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Schneider
Haus
The Schneiders were among the Mennonite families that left Lancaster County, Pennsylvania early in the 19th century to settle land purchased along the Grand River in Waterloo County. (German Company Tract) , a number of Mennonites made the horrendous trip from Pennsylvania to the Grand River. Travelling in conestoga wagons, they climbed the Alleghanies, forded the Niagara River, and crossed either the Beverly Swamp or followed an Indian trail up the east side of the Grand. The wagons were heavily packed and sometimes tipped. They required either a 4-horse team or a pair of oxen to be pulled. On steep slopes it required two teams to pull the wagons, so one wagon would be unhitched while another was dragged up the trail then the drivers returned for the second wagon. The roads were rough, often collapsing into the bush. The men drove the wagons while the women drove the cattle. For two months they ate what they brought with them and camped out overnight. Soup was common. Milk and eggs at least were fresh since they brought their animals with them. When Joseph Schneider, his wife and children, arrived in Waterloo County they were give Lot 17. This was 448 acres of uncleared bush alongside a creek. He and his family quickly built a log house, barn and a stable before turning to the work of developing the farm. They cut a road from the house to what is now the centre of Kitchener. This became Queen St. in the 1880s. The next step was a saw mill in 1816 on Schneider’s Creek (the east side of David St. The mill dam was above the railway tracks and the race crossed David between Schneider Ave and Roland St.) Using his own sawn lumber, Joseph Schneider built the 2 storey framed Georgian house we see today. Joseph Schneider quickly prospered on his 400 acre farm, adding a sawmill, and leasing a corner of the farm to a blacksmith and one room in the house to a weaver. The most important changes came after the 1850s as the unique character of Berlin was swamped by Victorian Canada West. In 1870s a brick wash house was installed behind the house.
In 1912, when Samuel died, the house was sold out of the family. But in 1928 it was purchased by Joseph Meyer Snyder, a nephew of Samuel and son of David B. Schneider. The family retained the house until 1975. |
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