Mary Allen Beginnings, Part 2

The Grand Trunk Railway came to Berlin (Kitchener) in 1856, drawing the region within reach of the far-flung world, and broadening its cultural, commercial and industrial potential.

In Waterloo, the land made available by the 1855 Hoffman survey (see the blog post Mary Allen Beginnings, Part 1) meant that commercial and industrial enterprise could now gain a better foothold. The population increased to more than 1,200 by 1861, and would continue to grow steadily into the thousands during the late nineteenth century.

Click to enlarge, then open image in new tab for full size. Part of Tremaine's Map of the County of Waterloo, Canada West, 1861. By the mid-1800s, Berlin and Waterloo were surrounded by subdivided farm lots. One undivided lot, “Saml. S Snider” (circled), shows the size of the original, nearly 450-acre lots as created in 1805. Streets shown include Erb (1), Albert (2) and King (3), as well as Mary and John in the future Mary-Allen neighbourhood (4). The black-inked triangular area between Albert and King streets, north of Erb, shows Waterloo's earliest urban development, and just west of this lies the millpond – forerunner of today’s Silver Lake. The black and white dashed line crossing the map east-to-west marks the Grand Trunk Railway, a rail right-of-way still in place today. From a wall map in the Grace Schmidt Room of Local History, Kitchener Public Library.

Waterloo's first business, the old Erb/Snider mill, was expanded, and brewing, distilling, barrel-making, and furniture and farm implement manufacturing developed alongside other large- and small-scale industries. Waterloo also eventually became known as a seedbed for firms dealing in insurance, which grew into a local specialty. Much of this fresh activity got its start on the new Hoffman Survey lots between William and Erb streets. 

Click to enlarge, then open image in new tab for full size. Part of Tremaine's Map of the County of Waterloo, Canada West, 1861. By the 1860s, the village had spread south of Erb Street (1) along King Street. Albert Street (2) is lined with houses, as is upper King Street. To the south, the public square at William Street (3) persists today. The Erb/Hoffman house is shown with a green arrow, and the Erb/Snider mill with a green dot. Image courtesy City of Waterloo Museum. 

Manufacturing would eventually come to dominate the area south of the mill that is occupied today by Waterloo Public Square, the adjacent mall, and the newer buildings between Willis Way and William Street, while smaller commercial buildings lined the opposite side of King Street (between Erb and William).

Click to enlarge, then open image in new tab for full size. This 1950s aerial photo looking NE shows the mark that the late 1800s left on King Street between William and Erb streets. On the west side of King, the empty lot at centre (1) is the former site of one of Waterloo’s first buildings, the Erb/Snider flour mill. Just to the south are the large Waterloo Manufacturing Co. and Snyder Furniture Co. factories. The old town hall and fire hall are just east of the circular garden (2). On the east side of King, large and small buildings make for a more varied streetscape. The St. John's Lutheran Church steeple is visible at upper right (3), and today's “Button Factory” is at far right centre (4). Of all the buildings specifically named in this caption, only the last one still stands today. Open land is visible in the distance. Image courtesy Waterloo Public Library, Ellis Little Room of Local History; photograph G-5-7.

With all of this growth, the development of residential neighbourhoods was inevitable. South of the commercial district, the long strip of mostly undeveloped land on the east side of King Street that included the Hoffman home, an orchard and a pond in the 1850s (see the blog post Mary Allen Beginnings, Part 1) would undergo a dramatic change as well. A writer in the 1920s remembered this hilly grove behind the Hoffman home as a favourite pleasure ground in the 1860s; one of Waterloo’s earliest spots for picnics, band music and social gatherings. But not long after the Kumpf family bought the Hoffman property in the late 1860s, they, along with several other owners of large tracts in the future Mary-Allen neighbourhood, had more surveys done. These enabled further subdivision into house lots. 

A sizable portion of today's Mary-Allen neighbourhood was subdivided according to the Kumpf-Devitt-Snider survey of 1875. George, Allen and Willow streets were created, and the already-existing John and William streets were extended to Willow.

Who were Kumpf, Devitt and Snider?
Christian Kumpf was town postmaster, former publisher of the Waterloo Chronicle, and future Waterloo mayor. Barnabas Devitt was the adopted son of Magdalena and Abraham Erb, and Barnabas's son was also a future Waterloo mayor. The Sniders (and the Erbs) are covered in more detail in the blog post Mary Allen Beginnings, Part 1.

