Waterloo Region firms predate Confederation
Businesses that have reinvented themselves over decades
WATERLOO REGION — There are a number of businesses in Waterloo Region that can trace their roots to the days before Canada became a country. Here are a few:
The P&H Milling Group’s flour mill in Preston traces its roots to 1807 and the gristmill that John Erb built along the Speed River. His mill, in what was originally known as Cambridge Mills, became the Dover Flour mill; Parrish and Heimbecker, Ltd. acquired Dover Industries in 2009.
The Gore District Mutual Fire Insurance Co. was founded in a Brantford schoolhouse in 1839 and subsequently moved to Galt. Today, the Gore Mutual Insurance Co. — the country’s oldest provider of property and casualty insurance — is based in headquarters overlooking Soper Park.
The popular Huether Hotel in Waterloo — now a restaurant, pub, café and night club — traces its roots back to 1842, and the founding of what would become known as the Lion Brewery. While the hotel and brewery have had several proprietors over its history, the business has been in the Adlys family’s hands since the 1950s.
Today, it’s a leader in the Canadian nuclear industry, designing, manufacturing and servicing steam generators and other components for nuclear power plants. But BWXT Canada Ltd. (formerly Babcock & Wilcox Canada), dates back to 1844 and the opening of the Dumfries Foundry in Galt. Later known as Goldie McCulloch, the business amalgamated with U.S.based Babcock & Wilcox in 1923.
The Blue Moon in Petersburg, which dates to 1848, was built as an inn for stagecoach travellers. Known at times as the Petersburg Hotel and the Reindeer Inn, it’s now a restaurant, featuring live music and entertainment and traditional favourites such as pigtails, pork hock and schnitzel.
New Hamburg’s Ritz Printing dates back to 1855, and originally published the town’s Germanlanguage newspaper. The business also published the New Hamburg Independent newspaper; while it was eventually sold to the Motz family, then-owners of the Record, the Ritz family continued its printing business. Stratford-based Commercial Printers acquired Ritz Printing in 2013.
Waterloo law firm Duncan, Linton LLP was established in 1860 as the law office of MacGachen & Colquhoun. The firm has undergone a number of name changes over the years to reflect its changing partners. Today, the firm’s lawyers practice in areas ranging from commercial litigation and municipal law to real estate, wills and estates.
Cambridge’s CGT (Canadian General-Tower), a manufacturer of vinyl liners for swimming pools and coated fabrics and films for automotive and industrial applications, can trace its roots to the 1863 founding of the Victoria Wheel Works factory in Galt. The company was run by the Chaplin family for most of the 20th century, until its sale to Burlington-based Holcan Investments in 2012.