WELCOME!

This is a Walking Tour.

TOUR ETIQUETTE:

Before we begin, let’s go over a few reminders:

Please respect people’s privacy. Most places on the tour are private residences and their mention in the tour is meant to highlight their history or architecture; it doesn’t include permission to enter the properties, unless they’re public spaces or businesses offering public services.

Water and picnic supplies are also nice to have along when taking a walking tour, not to mention a cooler for refreshments or to store the goodies you find at the farm markets, local breweries and cider shops along the way.

Don’t stress it if you get lost – sometimes you find the best treasures this way. In this area, the lake is always west. That’s why we have such great sunsets!

As we start, a little background information about Zurich is needed to set the scene.

Produced by the Municipality of Bluewater Heritage Advisory Committee in 2018 with the generous

assistance of the Huron Heritage Fund.

This tour will take approximately 1 hour at a comfortable walking

and reading pace.

Municipality of

ZURICH‘Cradle to Grave’

BluewaterHERITAGE Walking & Driving Tours

This project was funded in part by the Government

of Ontario.

German settlers from Hessia, Prussia, Baden, Alsace-Lorraine, Mecklenburg, Bavaria, Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Hannover and Wuerttemberg began to settle in the area in the mid 1840s. In addition to those seeking a better life and an avoidance of the compulsory military service required in their German homeland were German Canadians from Waterloo County and some settlers from Pennsylvania.

Due to the large number of German-speaking newcomers, it was far more common to hear German spoken in the businesses and places of worship than it was to hear English.

To begin this walking tour, your first challenge is to find 22 Mary Street. This walking tour begins with the place where lives end and are remembered: the St. Boniface Catholic Church Cemetery.

If you put 24 Mary Street into your GPS, it will take you to the school next door.

Or just turn North (Left if coming from the West, Right if coming from the East) on Goshen Street North, and turn Left onto Mary Street (the 3rd Street North of Zurich-Hensall Road.) There’s street parking at no cost, so leave your car and head to the Cemetery.

Please don’t disturb any services that are being held. Remember to respect those buried and their families and act accordingly.

MARY STREETSt. Boniface R. C. Cemetery

Judging by the dates on the markers, the cemetery was established around the same time as a Catholic congregation formed in Zurich in the late 1850s and 1860s.

The cemetery features a beautiful mix of engraved stone

headstones and grave crosses of wrought iron in a variety of designs.

These unique crosses were probably made by the local blacksmith(s) whose handiwork exhibits the early design talents of men who worked with fundamental tools, some of which had been handed down through family generations. Whether the work was done by Jacob Deichert, John Weseloh, Mr. Wismer, Louis Prang, John Kipper, George Brock, James Barry or Ed Weltin depends upon the dates the crosses were crafted as well as the skill level of the various village blacksmiths over the years.

On most crosses, you’ll find a metal plate with the family name and name of the deceased engraved upon it. Those visitors looking for family members may be frustrated by the way time ages metal as it does stone, making some grave plaques more difficult to read.

In a predominantly German settler population, understanding German is also handy when reading the older tombstone and iron cross inscriptions.

The church is just West of the cemetery (to your Left if you’re facing it).

MARY STREETSt. Boniface R.C. Church

The first Catholic Church in Zurich was built in 1871 and blessed by Father Murphy; the church and parish’s patron was declared to be St. Boniface, patron and apostle of Germany,

at the dedication of the church on June 5, 1871.

Between 1871 and 1898, the St. Boniface parish was a mission of the St. Peter’s Church in the French settlement near St. Joseph.

It wasn’t until 1896 that the St. Boniface parish received a resident priest, Father Theodore J. Valentin, whose arrival necessitated the building of a rectory in 1898. By 1901, the church was enlarged andremodelled to better accom-modate its growing congregation.

The church was originally a Gothic style yellow brick cathedral with pointed arch windows (most of which were stained glass donated by families in the congregation), a tall steeple and the unique raised brickwork done by Zurich’s master bricklayers.

Over the years the church underwent many renovations.

In 1901 it was enlarged and remodelled. Between 1924 and 1942, under Father Leo Power, it was renovated and redecorated again. In 1950, prior to the 55th anniversary of the parish’s independence from St. Peter’s, it was decorated and renovated, and Father Page donated two stained glass windows for the sanctuary (the area around the altar) in 1967.

In 1981, the original yellow brick Catholic church still served the congregation, but when the old church was replaced, major upgrades were included. Today, the St. Boniface Catholic Church in Zurich is accessible to all its parishioners, and has the parsonage attached to the church in a very elegant flow of design. The modern interpretation of the steeple is its own work of art.

The School is one property West (Left) of the Church.

24 MARY STREETSt. Boniface School

The St. Boniface School was built in 1959 and had an initial enrolment of 101 students. Its first staff consisted of Principal, James Carey; teachers, Mrs. Evelyn McKeever and Miss Mary Shea; and secretary, Mrs. Patricia Meininger.

In 1962, two classrooms, a board room and a storage room were added to the school. The 1960s era country schoolhouses were being closed and students bussed to larger schools, most located in towns and villages. The architectural style of the one storey brick building can only be described as institutional with large classroom windows in almost all classrooms. Its sparse rectangular shape made it similar in appearance to the factories of the times.

