West Montrose, Ontario

{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}

{{Infobox settlement

|official_name = West Montrose

|settlement_type = Unincorporated rural community

|nickname =

|motto =

|image_skyline = West Montrose Covered Bridge, West Montrose, ON.jpg

|imagesize =

|image_caption = West Montrose Covered Bridge (2014)

|image_flag =

|image_seal =

|pushpin_map = CAN ON Waterloo#Canada Southern Ontario

|pushpin_label_position = top

|pushpin_map_caption = Location of West Montrose in Canada

|coordinates = {{coord|43|35|18|N|80|28|55|W|region:CA-ON|display=inline,title}}

|pushpin_mapsize =

|coordinates_region =

|subdivision_type = Country

|subdivision_name = Canada

|subdivision_type1 = Province

|subdivision_name1 = Ontario

|subdivision_type2 = Region

|subdivision_name2 = Waterloo

|subdivision_type3 = Township

|subdivision_name3 = Woolwich

|government_footnotes =

|government_type =

|leader_title =

|leader_name =

|leader_title1 =

|leader_name1 =

|established_title =

|established_date =

|unit_pref =

|area_footnotes =

|area_magnitude =

|area_total_km2 =

|area_land_km2 =

|area_water_km2 =

|population_as_of =

|population_footnotes =

|population_total =

|population_density_km2 =

|timezone = Eastern (EST)

|utc_offset = -5

|timezone_DST = EDT

|utc_offset_DST =-4

|postal_code_type = Forward sortation area

|postal_code = N0B 2V0

|area_code = 519 and 226

|blank_name = NTS Map

|blank_info = {{Canada NTS Map Sheet|40|P|9}}

|blank1_name = GNBC Code

|blank1_info = FDCNQ{{cite web | title = West Montrose | publisher = Natural Resources Canada | date = October 6, 2016 | url = http://www4.rncan.gc.ca/search-place-names/unique/FDCNQ}}

|website =

|footnotes =

}}

West Montrose is an unincorporated rural community in Woolwich Township in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.{{cite web | title = Woolwich | publisher = Statistics Canada | date = November 2, 2016 | url = http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p3VD.pl?CLV=4&CPV=3530035&CST=01012011&CVD=116949&Function=getVD&MLV=4&TVD=116940}} As of the 2016 census, the population of the community

was 257.{{cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=DPL&Code1=350127&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&Data=Count&SearchText=West%20Montrose&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&GeoLevel=PR&GeoCode=350127&TABID=1|title=Census Profile, 2016 Census - West Montrose |first=Government of Canada, Statistics|last=Canada}}

The settlement of West Montrose is designated as a Cultural Heritage Landscape by the Township of Woolwich because of its history of pioneer settlement, its traditional bridges and the Old Order Mennonite culture.{{cite web |url=http://www.woolwich.ca/en/doing-business/resources/Official-Plan---Ch.-12-Heritage-Policy.pdf |title=Woolwich Heritage Policy- West Montrose Cultural Heritage Landscape |accessdate=May 23, 2019}}{{cite web |url=http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/aboutTheEnvironment/resources/WaterServices/WS2015SeptConestogoPlainsWaterSupplyClassEAProjectFileReport2.pdf |title=Conestogo Plains Water Supply Class Environmental Assessment Study |publisher=CIMA|date=September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422131618/http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/aboutTheEnvironment/resources/WaterServices/WS2015SeptConestogoPlainsWaterSupplyClassEAProjectFileReport2.pdf |archivedate=April 22, 2017}} Section 4.4{{cite web|url=http://gravelwatch.org/decisions-outcomes/withdrawals/west-montrose/|title=West Montrose Withdrawal |publisher=Gravel Watch Ontario}}

Located in West Montrose are single family homes, a church, a small store, a bed-and-breakfast and the West Montrose Covered Bridge, a local tourist attraction.{{cite web |url=https://www.ontariotravel.net/en/explore/huron-perth-waterloo-and-wellington/st-jacobs-country |title=St. Jacobs Country |website=Ontariotravel.net|accessdate=May 24, 2019}}{{cite news |url=http://www.therecord.com/news-story/4118876-group-celebrates-victory-to-maintain-area-s-idyllic-nature/ |title=Group celebrates victory to maintain area's idyllic nature |date=September 22, 2013| first=Terry|last=Pender|publisher=Waterloo Region Record|quote= The village has enormous, executive homes in new suburbs on its edge, Old Order Mennonite Farms around it and a quaint country store that serves everyone.|accessdate=May 24, 2019}}

==History==

File:United Church West Montrose Ontario.jpg

West Montrose was made up of Lots Seventy, Seventy-one, and Seventy-four of the Germany Company survey in Woolwich Township. Land was purchased from the German Company sometime after 1807 by Daniel Erb, David Eby and Christian Stauffer in 1807. However it was not settled until about 1850.

