As you know, this is the original land of the Haudenesonee, Anishinaabe, and Chonnonton people, who lived here for up to 10,000 years. Though, how did the village of Hespeler begin? 

Well, it all started with Jacob Hespeler; not only is it the name of our school, but an actual person who was crucial in the creation of Hespeler Village. Jacob Hespeler was a German-Hungarian man who immigrated from Wurttemberg, Germany, to the town of Preston in 1835. Ten years later (1845), he moved to New Hope, the original name of Hespeler. Sir Fredrick Haldimand, an army officer and Governor of Quebec, was already stationed in New Hope for the military. He had “bought” the land for the Haudenesonee people, naming it ‘The Haldimand Tract”. Then, in 1850, Jacob Hespeler came into the production of what we know today as Hespeler. He integrated bigger businesses like an industrial complex with a sawmill, gristmill, and flour mill, hoping to house more residents and gain more money for the new village. Jacob also incorporated a railway running through Galt to Hespeler, adding another layer of importance to Cambridge. George Forbes, the Mayor of Hespeler at the time, and Jacob’s son, Herbert Marshall Farr, founded and ran the Randall-Farr Company. Soon, the Randall-Farr company was discontinued, and Forbes went on to create the Giant Canadian Textile Company. These businesses brought huge innovation and growth to the village.  

Finally, in 1973 the town amalgamated as one with Galt and Preston after many rejections to the proposal. In 1986, our school, Jacob Hespeler Secondary School, was created, named after the man who helped in founding the Hespeler we know today.       

If you would like to know more, the Hespeler Heritage Centre has documents and information in the Old Hespeler Town Hall at 11 Tannery St. East in Hespeler Village.