Founding of New Dundee 1830 - 2005
John Millar and his two brothers immigrated to Canada fro Dundee, Scotland in the early 1800s. John purchased Crown land here in 1830 and 1832 and dammed Alder Creek to create a mill pond for his sawmill. A village grew next to the mill-pond which he named New Dundee, meaning "in the hollow by the water". In 1846 John sold a portion of his property to his brother, Frederick, who later laid out the original plan for the village and became it's first postmaster. Frederick built a board and batten Carpenters Gotic house in 1850. Home and office to numerous doctors, it is still known as the "Doctor's House". Today, the mill pond - known as Alder Lake - remains a focal and recreational point of life in New Dundee.
Erected by the Waterloo Historical Society with the assistance of the Ontario Heritage Foundation.
To Commerate the 175th anniversary of New Dundee 1830 - 2005.
From: Wikipedia
New Dundee, Ontario
New Dundee is a small community of about 1,500 people in the Township of Wilmot, Ontario, Canada, south-west of Kitchener.
It is home to the Dundee Country Club golf course and the New Dundee Emporium, founded in 1887. Many small businesses are located within the community on Alder Lake. Some businesses include fishing, canoing and skating in the winter. However, due to the locality to Kitchener, many residents tend to do most of their business outside of town in the larger urban center. This has caused trouble in sustaining local businesses. New Dundee used to contain a full restaurant that has seen many owners till its eventual closing. Also, a full service grocery store used to serve the town and surrounding area. There is however a variety store that services the area that contains an LCBO and beer store. Current businesses include a video store/ice cream shop, a busy branch of the Region of Waterloo Library, a pizza parlor/bakery, a hairstylist and a book store specializing in Christian books.
New Dundee Creamery, founded in 1908, was for many years the town's largest employer, with up to 100 employees at its peak. By the mid-1960s, it was producing 115 million pounds of milk and five million pounds of butter a year. It closed in 1998 and the vacant building was torn down in 2004. A township proposal to build a park on the site was rejected by residents in 2005 due to its location to the main roads going through the town and the proposed loss of the main park at the corner of New Dundee and Main streets. The township is currently proposing a new park near the community centre that would keep the original park intact.
A lumber yard was also located in town and for many years was operated as Weber Home Centre (Castle Building Centre). After its closing the location was bought and re branded. On June 1, 2006 Harron's Rona opened its doors to customers. This became the new large employer in the small residential community with about 50 people from New Dundee and Kitchener-Waterloo area are employed there.
With the expiation of the surrounding urban areas, as well as, no major employer left, New Dundee has become a bedroom community with many residents working in Kitchener-Waterloo.
The village does not have a sewer system, and all properties must have a septic system installed. New Dundee's history is very religious, and many churches are still thriving today.