In 1967, a gymnasium, one more classroom, a kitchen and furnace room were added.

In 1987, a kindergarten room, two more classrooms, a library, change rooms and staff lounge added even more space to the building’s footprint. This was the same year that the École Ste. Marie near St. Joseph closed and their students were bussed to St. Boniface.

By 1994, junior kindergarten was introduced for four year olds and enrolment was up to 297, making it one of the largest elementary schools in Huron-Perth. Four busses brought students in from the surrounding rural area and 18 computers served the students’ technology needs.

The former Convent is just across the street.

23 MARY STREETThe Convent

This large Edwardian style house makes a visual impact with its dichromatic banding and mansard roof. The bricklayer alternated sections of red brick and yellow brick to create a unique appearance.

Very little is known about the building’s origins.

What is known is that in 1963. the Ursuline Sisters bought the house from Norman Fleischauer to house the Sisters of this order of teaching nuns to teach at the St. Boniface Catholic School across the street.

According to an article entitled, “Religious Teaching Sisters in Huron-Perth Schools,” the Catholic school system had a history of turning to those who had taken a vow of poverty and devoted their life to the service of teaching Catholic school children in order to be able to provide separate schools for the Catholic population.

In Zurich and St. Joseph, the Diocese of London worked with the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Ursuline Sisters to provide teaching in the early Catholic schools in Zurich and St. Joseph.

“The selfless devotion of the Sisters ensured that our classrooms were filled, curriculum was taught, and the Catholic faith was modelled and instilled in our children. Today the religious have been entirely replaced by lay teachers and our students have only witnessed pictures of these nuns in their traditional habits.”

The Ursuline Sisters taught in traditional garb from 1960 to 1970 at the École Ste. Marie in St. Joseph. By the time the students of the school were moved to St. Boniface in Zurich, the staff was made up of both lay teachers and those of the Ursuline order. Over the

years, the percentage of lay and Ursuline teachers shifted, as did separate school policies and educational practices. Along the way, the dress of the Ursuline Sisters changed from habits to regular dress and the segregation between the two groups of teaching staff was reduced and/or eliminated.

By 1990, the schools teachers were all lay teachers and the Ursuline Convent across the road was closed. It was sold in 1994.

In the middle of Mary Street, just opposite the St. Boniface R.C. Church, turn South and head down Frederick Avenue

Down one block on the corner, you’ll find the place where many children entered this world and mothers found help and care: Mrs. Farwell’s Maternity Nursing Home.

27 FREDERICK STREETMrs. Farwell’s Maternity Nursing Home

On the corner of Frederick Avenue N. and Rosalie Street is a cottage-style house that, from 1939 to 1958, housed Mrs. Farwell’s Maternity Nursing Home.

In the 19 years Mrs. Farwell operated her maternity nursing home, all the babies born there survived. It’s an incredible statistic, considering over 300 babies were delivered on this property. Of the 300 births, two births involved the delivery of twins.

Mrs. Farwell lived with her husband, George– the Zurich coal dealer – on the second floor of the house.

In 1939, when Mrs. Farwell opened her Maternity Nursing Home, few women went to the hospital: most had their babies at home, sometimes under the care of a midwife, but often times not. The babies born at

Mrs. Farwell’s were birthed under the supervision of Dr. O’Dwyer, offering mothers medical supervision during their labour.

Two rooms on the main floor were kept ready for the arrival of expectant mothers. Mrs. Farwell fed the new moms nutritious meals made from vegetables and fruits which she grew in her garden beside the house. The average stay for mom and babies was ten days. On the third day after a birth, the mothers were encouraged to get out of bed and move around.

The high success rate of live births in Mrs. Farwell’s establishment resulted in many area doctors sending their expectant patients to her home for supervised births. The excellent care taken of mom and baby helped the child flourish and the mother recover quickly.

In the 1950s when the government began pressuring doctors to send their expectant mothers to hospitals for delivery, the government regulations changed. These two factors contributed to the closure of Mrs. Farwell’s Maternity Nursing Home in 1958.

Keep walking South on Frederick Street, and when you come to the ‘main’ street, Zurich-Hensall Road, keep walking one block further South on Frederick. The street dead ends at the Cemetery Memorial.

11 FREDERICK AVENUESt. Peter’s Lutheran Cemetery Memorial

The original cemetery and church building of the St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church was located on a lot adjacent to the current Zurich Public School. When the present church on Goshen Street South was built, this

cemetery continued to be used by its congregation until 1886.

Around 1920, the gravestones were gathered together and placed in a cairn inscribed, “In Memory of the Members of the Ev. Luth. St. Peter’s Church 1860-1886.” The cairn was later sealed to deter vandals but no map of the sites appears to have been created, although the church did have a record of burials in German.

The burial record was translated by “a kind visitor from Germany,” and since that time, has been confirmed by the dismantling of the cairn in 2011.

In 2010, the Cairn Project Committee gathered to begin work on a project for the 150th anniversary of Zurich’s St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. They decided to replace the 1920s cairn with a memorial that listed those buried in the original cemetery and was accessible for all visitors.

After successfully applying for the project’s funding, they applied themselves to choosing a design and having the memorial constructed, as well as necessary site prep work.

