Publisher's Synopsis
New Hamburg was established in the early 1830s by William Scott. In 1834, cholera killed many of the original settlers of New Hamburg. A grist-mill built by Josiah Cushman about 1834 formed the nucleus around which a small community of Amish Mennonites and recent German immigrants developed. More German and Scottish settlers arrived in the late 1830s and early 1840s. The Grand Trunk railway arrived in the 1850s and the village became an important centre for milling and the production of farm machinery.New Hamburg is located in the rural township of Wilmot in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo. It is bordered by Baden to the east and is within easy driving distance of the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Stratford.The Nith River winds through town and flows through the downtown core, which is home to a 50-foot waterwheel built in 1990, the largest operating water wheel in North America; a symbol of the importance of the Nith River, and of the water-powered mills which were the first industries in pioneer New Hamburg.
