Hawkesville, Ontario
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The village of Hawkesville in
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 Ca ...
, Canada is a small community in the
township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...
of Wellesley in the
Regional Municipality of Waterloo 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 ...
. Several
Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...
families are located nearby. Hawkesville is noted for its custom-built furniture industry.


History

Though Wellesley Township itself was not surveyed until 1842 and was only incorporated in 1852, settlers were already long in this area. By 1805, many Mennonites from
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
had settled nearby in what became known as Berlin, and today as Kitchener. In 1837, the same year that William Lyon Mackenzie's rebellion was defeated at York (now
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
), John Philip Schweitzer from
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
squatted at what is now Hawkesville, and had of land cleared over the following nine years. Then, John Hawke received government permission to buy the clearing for $700.00 on the condition that he build a
grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...
(for flour) and a
sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
within two years. John Hawke, the second son of Benjamin Hawke and Mary (Lount), had arrived. Benjamin Hawke was a
United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America duri ...
and a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
that fled military conflict in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to settle in Simcoe County. Though his wife's family, the Lounts, were also Quakers, his brother-in-law Samuel Lount was one of William Lyon Mackenzie's lieutenants in the 1837 revolt. After Samuel Lount was hanged for
treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
, Benjamin Hawke decided to move out of Simcoe County. When his son John received permission to purchase in Waterloo County, Benjamin moved there with his wife, his four sons, and his seven daughters. The Hawkes arrived in 1846; John built the grist mill, his younger brother Piercifer built a sawmill, and "Hawke’s village" appeared on the Waterloo County map. A post office was established in Hawkesville in 1852, operated by Gabriel Hawke. When the Waterloo County boundaries were established in 1852 to include the townships of Waterloo, Wellesley, Wilmot,
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 throu ...
, 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, Wentwort ...
, John Hawke was named the first
Reeve Reeve may refer to: Titles *Reeve (Canada), an elected chief executive of some counties, townships, and equivalents *Reeve (England), an official elected annually by the serfs to supervise lands for a lord *High-reeve, a title taken by some Englis ...
of Wellesley and the first township hall was built in Hawkesville. When the decision was being made for the location of a county seat, Hawkesville originally anticipated being chosen over Berlin and Galt. However, John Hawke had the deciding vote, and he cast it in favour of Berlin. With the railroad and the county seat, Berlin began to grow rapidly and kept on growing; Hawkesville flourished only until the end of the century before diminishing. Records from 1864 indicate that the community of about 400 people had three stores, two woolen factories, a tannery, two wagon makers and some tradesmen. The school in Hawkesville had 100 students by that time. There were four churches, although two were still under construction in 1864. The 6th Division court held its hearings in this community. Into the early 1900s, the village
Carriage A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...
and wagon maker, George M. Diefenbacker (his preferred spelling) would entertain his grandson each summer, the late Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker. Because Hawkesville is located on a hill near the
Conestogo River The Conestogo River is a river in Waterloo Region and Wellington County in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The river was named by Mennonite settlers after the Conestoga River in Pennsylvania. In the 1800s there were several different spellings o ...
, it was too difficult to construct a railway to Hawkesville.


Churches

A
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
congregation worshiped in town from 1868 to 1946. Their church building was dedicated as Hawkesville Mennonite Church on January 1, 1950. Only the Hawkesville Mennonite Church and the Countryside Conservative Mennonite Fellowship remain in Hawkesville. A United Brethren church also existed in Hawkesville from 1865 until 1904. The gothic windows and rafters are still visible inside the shop of Hawkwoods Custom Furniture. Another group started meeting in 1931 and completed the building of a Gospel Hall next door to the village's cemetery in 1939. This group became the Hawkesville Bible Chapel, but their Hall became overcrowded and they moved into a new building in Wallenstein in 1968 where the Wallenstein Bible Chapel remains today.


Demographics

In the
2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...
conducted by
Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...
, Hawkesville had a population of 301 living in 93 of its 93 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 311. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.


Economy

Hawkesville is home to several small and medium size businesses including the larger Frey Building Contractors and the Country Lane Builders. Hawkesville is noted for its custom-built furniture industry. While many Mennonites in the surrounding area build and sell furniture, Hawkesville itself is home to three furniture businesses: Chervin Custom Woodworks, Hawkwoods Custom Furniture, and Homestead Woodworks. Noah Martin's summer sausage was located in Hawkesville until his death.


Government

Located in the Kitchener-Conestoga electoral riding, Hawkesville has been represented in
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, since 2006, by the Conservative Member of Parliament,
Harold Albrecht Harold Glenn Albrecht (born October 15, 1949 in Kitchener, Ontario) was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Conservative Party of Canada in the riding of Kitchener—Conestoga from 2006 until 2019. He defeated the incumbent Liberal MP, Lynn M ...
. At Queen's Park in Toronto, Hawkesville has been represented since 2018 by the Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament,
Mike Harris Jr. Mike Harris Jr. (born 1985) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 Ontario general election, 2018 provincial election.Jeff Outhit and Catherine Thompson"Mike Harris Jr. wins in Kitchener-Cones ...


Notable people

* Henry George Lackner, doctor and political figure * Murray D. Martin, global business executive


Bibliography

Ogram, Grace "Letter to the Hawkesville Cemetery" 30 July 1986. Waterloo-Wellington Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society
Dick, J. and Longo, M. Heritage Driving Tour of Wellesley Township. Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation, 1989.
"Hawkesville Village History." Hawkesville Walking Tour. Hawkesville Heritage Day, June 1991.


References


External links


Wellesley Township
{{authority control Communities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo Designated places in Ontario