The 1920s cairn memorial was dismantled in 2011 before the creation of the new memorial. Inside were over 50 headstones from the first cemetery, most in good condition from the first cemetery.

A list of those buried in the original cemetery can be found at http://www.wurm-hastings.com/showmap.php?cemeteryID=17

The new monument consists of a large rectangular piece of polished black granite from India, mounted upon a cement based. (Ironically, Canadian granite contains too much iron

for use in monuments.) The monument is engraved with the 134 names of people buried in the original Lutheran cemetery.

The monument is centred on a square area of interlocking stone that extends to the sidewalk. Around the border of the memorial are the original stone markers, displayed horizontally.

It’s an attractive, accessible and special site that remembers those who came before us.

When you exit the Memorial, turn East (Right) to continue around the bend in the road in the direction you were previously going. When you come to Goshen Street South, turn South (Right) to admire St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. Then double-back North to the corner where the Manse is located.

22 GOSHEN STREET SOUTHSt. Peter’s Lutheran Church

St. Peter’s Lutheran Church is hard to miss.

The church and its community hall encompass nearly a four lot corner on Goshen Street South, and its impressive steeple towers high in the air. The church dwarfs the buildings around it.

The present yellow brick church was designed by George Hess and built by H. and J.C. Kalbfleisch. The project was begun in 1877, with the brick structure completed in 1878. When the brickwork of this yellow brick church of Gothic design was completed, the large bell was installed in the bell tower; unlike many church towers, it has a large clock in it.

At https://stpeterslutheranchurch.ca/tower-clock/, you can watch a live stream of the clockworks, with its many gears operating.

From the beginning in 1858 until 1908, all services were done in German. Between 1908 and 1913, English services were introduced. During that time, the church was renovated and stained glass windows installed. Over the years, renovations included the addition of the church basement, the educational wing and in 1950, chimes were added.

This lovely church has hosted a number of talented ministers over the years. They and their families have lived in the parsonage, to the north of the church.

22 GOSHEN STREET SOUTHSt. Peter’s Lutheran Church Manse

A lovely yellow brick two storey parsonage was built to house the resident minister and his family in 1891.

One of the clues that indicate the parsonage’s purpose and its connection to its use is the original keystone (middle stone) in the brickwork around the windows of each floor. The symbols of the wine and cross are not just decorative, they usually indicate a building with religious ties or purpose.

This lovingly kept Edwardian parsonage differs from other popular Georgian houses in its size and solidness. Edwardian style includes the clean details of classical design – columns on front porches, windows with keystones – but does so in an understated and spare use of decorative elements.

The parsonage windows are balanced and in line from first floor to second. The brickwork is simple but elegant with the keystones the main decorative element. Simple square columns support a front porch free of gingerbread. The mandarin-style roof is supported by a few brackets that are elegantly carved but draw little attention to

themselves. All in all, a beautiful and elegant home suited to housing the spiritual leaders of the Lutheran congregation and their families.

Enjoy your walk north down Goshen Road South, for it’s a street teeming with lovely houses that showcase the incredible talents of the German bricklayers and masons of early Zurich. Their brickwork has not diminished with time.

41 MAIN STREET EASTDominion Hotel

At 41 Main Street East, on the corner of Goshen Road South and Highway 84, you’ll find the Dominion Hotel. This building has its own beauty when you gaze up at the decorative brackets still in place under the roof eaves.

Viewing the building from the side, you can see where a large addition was attached at one time. The front of the building, – its entrance – has been re-done over the years so many times that it’s lost its own character, but the memories hotels evoke in the hearts of community members is their most enduring quality.

“The Dominion Hotel was my home where I was raised with my brother Bob and sister Carol by our loving, hard working Mom and Day – Marg and Tubby. I can smell the homemade pies which I helped bake at 4 am. I also smell the meat cooking which would feed three or four hundred people on Sunday afternoon. They would come to Zurich for a good home cooked meal. They

would line up outside and wait for an hour or more. Carrots, celery, cream cheese, dessert and coffee were all included in the price of the meal. I remember the gentlemen known as the “Rubberneckers” sitting on the bench at the side of the hotel every day. They would be discussing the goings-on in Zurich and what was ever going to become of this world! The hotel was also the home of many boarders who worked at Kalbfleisch Mill, the Blacksmith Shop, the Zurich Herald or who taught at the Zurich Public School. They were treated like part of our family. My favourite times were election day and Christmas Day because the hotel was closed - making it possible for the Johnston family to eat a meal together - a real treat! Elizabeth (Tootie) Merner for the Zurich Memory Book (2012)

This hotel has been known by many names: the Dominion Hotel; the Huron Hotel; the Commercial Dominion Hotel; the Dominion Dining Lounge & Tavern; and recently Smiley’s.

Its bar has slaked many thirsts, served many beers as well as other spirits.

As early as 1869, it was present in Zurich, its license held by John Prang, who sold the property to Abel Walper. Subsequent owners included: Charles Greb (later hardware store owner and Mayor of Kitchener); Charles Schumacher; R.R. Johnston & Son; Casper Walper; A. Voisin; and W.J. Johnston.

Services provided to customers included the installation of a public telephone in 1906, when few telephones were present in private homes.

On January 22nd, 1945, it hosted the newly formed Zurich Lions Club’s first dinner meeting. Their first community project was the construction of a community centre and the A.C. ‘Babe’ Siebert Memorial Arena.

By 1956, the Dominion Hotel was owned by Ross Johnston, the third generation of family to own and operate the hotel. Their marketing slogans in

1956: “The Home of Tasty Food;” and the “House of Plenty.”

Between 1956 and 1981, the hotel changed owners several times, and in 1981, it was owned by David Gelinas and Jim Bardawill. It continues to change owners and exteriors.

When hotels were built in the early days of Ontario’s settlement, the solace of hard liquor followed by a comfortable bed for the night were in high demand, and therefore inns and taverns flourished. But between the Canadian prohibition in 1914, and the current awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving, hotels whose revenue is dependent upon the sale of alcohol have struggled to survive in small Ontario towns.

In Zurich, the hotel is still there, exhibiting the incredible brickwork of the area. Down each of its corners are raised quoins and across the top, under the roofline is a lovely dentil (square raised brick) border. The first and second floor band shows how high the ceilings once were on the first floor, while the division down the front with a raised dentil design, suggests that once there was a second storefront or a separate entrance and lounge for ladies only.

While the brickwork can only tell so many tales, you can be sure the stories simmering in the walls of this building would be highly entertaining.

10 MAIN STREET WESTZurich Public Library

For a short time, this location has been known as the new Zurich Library, but prior to its construction in 2015, the Hartlieb building occupied this northeast corner of Goshen Street North and Highway 84.

Built by Charles Hartlieb in 1908, it once housed three storefronts on the first floor and living quarters on the second floor. Hartlieb also built the Greb building to the north that has long housed a hardware store and a general store.

In 1910, the office of the Bank of Montreal, formerly the Sovereign Bank, moved to the east corner of the Jonathan Merner store. On Febuary 29, 1924, the disastrous Zurich fire levelled the Merner building. Both the bank and Merner lost everything.

At one point, T.L. Wurm operated a hardware and furniture business in this building, after losing his store and stock to the fire of 1924, which did not destroy the Hartlieb building. J. W. Merner bought Wurm’s business and stock.

This building housed the Superior grocery store whose owners included C. Thiel, M. Doerr and J. Clausius.

“Milford Doerr owned this building which included the Superior grocery store at the north end and hardware store at the south. Above the hardware he renovated an apartment and rented it to Carol Erb and myself – two young working women. The picture appears to have been

taken at the time we lived there, which would have been in the late 1960s to early 1970s. There was always a lot of activity there on the main street corner of town. The hardware and grocery stores were active businesses and the hotel across the road had people lined up waiting for Sunday night meals. I recall people talking about a furniture business once being in the building. In any case when I lived there you could buy almost anything you needed in

the hardware line at the Zurich Hardware store, which at that time was owned operated by Leroy Thiel and his family.” Dorothy Dietrich (from the Zurich Memory Book, 2012)

The furniture and hardware store of T.L. Wurm eventually morphed into the Pro Hardware.

After a renovation of the building, Leo Masse opened a modern groceteria called The Tender Spot that was a busy place in the early 1980s.

When The Tender Spot closed, a gift boutique was opened.

By the 2010s, the Swiss style second storey front was starting to look shabby and the stores were closed more than they were open.

The Municipality of Bluewater purchased the property for $47,500 around 2012, with the intent to demolish it in 2013 and build a new public library. By June 2013, a proposed design, by architect Brad Skinner was unveiled for public comment. It showed an L-shaped library with a reading garden at the corner and lots of windows and light.

Although it was designed by the same architect as the Bayfield Library, it was a more modern design but still incorporated the boomtown front architecture of many of the Goshen St. N buildings and gave a nod to Zurich’s famous clock-maker, George Hess, with a clock tower beside the front entranceway.

The new library design called for 3,597 square feet, with three washrooms, a minimum of six public access computers and a 20 person program room.

The new design was a big improvement over the existing library’s 834 square feet. After a debate about brick colour, the

building was built with red brick with accents in black.

The new, fully accessible Zurich Library opened in June 2014, but had its grand opening on September 20, 2014 for all to enjoy.

With your back to the former Dominion Hotel, turn Left and continue across Frederick Street, heading West on Hensall-Zurich Road (Hwy 83). Look across the street to the former Bank of Montreal building.

42 MAIN STREET WESTBank of Montreal

In 1895, there was a two storey frame building on this site.

In 1910, the office of the Bank of Montreal, formerly the Sovereign Bank, moved from the site of the original Sovereign Bank on Victoria Street to the east corner of the Jonathan Merner store.

On Febuary 29, 1924, the disastrous Zurich fire levelled the building. Both the bank and Merner lost everything.

In the summer of 1924, the Bank of Montreal bought the northwest corner of Main Street West and built a branch office whose building still stands today. It is a contemporary design, one storey red brick building with no distinctive features other than the stone window sills, and plain banding around the building’s flat roof.

In 1942, during WWII, the Zurich branch was closed for a period due to lack of male staff and management. Allied victory and the return of soldiers in 1945 enabled the bank branch to re-open with Gordon G. Sewell as Manager.

