Maryhill is an unincorporated rural community in the township 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 ...
,
Waterloo Region
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 ...
, Ontario, Canada.
The population was 576 in 2016.
Hopewell Creek flows through the settlement.
History
As European immigrants moved to the area in the early 1800s, the settlement was first called Rotenburg. Between 1827 and 1840, of the 48 settlers who arrived in Rotenburn, 36 were from
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
and 12 were from
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...
. A particularly large number arrived from
Soufflenheim
Soufflenheim (; german: Sufflenheim; gsw-FR, Süfflum), is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is known for its pottery, being known as the ''Cité des Potiers''.
History
The forested area of Norther ...
, Alsace, between 1828 and 1860. By 1832, there were 69 families in Rotenburg, and a population of 307.
The settlement was renamed New Germany, and German language newspapers sometimes referred to the settlement as ''Neu Deutschland''.
In 1916, a historian wrote of the pioneer settlement:
A school was erected in 1832, which served as a church on Sunday. It was the first Catholic church in the region.
St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church was established near the school in 1834, named for
Saint Boniface, the apostle of Germany.
The current church was erected in 1877.
In 1852, a two-room brick school was built. During the winter the school enrolled over 100 students.
St. Boniface Hotel was erected in 1850, and for 70 years it was used as a stop for the stagecoach carrying mail and passengers between
Waterloo and
Guelph
Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...
.
The early settlement had a blacksmith shop, brewery, cobbler, cooper, tailor, and three hotels.
Between 1860 and 1865, New Germany was afflicted by smallpox with "especial severity", and many residents had badly marked faces throughout their lives.
A post office was established in 1879.
In 1941, Canada Post requested that New Germany change its name because mail arriving from overseas was being misdirected to
New Germany, Nova Scotia
New Germany is a village in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Located along the LaHave River and New Germany Lake it is a main service centre connecting Bridgewater and Middleton via highway Trunk 10. New Germany is situated 25 kilometres ...
. Canadian Post suggested the name "Gort", after a British commander, or "Wavell", after a British General in Egypt. The community instead selected Maryhill; "Mary" because of their historical Catholic faith, and "hill" because of a prominent hill in the settlement.
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, Maryhill had a population of 605 living in 207 of its 210 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 576. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Parks and recreation
Maryhill Heritage Park and Community Centre features a playground, ball diamond, group open space, multi-purpose court, soccer fields, outdoor ice rinks, and group picnic area.
See also
*
List of unincorporated communities in Ontario
The following is a list of unincorporated and informal communities in the province of Ontario, Canada. These communities are not independent communities, these are usually a part of a township for the district, within a county. In non-urban areas ...
References
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Communities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo
Designated places in Ontario
Woolwich, Ontario