Click to enlarge, then open image in new tab for full size. The 1875 Kumpf-Devitt-Snider Survey (registered plan 498, Ontario Land Registry Office No.58, Kitchener) subdivided much of the land that would become the Mary-Allen neighbourhood. Bounded by King, George, Willow and Union streets, most of the Kumpf estate was divided, along with lands owned by Benjamin Devitt, near the top of the plan, and, on the right, by Elias Snider. The red numbers are 1875 lots; 1855 Hoffman Survey lot numbers are in black.

References to the nineteenth-century surveys show up occasionally, even now. For example, today’s Mary-Allen neighbourhood property owners can look at their municipal property tax bills to find their “lot” and “plan” numbers. Plan numbers denote the original registered surveys. The Kumpf-Devitt-Snider survey is registered plan 498. That number is on my property tax bill. 

Later surveys between 1884 and 1890 paved the way for the eventual extension of Allen, John and Union streets beyond Willow Street, and for Moore Avenue to be laid through the former Devitt estate (owned at the time by George Moore).

Click to enlarge, then open image in new tab for full size. Part of a c.1895 birds-eye view of the town of Waterloo, looking NE, created by the Toronto Lithographing Co. Factories and commercial buildings crowd the town center, north of William Street, while the fledgling Mary-Allen district is residential, with a few factories and open lots at its edges. The land between George and Allen streets, behind the old Hoffman/Kumpf house, was undeveloped in 1855 but is full of houses in this view. Image courtesy Waterloo Municipal Heritage Committee.

In the wake of the land surveys, subdivisions and subsequent lot sales, the construction of new homes had begun to speed up in the Mary Allen neighbourhood by the late 1880s. All over Waterloo larger homes were sprouting up among the few smaller, earlier ones, announcing the growth and prosperity of the town. Many of these homes remain.

By the 1890s, from its hill on Allen Street the new and imposing St. Louis Roman Catholic Church presided over new streets lined with young trees and houses...

Click to enlarge. The Queen Anne style 186 King Street South (corner of Allen Street) was built by the Bauer family around 1895-1897, along with the house just behind it: 189 Mary Street. 186 was demolished, but 189 Mary still stands in an excellent state of preservation. The Bauers operated a felt factory at King and Allen streets beginning in 1888, and built several fine homes in the Mary-Allen neighbourhood. Reproduced from 100 Years of Progress in Waterloo County, Canada: Semi-centennial Souvenir 1856-1906. Image courtesy Waterloo Public Library, Ellis Little Room of Local History; photograph F-5-14.  

Click to enlarge. Allen Street near King Street, looking west towards Herbert Street, c.1905. The spire of St. Louis Church is just visible in the distance. The Queen Anne style house on the left may be the Weichel home (see below). Reproduced from 100 Years of Progress in Waterloo County, Canada: Semi-centennial Souvenir 1856-1906. Image courtesy Waterloo Public Library, Ellis Little Room of Local History; photograph F-7-13.

Click to enlarge. The Weichel home on Allen Street near King Street, c.1905. Several houses in this style still stand on Allen Street. Beginning in the 1890s, William G. Weichel operated a Waterloo hardware store. He defeated William Lyon Mackenzie King in 1911 to win a seat as MP for the North Waterloo riding. Weichel was Mayor of Waterloo 1922-1923, and MPP for Waterloo 1923-1929. Reproduced from 100 Years of Progress in Waterloo County, Canada: Semi-centennial Souvenir 1856-1906. Image courtesy Waterloo Public Library, Ellis Little Room of Local History; photograph F-6-8.

Click to enlarge. St. Louis Roman Catholic Church, c.1900. Image courtesy Waterloo Public Library, Ellis Little Room of Local History; photograph A-2-4.

A bit of the new industrial development underway at this time, for the most part concentrated north of William Street, also came to the Mary-Allen neighbourhood. These businesses included a felt factory, a shirt collar factory and several furniture factories.

At least one of these factories will be the subject of a future blog post. Stay tuned…

Note: some of this article is adapted from a booklet I prepared for Bob and Margaret Nally about their house, 189 Mary Street, in 2005. It was re-worked and reproduced here with their kind permission.