Festival beer competition, into the American jurisdiction. Three years later it was sold to Frank Cerniuk who continued the Stone Hammer (sic) name with an award-winning line of Stone Hammer beers under the company name F&M Brewery. In February 2015, Frank sold the Brewery to Phillip and Lesley Woodhouse who renamed the brewery after its flagship brand. In spring 2018, the company filed for bankruptcy having closed its doors in late April of that year. StoneHammer also produced several contract beers, including the Taste of Ontario Harvest Series for the Neighbourhood Group.
Irvine Creek is a creek in the municipality of Centre Wellington, Wellington County in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is in the Great Lakes Basin and is a right tributary of the Grand River.
Creek Bank is an unincorporated rural community in Centre Wellington Township, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada.