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Preston is a community in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
,
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in the
Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario The Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Waterloo Region or Region of Waterloo) is a metropolitan area of Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo (KWC or Tri-Cities), and the townships of North Dumfr ...
. Prior to 1973 it was an independent town, incorporated in 1915, but amalgamation with the town of
Hespeler, Ontario Hespeler is a neighbourhood and former town within Cambridge, Ontario, located along the Speed River in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. In 1973, Hespeler, Preston, Galt, and the hamlet of Blair were amalgamated to form t ...
, the city of
Galt, Ontario Galt is a community in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario on the Grand River. Prior to 1973, it was an independent city, incorporated in 1915, but amalgamation with the town of Hespeler, Ontario, the t ...
and the village of Blair formed the new municipality of Cambridge. Parts of the surrounding townships were also included. No population data is available for the former Preston since the Census reports cover only the full area of Cambridge, though the combined population of the census tracts covering the majority of Preston reported a population of 20,008 as of the
2016 Canada Census The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted a population of 35,151,728, a change from its 2011 population of 33,476,688. The census, conducted by Statistics Canada, was Canada's seventh quinquennial census. ...
. The first mayor of Cambridge was Claudette Millar. There was considerable resistance among the local population to this "shotgun marriage" arranged by the provincial government and a healthy sense of rivalry had always governed relations among the three communities. Even today, many residents refer to their area of Cambridge as being Galt or Preston or Hespeler. Each unique centre has its own history that is well documented in the Cambridge City Archives. The former Preston is located on the western side of the city at the confluence of the Grand River and Speed River. Downtown Preston is commonly considered to be bounded on the north by the entrance to Riverside Park on King Street, and on the south by the King and Bishop plaza.


History

Preston was originally formed on land belonging to the German Company Tract, along the Speed River, which was purchased earlier from the Six Nations Indians. The massive territory of the Tract had been purchased from Richard Beasley who had acquired it from the British Crown in the late 1700s. The name Preston is named for the hometown of William Scollick, who was surveyor and a native of
Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...
in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. In the 1800s a group of German-speaking Mennonites from Pennsylvania arrived in the area and purchased land in the area. Among the first settlers to arrive in what was later to become Preston was John Erb, a Mennonite from Lancaster County, who arrived in 1805. He bought including land at the confluence of the Grand and Speed Rivers in what later became Preston. The first school opened in 1802 near the village of Blair, then known as Shinglebridge. The first teacher's name was Mr. Rittenhaus. It was John Erb who bought the of land and settled it in 1805. He later built a sawmill in 1806 and a gristmill in 1807. This settlement became known as Cambridge Mills. Even in the early 1800s, the area included homes, a store, an inn, small shops operated by artisans and craftsmen, mostly immigrants from Germany. The Erb sons had hired William Scollick for their development business and the latter completed a full survey in 1834 and convinced the Erbs to rename the Cambridge Mills area to Preston. After Erb's death in 1832, a son sold off property on both sides of the Speed River. What eventually became Preston started as a large settlement on the north side. There were only 250 inhabitants in 1836, many from Pennsylvania, but the population had reached about 1600 by 1855, with some 70% originally from Germany. By then, the area had eight hotels and taverns. Some of these hotels, such as the North American Hotel (later called the Kress and still standing) from the 1840s and the later Del Monte (most successful in the 1890s) and the Sulphur Springs, were built to accommodate visitors who arrived via the Great Road to benefit from the mineral springs. The high sulphur content was believed to be useful for those with arthritis and rheumatism. The Canadian Gazetter of 1846 indicates a population of about 600 inhabitants, two churches, a post office that receives mail each day, a steam grist mill, and tradesmen of various types. At the time, there was no significant industry. The Preston post office opened in 1837 and the population continued to grow primarily because of immigration from Germany. Preston was incorporated as a village in 1853. Due to continued growth, by 1879 there were many industries such as a foundry, carriage manufacturer, potteries and a furniture company. This was also the year that the Cherry Flour Mills started, which would later become the Dover Flour Mills, a Preston company that still operates today. The Preston Springs Hotel, then called the Del Monte Hotel, was operating prior to 1888, and featured of grounds with gardens and lawns. The primary attraction was the mineral baths in the basement, whose high sulphur content was believed to cleanse the body and treat arthritis and rheumatism. A competing facility next door, the Sulphur Springs Hotel, opened in the mid 1890s, and a nearby hotel, the North American (renamed the Kress Hotel in 1900), had opened in 1840. Walder sold the Del Monte in 1903; a later owner, A.R. Kauffman, renamed it Preston Springs, and the facility remained successful as a health spa until 1940. After the war, it closed for some years, eventually becoming a retirement and care facility, until closing in 1990, when the building was boarded up, and remained vacant. The building was vacant since 2012. The city considered issuing a demolition order but in June 2020, the matter was referred to a provincial tribunal that handles disputes on heritage properties. Finally, the city ordered an emergency demolition in late December 2020 for reasons of public safety; the work began on 30 December. Various
interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 ...
and street railways connected Preston to neighbouring towns over the years. The Galt and Preston Street Railway was chartered in 1890, but disputes over construction and management delayed the start of construction until 1894. In particular, Preston merchants feared a loss of business that might ensue from shoppers taking the streetcar to Galt rather than shopping locally. These concerns were partially addressed by having the head office of the railway company be located in Preston, rather than Galt as originally intended. The steam equipment which powered the street railway's
electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...
system, including the boilers and engines, was supplied by the Goldie and McCulloch Company of Galt. When completed, the result was a line running from the Great Western Railway station in Galt along Water Street, then alongside the road between Preston and Galt (now Concession Boulevard), then along the centre of King Street in Preston, crossing the Speed River using a timber
trestle bridge A trestle bridge is a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by closely spaced frames. A trestle (sometimes tressel) is a rigid frame used as a support, historically a tripod used to support a stool or a pair of isosceles triangl ...
. The line terminated in the vicinity of the Del Monte Hotel. Passenger service on the line was provided by a set of electric streetcars, while early freight service was provided by a small steam locomotive and boxcar which transported less than carload freight between the Canadian Pacific Railway freight office at Galt and merchants in Preston. Soon, in 1895, the Galt and Preston Street Railway became the Galt, Preston and Hespeler Street Railway, with the authorization of a
branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...
from Preston to Hespeler. The Hespeler branch line was constructed on a private
right of way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
rather than running in the street, and the street railway company upgraded its freight service with an electric locomotive provided by the Canadian General Electric Company of
Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
. A number of industrial sidings were constructed to serve freight customers along King Street, providing street-level urban freight rail service to three large Preston furniture factories, as well as a coal yard, wood yard,
flour mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...
, and stove and furnace
foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...
. On September 30, 1899 Preston was incorporated as a town with a population of just under 11,000. The Great Road between Dundas and Berlin (Kitchener) as well as the railroad connections helped the community to continue growing into an important industrial centre. Products made here included flour, agricultural implements, furniture, stoves, shoes and textiles. Preston grew and continued to be a successful industrial area; expansion followed in the 1950s and 1960s. While most of the population of what became
Waterloo County, Ontario Waterloo County was a county in the Canadian province of Ontario from 1853 until 1973. It was the direct predecessor of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. Situated on a subset of land within the Haldimand Tract, the traditional territory o ...
was Protestant in 1911, Preston had a larger share of Roman Catholics, 844, while 862 were Lutherans, 707 Methodists, 704 Anglicans, and 525 Presbyterians. Located in Riverside Park, Leisure Lodge operated from 1948 until it was destroyed by fire. It was started by Olaf "Olie" Waimel as a big band music venue and included a massive outdoor dance floor.


Government

The local government is the
Cambridge City Council Cambridge City Council is a district council in the county of Cambridgeshire, which governs the City of Cambridge. History Cambridge was granted a Royal Charter by King John in 1207, which permitted the appointment of a mayor. The first recorde ...
consisting of a mayor and eight councillors, each representing a
ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
. The mayor (2014-2018 term) is Doug Craig. Cambridge is also represented on the higher-tier Waterloo Regional Council which consists of the Regional Chair, the Mayors of the seven cities and townships, and eight additional Councilors - four from Kitchener and two each from Cambridge and Waterloo. Ken Seiling has held the position of Regional Chair since 1985. Cambridge is represented in Ottawa by
Bryan May Bryan J. May (born September 19, 1974) is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2015 and 2019 Canadian federal elections to represent the electoral district of Cambridge as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada. He is ...
(Liberal), the federal member of Parliament who defeated the previous incumbent MP ( Gary Goodyear, Conservative – 2004 to 2015) in the October 2015 election. The
MPP MPP or M.P.P. may refer to: * Marginal physical product * Master of Public Policy, an academic degree * Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario), Canada * Member of Provincial Parliament (Western Cape), South Africa * ''Merriweather Post Pavilio ...
for Cambridge is
Belinda Karahalios Belinda Carmen Karahalios is a Canadian politician who served as the member of Provincial Parliament for the riding of Cambridge in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2018 to 2022. Karahalios was originally elected in the 2018 provincia ...
of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, who was first elected to this position in 2018.


Municipal services

Prestion was an independent entity in
Waterloo County, Ontario Waterloo County was a county in the Canadian province of Ontario from 1853 until 1973. It was the direct predecessor of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. Situated on a subset of land within the Haldimand Tract, the traditional territory o ...
until 1973 when amalgamation created the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. At that time, Preston was amalgamated into the new city of Cambridge. The Region handles many services, including Fire, Police, waste management, community health, transit, recreation, planning, roads and social services. The Region consists of the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener, and Waterloo, and the townships of
Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...
,
Wilmot Wilmot may refer to: Places Australia *Division of Wilmot, an abolished Australian Electoral Division in Tasmania * Wilmot, Tasmania, a locality in the North-West Region Canada *Wilmot, Nova Scotia, an unincorporated rural community and former t ...
, Wellesley, and
North Dumfries The Township of North Dumfries is a rural township in Ontario, Canada, part of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. Communities North Dumfries includes the following communities: Ayr, Branchton, Clyde (formerly from Beverley Township, Wentwor ...
.


Public transportation

Since 2000, public transport throughout the Region of Waterloo has been provided by Grand River Transit, which was created by a merger of the former Cambridge Transit and Kitchener Transit. GRT operates a number of routes in Cambridge, four of which travel outside of the city: presently the 206 (Previously the 52), 61, 72, and 111 buses run to southern Kitchener, while the
iXpress Grand River Transit (GRT) is the public transport operator for the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It operates daily bus services in the region, primarily in the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge, alongside the I ...
limited-stop express route runs from the Ainslie St. Transit Terminal (Galt) through Kitchener to the north end of Waterloo. In June 2009 Regional Council voted to approve a plan to construct a light rail line, which has been named the
Ion rapid transit Ion, stylized as ION, is an integrated public transportation network in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. It is operated by Keolis and is part of the Grand River Transit (GRT) system, partially replacing GRT's Route 2 ...
. The first phase would run from Conestoga Mall in the north of Waterloo, to Fairview Park Mall in the south of Kitchener. The second phase of the line would run from Fairview Mall to the Galt area of Cambridge. Mayor Doug Craig was a determined opponent of the plan. He felt that a series of buses would be just as effective but much less expensive. As of late February 2017, the Kitchener-Waterloo portion was well into the final phase of construction, but plans for the Cambridge section of the LRT were still in the very early stage. Public consultations were just getting started at the time. Three routes had been agreed on in 2011, with eight "endorsed" stops: at Fairway, Sportsworld, Preston, Pinebush, Cambridge Centre Mall, Can-Amera, Delta and Ainslie Street Terminal. Three others were still being considered.