“We were married in 1962 and just about everything we

needed could be obtained in the village of Zurich. For instance, the bank on the corner is where I borrowed money to buy my first car – a ’49 Studebaker – purchased from Pearson Motors located a block east of the bank. Zurich was still a bustling village back then – almost self sufficient!” Jerome Sweeney (from the Zurich Memory Book, 2012)

The Bank of Montreal sold the building to the Imperial Bank of Commerce, who later closed the CIBC branch in Zurich. By 2010, it was the site of the Westlake McHugh Insurance Brokers.

Continue walking West a short way to the Hess Building.

47 MAIN STREET WESTHess Building

The Hess building is instantly recognizable to those in the know by the clock on the front of the building.

When George Hess, watchmaker and photographer came to town in 1867, few could predict his impact.

He opened a jewelry store on Goshen Street South, on the same side of the street as the Dominion Hotel. By 1870, he had added a photographic gallery.

It’s strange to think that that

brick building he built on Goshen Street South is the same brick building you’re currently looking at.

In the 1880s, he moved locations and brought his building with him, brick by brick.

While at the old location, he built the first of three large clocks he was to become well-known for. In 1878, he built and installed the clock for the bell tower of the St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. By popular demand, he was awarded the contract to build and install a clock for Sebastopol’s Trinity Lutheran Church in 1886. The following year, he built and installed a clock in Exeter’s Town Hall.

He not only built huge clocks: in 1888, he invented one of the first electric clocks, which he patented in 1889. Having invented and established it as his own, he apparently did little with his invention, never selling it for mass production. The clock ran on dry cell batteries and later on an Edison gravity battery.

His son, Fred Hess, took a different road, but eventually ended up running his father’s jewelry store. He worked as an engineer for Hay Township, before becoming Reeve for the Township in 1890 and going on to be appointed Treasurer in 1892. By 1896, he was running the jewelry store, which allowed him to buy and drive the first car in Zurich.

Fred’s son, W.G. Hess was mechanically minded like his father and grandfather. In addition to running the jewelry store and doing watchmaking, he operated a bicycle shop from this location.

By 1956, Albert G. Hess was proprietor of the store. He, too, was a certified watchmaker and jeweller who sold “blue bird and bridal bell diamonds, silver clocks and fine English china.” His ad in the Zurich centennial book noted, “Serving the Community for Three Generations, Still Going Strong.”

In 1981, over 100 years after

the building was moved from Goshen Street South, it was still being operated by the Hess family, M. Hess and his wife.

This building is an elegant two storey yellow brick commercial building, typical of the 1870s and 1880s with its flat top, decorative roof brackets lining the top of the building. The raised brickwork Zurich has in abundance shows up in the Hess building by the simple outlining of the second floor, above the centred shop front. Its recessed entrance between two large display windows are more elaborate with the addition of square windows along the top and recessed sides of the entrance. Smaller wooden brackets than those along the roofline hold up the storefront top and simple columns border the front of the store’s entrance. Above the second floor windows are Groucho Marx type lintels in red brick, no doubt designed to catch one’s eye.

It is an elegant storefront painted in heritage tones of moss grey green that invites one in to explore. Too bad it is presently (2018) a private residence.

“Seeing the Jewellery store reminds me of my boyhood days in Zurich. I think of Pat and Maggie Hess. Maybe I see Pat fixing a watch or Maggie displaying one to a customer. I see Pat finding that bicycle part and accessories that I needed to fix my bike. My parents, Earl and Anne, always believed in supporting local businesses. When I was confirmed to St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in 1963, they bought the watch that they gave me at Hess Jewellers.” Gary Flaxbard (from the Zurich Memory Book, 2012)

Tucked in just West of the Hess Building, far back from the road ...

49 MAIN STREET WESTWestlake House

The house peeking out to the west of the Hess Building has been lovingly renovated with gingerbread bargeboard in the peak of its central gable.

The second floor window, appears to have once been a pointed arch doorway leading out onto an open two storey portico, overtop the main entrance. It’s known as the Westlake House locally because it’s been the residence of first Keith and Margaret Westlake, then Robert and Anna Westlake, for many years.

Robert Westlake used to run his insurance brokers business from this location, just as his predecessor, J.W. Haberer, had run it from a building in front of the house.

The house itself was an Ontario Gothic Revival farmhouse, built by William Hoffman. Hoffman operated his funeral business, the Wm. Hoffman & Son Funeral Parlour, from a building on the northwest portion of the lot for many years. Hoffman’s also had a men’s furnishings and tailor shop.

In 1945, Keith and Margaret Westlake purchased the house from the Datars . At the time, the Westlake family operated the Westlake Funeral & Ambulance Service on the north end of Zurich on Goshen St. North and did so until 1980.

The northern portion of the lot had, in the early days of Zurich, been the location of Christian Hess’ pottery and earthenware business. It was located to the northeast of the house. Some of the pieces that Christian Hess made are apparently now the property of the Royal Ontario Museum. Their uniqueness and value lies in the uncommon colour of Zurich clay which, in Hess’s day, was blue grey with streaks of orange running through it.

Around 1880, Jacob Haberer’s

family began an apiary on the property, of which their little hipped roof barn still survives at the back of the property which fronts onto Frederich Street South. Jacob had been a beekeeper in Germany and began to keep hives when he moved to Zurich. In later years, as the apiary grew in size and production, he moved it elsewhere.