A few Scots arrived at that time, including Andrew L. Anderson from Montrose, Scotland who bought land in the 1850s;{{cite book |url=http://www.whs.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/1933_V21.pdf |title=Twenty-first and Twenty-second Annual Reports |publisher=Waterloo Historical Society|page=19|accessdate=May 23, 2019}} presumably he named the village Montrose after his home town. The word West was added in about 1865 to differentiate the community from Montrose in Welland County.{{cite web|url=https://www.waterlooregionmuseum.ca/en/collections-and-research/woolwich-township.aspx|publisher=Waterloo Region Museum |title=Woolwich Township|accessdate=May 24, 2019}} Section: West Montrose

By the early 1850s, other Mennonites from Pennsylvania began arriving to this part of Waterloo County, settling in nearby St. Jacobs and also on farms surrounding West Montrose. They were the so-called Pennsylvania Dutch. The word "Dutch" does not refer to the Netherlands but is a misnomer for Deitsch or Deutsch (German). Isaac Swope settled here in 1858 and built a log cabin. Many others owned land here but did not actually settle; they sold it later to other settlers. Jacob Benner, opened a woolen mill in 1858 and a sawmill in 1861. By that time, the village had a station of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

The first church was built in 1862 by the United Brethren congregation which included Methodists, Baptists, and Mennonites. The first school was built in 1865. By 1869, West Montrose had a post office, a population of about 100, a lumber yard, a gunsmith, a carpenter, a hotel and keeper, a stock dealer, a post office, a general merchant, several coopers, and a minister, according to historical records. Today, several 19th Century buildings bear the Heritage designation from the Township.{{cite web|url=https://www.woolwich.ca/en/discover-us/resources/Heritage-Commitee/Heritage---Municipal-Heritage-Register.pdf|title=Heritage Register|publisher=Woolwich Township}}

There was no railway connection until 1907. By then, the population had dropped from a peak of 200 in 1890 to a mere 50. Also in 1907, the current United Church and cemetery were built; the property was historically designated by Woolwich Township in May 2014.

The horse and buggy was the primary transportation among the Mennonites for decades. Today, Old Order Mennonites still use this mode of transportation.{{cite web|url=http://www.canadianmennonite.org/stories/old-order-mennonite-groups-ontario-are-growing|title=Old Order Mennonite groups in Ontario are growing|publisher=}}{{cite web |url=https://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/exploring-the-region/resources/Documents/2014_West_Montrose_Bridge_Plaque_FINAL_lores_FINAL-ACCESS.pdf |title=West Montrose Covered Bridge |publisher=Region of Waterloo |accessdate=May 24, 2019}}{{cite web|url=http://www.discover-southern-ontario.com/st-jacobs.html|title=St Jacobs, Ontario Canada|website=Discover-Southern-Ontario.com|accessdate=May 24, 2019}}

In 2011, residents of West Montrose were involved in a project to prevent Capital Paving from starting a gravel pit within 180 metres from the covered bridge at core of the community.{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/woolwich-s-kissing-bridge-landscape-spared-from-gravel-pit-1.1374679|title=Woolwich's 'kissing' bridge landscape spared from gravel pit|publisher=CBC News|accessdate=May 24, 2019}} The company had announced in 2008 that it planned to dig up an estimated 2.6 million tonnes of sand and gravel that sits "underneath a cornfield in the Mennonite area".{{cite news |url=https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/battle-against-west-montrose-gravel-pit-gets-boost-1.660435 |title=Battle against West Montrose gravel pit gets boost |publisher=CTV News Kitchener |date=June 21, 2011 |accessdate=May 24, 2019}} The volunteers of the Bridge Keepers group succeeded thanks in part to reliance on a study by the University of Waterloo's heritage resources centre about the cultural heritage of the landscape. When Woolwich Township amended its official plan, designating the lands around West Montrose as a Cultural Heritage Landscape, Capital Paving withdrew its application.{{cite web|url=https://www.southwesternontario.ca/news-story/5986990-capital-paving-withdraws-pit-application/|title=Capital Paving withdraws pit application |work=SouthWesternOntario.ca|date=August 15, 2013|publisher=Metroland News |accessdate=May 25, 2019}} A celebration was held in September 2013; it was attended by the Chair of Waterloo Region, Ken Seiling, whose comments indicated praise for the role played by the community in preventing the gravel pit.{{cite web|url=http://www.therecord.com/news-story/2583058-west-montrose-residents-protest-gravel-pit-proposal/|title=West Montrose residents protest gravel pit proposal|first=|last=|publisher=Waterloo Region Record|date=June 22, 2011|accessdate=May 25, 2019}}