Village Squire, 1978-05, Page 25DAYTRIPPING
Back
to Mennonite
country
This month our daytripping column
returns to Mennonite country travelling the ..-
Tess used county highway systems and
visiting some pretty hamlets along the
way.
We began the trip' at Newry, south of
Listowel on Highway 23. There we headed
east on the Perth County highway. Along
the way we passed through Donegal and
Newton before reaching Millbank. You
may wish to stop here to visit the cheese
factory which is one of the best known in
the region making many kinds of tasty
cheeses.
On we went through Crosshill and St.
Clements and finally through Heidelberg.
It's pretty country the farther east you go
with high hills giving plenty of opportunity
for interesting landscapes.
You'll finally reach Highway 85 where
you take a left turn for a short jaunt into St.
Jacobs itself.
The village was originally the land of the
Six Nations Indians. Joseph Brant was
rewarded for his services to the British in
the American War of Independence by a
grant of the land along the Grand river.
Later surplus lands were sold off by the
Indians to white settlers. The land where
the village not sits was sold to William
Wallace who sold it to August Jones and
John and Paul Erb. The land was part of
the German Company Tract that was
settled by pioneers from Pennsylvania.
In 1848 a saw mill was built on the
Conestoga river by Soloman Bauman and
later sold in 1850 to Jacob C. Snider. who
added a grist mill in 1851. The village
became known to the Pennsylvania
German population as "Jacobsettel" or
Jacobstown. The Saint part of the name
was apparently added later to make the
name sound better.
The mill today is an intrical part of the
new St. Jacobs but not for the flour that
was once so famous produced on the first
roller milling operation around. Today the
big mill is one of the most unique furniture
shops you could imagine. Three floors of
the mill have been turned into St. Jacob's
Country Mill. There is a wide range of
furniture from pine to rosewood to glass
and stainless steel and ceremic tiled table
tops. Each floor has a different stock and
out back there is a section where furniture
is made from scratch.
Rustic pine furniture is also featured just
next door at Canadian Traditions. Two of
the original stores on the main street have
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WHITE DAISY
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WHITE Li LY
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GOLD APASTRY
Snider Flour Mill is now a chique furniture store.
VILLAGE SQUIRE/MAY 1978. PG.23.