By 1956, Zurich’s centennial celebration, the apiary had expanded and was known as “J. Haberer & Sons, producers of choice comb and extracted honey since 1880.” In 1956, he and his three sons were beekeepers and the business had largely expanded. In the 1956, it was reputed to be one of Ontario’s largest apiaries. The apiaries were sold in 1968 by William S. Ferguson of Hensall. The now Ferguson Apiaries are located on Highway 84 between Zurich and Hensall.

By this time, it appears J.W. Haberer was operating a complete insurance service, as well as offering Huron & Erie debentures and Canada Trust certificates from Hoffman’s former funeral parlour. It was this business and building that Robert Westlake eventually bought out and became the Robert Westlake Insurance Agency.

55 MAIN STREET WESTDeichert House

This simple Ontario Gothic Revival house is also known as the O’Brien House and the O’Brien Egg Grading Station.

Construction was begun by Peter Deichert in the 1860s. After his death, it was finished in 1865 by his brother, John.

It was one of the first brick homes in Zurich.

Peter and John Deichert were among the earliest settlers in

Zurich. Both were blacksmiths. Another family member, Nicholas Deichert ran one of the first hotels in the village.

Around the 1880s, Jacob Deichert continued as a blacksmith while John Deichert Jr. ran a tailoring business in Zurich.

West of the Deichert house was the family blacksmith shop, an essential business in the 1800s. When cars replaced horses in the 1900s, Elroy Desjardine replaced the blacksmith shop with a garage, reserving a part of the building for R. Merner’s barber shop.

By the mid-1900s, the O’Brien’s had bought the Deichert House and restored it to its 1867 condition. It served for a short time as an egg-grading station but after its restoration in 1955, Robert Westlake moved his insurance business there.

By the 1980s, the garage had been transformed into Shaw’s Variety, although the ironwork was never completely removed from the property. In an adjoining building, Desjardine used the talents of a blacksmith to create ornamental wrought iron railings.

The blacksmith building’s modern history is summed up well in this memory from the 2012 Zurich Memory Book.

“This building was built in 1953 by Elroy Desjardine. It was a two bay garage with Supertest gas pumps. Art Miller was Elroy’s main mechanic. Later Elroy added the buildings to the south where he had a car body shop, later a decorative wrought iron works which Elroy and his son Ron ran. It was sold and converted into a restaurant and pool hall. In the early 1970s Phil and Vonnie Overholt bought it and turned it into a variety store – Phil’s Quick Check Mart. The front northeast corner was occupied by Bob Merner’s Barber Shop until 1974 when my wife Shirley and I, with the help of Shaw’s Dairy Store purchased the building. We ran the variety store until 1990” Paul Bedard, (from the Zurich Memory Book, 2012)

The Deicherts were a very industrious family; family members established the Deichert butcher shop to the east of the house, operated by A. Deichert. By the 1950s, the butcher shop had been purchased by Isidore LaPorte and renamed LaPorte Meat Market. The O’Briens who had a butcher shop, then produce and Cheese House on the property were replaced in the 1980s with an addition to the meat market.

“My building was built in 1942 by Fred Kalbfleisch for George Deichert’s meat shop. This is the original portion of LaPorte’s Meat Market with just the locker service and one small meat counter … before the addition in 1978.

I hear the squeak of the door opening and look up to see the first customer of the day. I smell the bacon and freshly ground hamburger, sausage, spices and smoked hams. Approximately 300 families could keep their meat in the 470 lockers (some had two lockers), so friends, family, neighbours, farmers and village people alike would all meet there. The business supported my family until about 1985 when there was no longer a need for lockers. My sons all learned to work behind the counter and it made me proud to be part of the village.” Isidore LaPorte, (from the Zurich Memory Book, 2012)

Our next stop of the walking tour is 10 Victoria Street North. We need to do a little backtracking. Turn around and walk east until you get to the corner of Main St. West and Victoria Street. Turn north (to the left).

Our next destination is the former Hay Township Hall. This photographic building holds in its walls the politics, debate and laughter of this area. It is now in the process of being restored and updated.

10 VICTORIA STREETHay Township Hall

“The Hay Township Hall was the hub of the village of Zurich in my early years. As young people, we held box socials which was when the ladies made a box lunch and the men bid on them. The highest bidder was your picnic partner for the day. There was always entertainment held in the evenings and after the fall fairs. Dances were held regularly with some boisterous goings-on at the end of the night which meant the police had to be called! I remember fondly all the school plays, dance lessons, family reunions, minstrel shows, euchre parties, bridal showers, quilting parties and all the Lions Club bingos held in the hall. Council meetings and many court cases were held in the hall as well. My husband, Earl, was the village policeman in the late 30s and early 40s. The jail cells were in the basement of the hall. I would take breakfast over to the transients housed overnight in the cells.” Alice Thiel (from the Zurich Memory Book, 2012)

This lovely yellow brick building with its green roof, roof brackets (look under the eaves), window lintels (top brickwork over windows), frames and keystones, and its double doors showcases the creative bricklayers of Zurich’s skill with raised brick sections. The hand-hammered hinges of the entrance doors are a special feature of the building.

