Hespeler is located along the northern border of Cambridge, centered around Mill Pond on the Speed River. Downtown Hespeler runs along Queen Street from Harvey Street to Cooper. In recent years Hespeler has begun receiving a major facelift which started with the significant renovations to the Hespeler Public Library.
Originally settled in 1809 when a group of German speaking Mennonites migrated north from Pennsylvania and acquired the land from a developer, Richard Beasley, who had purchased 90,000 acres, known as Block 2, from the Six Nations Indians in 1798. One of the first to purchase land in the area was Abraham Clemens, who bought 515 acres. In 1830, Mr. Clemens sold a large section of his land to Joseph Oberholtzer, who deeded a parcel, which included the location of what was to become Hespeler to his sister, Susanna Bergey. Susanna and her husband Michael are considered to be the first residents of Hespeler, then named Bergeytown in their honour. A few short years later the town was renamed New Hope. It’s truly hard to
imagine land deals of this magnitude today with the cost of land but in the 1800’s land sold for less than a dollar an acre in some cases.
In 1845, Jacob Hespeler, purchased 145 acre fronting onto the Speed River where he began to work on the development and construction of a number of industrial sites. As New Hope developed in industry the settlements population also grew and by 1859 had become large enough in size to be incorporated as the village of Hespeler. Throughout the 20th century industry
continued to thrive in Hespeler and it became home to many famous factories including a hockey stick factory, a washing machine factory and Dominion Woolens which was the largest woollen mill in Canada.
New businesses, restaurants and shops have begun to line Queen Street and the much anticipated 1847 Riverbank Project will see the conversion of what was once an American Standard factory into upscale condos. Local merchants support the town and one another through the Hespeler Village B.I.A and the annual Santa Claus parade has been a Hespeler tradition for over 30 years.