Sheffield (population 423) is a small village and rural

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

in the

single-tier municipality A unitary authority is a type of local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. It is located just off Highway 8, on the municipality's boundary with 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, Ontario, Cambridge, Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario, Waterl ...

. It is 10 kilometres from the city of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

and 35 from Hamilton's downtown core. The village lay on the road between the two cities until 1959, when the Sheffield Bypass was completed. Ontario Highway 8 still follows the route of the bypass; the main street through Sheffield is now a 2.4 km section of municipal road known as Old Highway 8. Local institutions include Lee Academy, Sheffield United Church, Zion United Reformed Church, and Grace Covenant Church. Local organizations include the Sheffield Lions Club, the Clyde & Scott's Women's Institute, and Sheffield Minor Ball, which uses the Sheffield Ball Park. Local businesses include a garden centre, garage, farm supply store, veterinary office, golf course, and a modern-day blacksmith & iron works. Located approximately two kilometres east of Sheffield is the Rockton Aerodrome, a private dirt airfield home to a local gliding club. The Sheffield Community Centre is located three kilometres south of the village in the former Pleasant Grove School. Located approximately three kilometres north-east of Sheffield is a major tourist attraction, the African Lion Safari.

History

Non-Indigenous settlement began in the Sheffield area in the early 1800s. The village was founded by Rev. John A. Cornell, an immigrant from

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later o ...

, who settled at the site in 1809. He became a preacher in 1812, founding the first church in Beverly Township. Church services were initially held in Cornell's barn and house, and in neighbouring communities. In 1834, a church was built by Cornell's congregation in Sheffield. The current

United Church A united church, also called a uniting church, is a denomination formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestantism, Protestant Christian denominations, a number of which come from separate and distinc ...

in Sheffield sits on the same site. Sheffield was originally known as "The Cornell Settlement", but was named "Sheffield" by John A. Cornell with the establishment of the first post office circa 1832. By 1857, Sheffield's village population was 160, and the village included a general store/post office, shoemaker, blacksmith, physician/surgeon, wagon maker, and hotel ("Sheffield House"). There was also a public school and three churches: the United Brethren in Christ (John A. Cornell's original congregation), the Wesleyan Methodists, and the Church of England (at Romulus). By at least 1868 there was a tailor.https://archive.org/details/sutherlandscityo1868suthuoft Sheffield Throughout its history, most of the population of the Sheffield community was engaged in agriculture or related services, but today the majority of residents are employed in nearby cities or are retired.

References

{{authority control Neighbourhoods in Hamilton, Ontario