Education

Public English-language schooling is provided by the Waterloo Region District School Board, which operates 26 elementary and five secondary schools in Cambridge. Publicly funded Catholic education is available through schools operated by the
Waterloo Catholic District School Board Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) is a school board serving the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is headquartered in Kitchener, and is currently the eighth-largest Catholic school system in Ontario. As of November 2023, thi ...
. Preston is home to one high school, Preston High; one public middle school, William G Davis; as well as the elementary schools Preston Public, Coronation Public, Grandview Public, Parkway Public, Ryerson Public, St. Michael's Catholic and St. Joseph's Catholic. The
University of Waterloo School of Architecture The School of Architecture is one of the professional schools of the University of Waterloo. It offers a professional program in architecture accredited by the Canadian Architectural Certification Board at the master's level (M.Arch.). It is part ...
campus is located in nearby Galt in the Riverside Silk Mill, also known as the Tiger Brand Building. Inside there is a theatre, a fitness room, and the gallery "Design at Riverside", which is one of two publicly funded galleries dedicated to architecture in Canada. The School of Architecture is home to 380 students who live, study, and learn within the Cambridge community.


Parks and trails

The main park in Preston is Riverside Park. It is Cambridge's largest community park with an area of 256 acres (1.02 km2.) The park contains a splash pad, two playgrounds, tennis courts, soccer pitch, a skateboard park, picnic areas that can be reserved, and a multitude of walking trails. The baseball fields are used often and on Canada Day there is always an event at the field whether it is a fair, bands at a bandstand, or fireworks. Riverside Park also hosts a fishing derby on Canada Day when support is available. The 7.5 kilometre Mill Run Trail runs north-east from the park at Russ Street, along the banks of the Speed River, to Sheffield Street in the town of Hespeler. On its way, it passes through the hamlet of Speedsville, the former site of
Idylwild Park Idylwild Park was a park located on the Speed River in what is now Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.Bean. 2005. It attracted people from across Southwestern Ontario and the Golden Horseshoe, via the Grand Trunk Railway and the Galt, Preston & Hespel ...
and Chilligo Conservation Area. Also in Preston is Linear Park which has extensive trails for walking, running or biking. At certain points the trail gives a perfect view of the confluence of the Grand and the Speed Rivers.


Preston Towne Centre

This traditional downtown core area remains quite vibrant and through the B.I.A. has organized a closely knit group of merchants providing a wide range of goods and services in office-related industry, business service industries and licensed restaurants. The target market area is predominately the immediate surrounding residential area, which is constantly growing through new high density developments. In addition, high traffic counts through this area adds to the market potential. The Grist Mill Centre including a new Giant Tiger Department store is a small commercial mall on King Street in Preston.


See also

*
Cambridge, Ontario Cambridge is a city in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, located at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers. The city had a population of 138,479 as of the 2021 census. Along with Kitchener and Waterloo, Cambridg ...
*
Hespeler, Ontario Hespeler is a neighbourhood and former town within Cambridge, Ontario, located along the Speed River in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. In 1973, Hespeler, Preston, Galt, and the hamlet of Blair were amalgamated to form t ...
*
Preston Car Company The Preston Car Company was a Canadian manufacturer of streetcars and other railway equipment, founded in 1908. The company was located in the town of Preston, Ontario (now part of the city of Cambridge). Preston sold streetcars to local transp ...
* Regional Municipality of Waterloo * Speed River


References


Further reading

*


External links


cambridgeweb.net: Brief History of the community of PrestonPreston
at Geographical Names of Canada
Evolution of Preston
City of Cambridge web-site. * Preston Towne Centre Business Improvement Area - https://www.discoverpreston.ca/. {{Coord, 43, 23, 29, N, 80, 20, 55, W, type:city_region:CA_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Communities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo Cambridge, Ontario Populated places disestablished in 1973