In 1861, Hay Township Reeve, Frederick Knell donated this 1/9 of an acre site to Hay Township on which to build a township hall for meetings, rather than continuing using hotels for this purpose. Five years later, a wooden frame hall was built at a cost of $403 that hosted council and community meetings. Its rental rate was $1/meeting.

As the population in the area grew, so did the need for a bigger space. In 1870, a 14

foot addition was built onto the front of the building, and this was deemed sufficient for the next 20 years.

In 1890, J.C. Kalbfleisch built a brand new township hall made of brick. It cost over $1850 dollars, and as a result, the rental rate was increased 300% – to $3/meeting!

The hall opened for its first meeting on December 29, 1890.

It had a stage and a balcony, as well as a full basement. The stage was so popular, it was enlarged six years later. The hall was not just a council chambers: it was a community centre, and well-used by many community groups – so much so that they felt a degree of ownership in the building.

The hall’s decor was remodelled in 1927, and again in 1936, when the Zurich Women’s Institute raised the funds and was given council’s permission to upgrade the stage and the hall’s interior.

In 1944-45, they provided catered meals in the hall to raise the funds to install a functional kitchen with cupboards and running water.

Some of the groups using the hall included gatherings of women engaged in fundraising, knitting circles, and Red Cross work during both World Wars as contributions to the war effort. They knit warm socks for soldiers suffering in the trenches, rolled bandages for the first aid stations and field hospitals and sent care packages to area soldiers at Christmas and throughout the year.

The Civil Defence Committee of the area; the Boy Scouts; the local Federation of Agriculture; and the Zurich Chamber of Commerce all met at the Hall.

In 1956, the appearance of the building changed when the 66 year old bell tower was removed. By this time, Council still met in the building, and the township also had staff offices there.

To house the growing number of municipal staff required to run the township and Zurich, offices were moved from the hall to the former Zurich post office, then in 1975 to a new building on the corner of Main Street West and Frederick Street. (The lot had once been the site of Mrs. Rose’s Garage and Snack Bar which had succumbed to fire.)

As the Hay Township and Zurich municipal staff and councillors discontinued use of the building, the hall became the area’s community centre, and for a few years, even housed a daycare.

After the amalgamation of Bayfield, Hensall, Zurich, Hay and Stanley Townships into the Municipality of Bluewater around 2001, the Zurich Library and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) remained in the Main and Frederick Street Building. A newer building was built on Mill Street, where the Victoria Hotel once stood, with offices for staff, while the Council Chambers were moved to the Stanley Complex in Varna.

Currently, a group of private citizens, the Friends of Hay Hall, are engaged in raising funds to update and renovate the hall, in order to make it fully accessible and to increase its use and future life.

On to the Bean Kitchen, which is just to the north of the Hall.

12 VICTORIA STREETBean Festival Kitchen

While this is not an architecturally interesting building, it’s one of great cultural significance to Zurich.

In 1966, the Zurich & District Bean Festival was created by a group of public-spirited individuals who planted a seed that’s grown into a huge

festival. The Bean Festival brings together community organizations, who work to create an unforgettable experience for over 10,000 people who visit Zurich for this annual event.

All the profits from the event are put back into the community to fund projects and initiatives that benefit Zurich and the surrounding area.

Over the last 50 years, volunteer cooks and servers have created unforgettable meals of beans, smoked pork chops, applesauce, coleslaw and a bun from this small kitchen; diners eat this repast at long picnic tables in the fresh air – a recipe for success!

It takes 25,000 lbs of beans to feed everyone who shows up for the weekend events - an incredible car show, fireworks display, live entertainment, midway rides, street market, community dance and events like the frog jumping contest.

It is an annual homecoming party for all - great food, great company and great entertainment. This small town festival consistently ranks well against those put on by cities across Canada.

Walk just a brief distance, then turn East (Right) on Mill Avenue.

65 MILL AVENUEDr. Buchanan’s Home & Office

A drawing of Dr. Buchanan’s house and office appeared in the 1879 Belden Atlas of Huron County, almost identical to the lovely Gothic Revival house you see before you.

This one and a half storey yellow brick house was built in the 1870s, with brick from Mr. Foster’s Zurich brickyard.

The peaks of the triangular gables of the roof used to have more elaborate woodwork in the peak, extending above the roof, which complemented the elaborate brickwork of the house.

In 1879, this was the residence of Dr. George Buchanan, who was married to Emma Zoeller. Here they raised five children and cared for the health of the community. The doctor’s office was off the porch behind the drug store in the front of that wing of the house.

At one time, where the large square of buff-coloured siding is located on the end wall facing east, a storefront existed – with a central recessed entrance between two large display windows (similar to the entrance to the Hess Jewelry store on Main Street West). Patients for the doctor or the pharmacy entered there. In the 1870s, there was no entrance to that wing of the house off the porch, only a window on the north wing’s side of the L-shaped porch.

Dr. Buchanan had the only drug store in town, though one of the four general stores of the time may also have carried patent medicines.

He served as Reeve for Zurich in 1878.

When you hit the north corner of Goshen Street North, turn right and cross to the other side of the street.

16 GOSHEN STREET NORTHTasty Nu Bakery(A great place to stop for a treat! Try their specialty, the Bismarck doughnut, created by Al Gauscho. But get there early in the day ... they sell out quickly!)

“Our first thoughts are the memories of about 1976 when times were so different! Over

the years we could hear the bread mixer and see everybody busy making baked goods. Can you smell the fresh bread coming out of the oven? Tasty Nu Bakery provided food and employment for many people in the village. It meant hard work for us and our family for many years but overall a rewarding career. Valuable life-lessons for our children were learned inside its walls. The building had been destroyed by fire, we believe in the 1920s but was rebuilt to its present exterior appearance. Many additions and renovations have been added over the years. It had housed a thriving village bakery for over 8 decades. If those walls could talk!” Doug and Ruth Oesch (from the Zurich Memory Book, 2012)

From your position at Tasty Nu, look across the street to see the False Fronts on the stores there.

17-21 GOSHEN STREET NFalse Store Fronts

False store fronts, such as the ones pictured, were common in early Canada. They created the illusion of prosperity, signified by a full two storey building, when in actually, the false front masked the peaked roof of 1.5 storeys!

17 Goshen Street North has been home to many businesses over the years, but one of the most recent is the Coastal Coffee Company Roastery. Here coffee beans are roasted, fresh and flavourful for many restaurants, farmers markets and retail outlets in Huron County.

“Mom and Dad purchased the house in 1937 from my uncle. Dad operated a barber shop in the front parlour. Later,our house had the Huron County Library branch in the front room for many years and my mother Lennita, was a county librarian, I got to know many of these people in the area when

they came on Tuesdays and Saturdays to borrow books.”

“They bought the shoe store from Ed Datars in 1947. Before that it belonged to Charles Fritz and his son who sold cars out of the back of the building. Dad shared the floor space of the main store with my mom’s florist business, so they operated as Milton Oesch Footwear and Nete’s Flowers. Dad rented the south end out for a hairstyling shop operated by Norma Steinback, and later on, the barber shop business of Earl Oesch.” Don Oesch (from the Zurich Memory Book, 2012)

Standing with your back to Tasty Nu, turn North (Right) and walk a couple of buildings down.

28 GOSHEN STREET NORTH Greb Block

The Greb block was built by Charles Hartlieb for Charles Greb, a former hotel owner.

The two storey, yellow brick building has a double storefront, each with a central recessed entrance flanked by two large display windows.

The building is a survivor of the 1924 and 1933 fires, both of which threatened to consume most of the business district until they were brought under control.

Greb sold his hardware store to Leo Charlesworth in the 1880s and moved to Berlin (today known as Kitchener) and later became Mayor of the city.

It remained a hardware store as it passed from Charlesworth

to John Preeter, who first rented the south store which he operated a general store, before buying the hardware business from Charlesworth.

When Preeter moved to Kitchener, sometime around 1920, he sold the hardware business to Rudolph Stade and Earl Weido. The hardware business was passed to Gib Stade who continued it with partner, Earl Weido until the latter died in 1967. Stade eventually sold the business to Louis Schilbe. The most recent owners were the Thiel family who operated Thiel’s Mercantile and Hardware, occupying both stores in the block. (We thank Jayme Dowson for correcting information on the store’s history.)

“Barrels full of nails - old elevator at the back of the store. Gib Stade talking of his days in the Merchant Marines taking supplies to England. Gib playing hockey and talking of making it to the Big League. Mr. Weido with a wad of cash which he kept in his front pocket. Writing on back wall “Snow Storm January 26, 1971” Rick Fisher (from the Zurich Memory Book, 2012)

Your tour of Zurich ends here, but the bounty is just beginning.

Don’t forget to stop by Jerry Rader Homestyle Catering, 38110 Zurich-Hensall Road, for amazing desserts, salads, local meats, vegetables, frozen entrees, stunning gifts and more! Their pies and potato salad are legendary in the area, and in the summer, you can eat outside. They even have live music on Satudays!

If you’re travelling east on Hwy 83 to your next destination, visit Ferguson Apiary, 39006 Zurich-Hensall Rd, on the way — it’s a-buzz with unpasteurized local honey!

If you follow along on Hwy 83, pick up some of the finest meat in the county at Metzger Meats, 180 Brock Avenue, in Hensall.

Hensall’s Ice Culture, where

they create ice sculptures which are featured around the world, is also a fascinating stop. Click on their name above to check out their website for tour times.

The Garlic Box, selling locally grown garlic and wonderful products containing it, is on the left as you turn onto Hwy 4 when leaving Hensall. It’s worth a stop if you’re a foodie!

Help us make this tour better!We’d like to improve your experience with the Bluewater Heritage Tours. Would you kindly click here to give us your opinion of what you liked best and least about this tour? We’d appreciate it so much. Thank you!

Nothing in life is perfect!If you find any historical inaccuracies in this tour, please contact us at ecdev@municipalityofbluewater.ca.

CREDITS:

Project Management/Design:Karen Rickers

Research: Jodi Jerome

Photography:Karen Rickers; Jodi Jerome; with thanks to the Bayfield Archives for additional photography

We’re grateful to Heather Klopp and her contributors for the use of their recollections of Zurich, as published in the Zurich Memory Book, compiled and edited by Heather Klopp, and printed by A.B. Printing of Zurich in 2012. The names of the contributors are shown at the end of their wonderful remembrances.