CULTURAL HERITAGE EVALUATION REPORT
RIVERSIDE DAM SPEED RIVER, PRESTON CITY OF CAMBRIDGE, ONTARIO
June 2012 Revised March 2013
Prepared for: AMEC Environment and Infrastructure
Prepared by:
CULTURAL HERITAGE EVALUATION REPORT
RIVERSIDE DAM SPEED RIVER, PRESTON CITY OF CAMBRIDGE, ONTARIO
June 2012 Revised March 2013
Prepared for: AMEC Environment and Infrastructure 3215 North Service Road Burlington ON L7N 3G2
Prepared by: Unterman McPhail Associates Heritage Resource Management Consultants 540 Runnymede Road Toronto, ON M6S 2Z7 Tel: 416-766-7333 Email: [email protected]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
1.0 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Project Description 1 1.2 Heritage Recognition 2
2.0 HISTORICAL SUMMARY 2 2.1 Development of Preston 2 2.2 Cambridge Mills and the Speed “Riverside” Dam 8
3.0 CULTURAL HERITAGE LANDSCAPE DESCRIPTION 15 3.1 Area Context 15 3.2 Site Description 16
4.0 BUILT HERITAGE RESOURCE DESCRIPTION 18 4.1 Riverside Dam 18
5.0 CULTURAL HERITAGE RESOURCE EVALUATION 21 5.1 Introduction 21 5.2 Evaluation 21 5.2.1 Design Value or Physical Value 22 5.2.2 Historical Value or Associative Value 22 5.2.3 Contextual Value 24 5.3 Summary of Cultural Heritage Value 25 5.3.1 Statement of Cultural Heritage Value 25 5.3.2 Description of Heritage Attributes 25
6.0 MITIGATION RECOMMENDATIONS 26 6.1 Introduction 26 6.2 Mitigation Recommendations 27
SOURCES
APPENDIX A: Historical Maps, Aerial Views and Photographs APPENDIX B: Photographs, Context APPENDIX C: Photographs Riverside Dam
LIST OF FIGURES
Page
Figure 1. The circle marks the location of the Riverside Dam on the Speed River, City of Cambridge City of Cambridge, 2012, as adapted]. 1 Figure 2. View of Preston in 1856 [Fifth Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society, 1917, frontispiece]. 5 Figure 3. “Cambridge Grist and Flouring Mills, Preston, A.A. Erb & Bros., Proprietors” [Tremaine’s Map of the County of Waterloo, Canada West]. 10 Figure 4. View of Cambridge Mills, 1886 [Fifth Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society, 1917, 31]. 11 Figure 5. Early 1890s view of the Speed Dam to the east of the King Street Bridge before the construction of the Galt, Preston & Hespeler Railway line trestle bridge [PH6382, City of Cambridge Archives]. 12 Figure 6. View of the Speed Dam in the 1890s to the east of the King Street Bridge after the construction of the Galt, Preston & Hespeler Railway line trestle bridge [LAC, James Esson, MIKA No. 325823. Dam Speed River 1905]. 12 Figure 7. View of Riverside Dam to north in the winter, n.d. stone structure with a slightly raised top cap. [PH787, City of Cambridge Archives]. 13 Figure 8 View of “Speed Dam” c1949 showing north control tower and a boater above the dam [Preston: a friendly welcome awaits you, 1949]. 14 Figure 9. View of “Speed Dam” c1949 showing north control tower [Preston: a friendly welcome awaits you, 1949]. 14 Figure 10. Aerial of the Riverside Dam site in the former municipality of Preston, now City of Cambridge [Google Maps 2011]. 17 Figure 11. View east to the Riverside Dam on the Speed River with CN railway spur line in the foreground. 19 Figure 12. View north to the railway spur downstream from the dam. 20 Figure 13. West elevation of the north stone masonry control tower top. 20 Figure 14. North elevation of the stoplog sluiceway structure. 20 Figure 15. West elevation of the south stone masonry control tower and rubblestone debris. 20 Figure 16. Existing Conditions Plan, Riverside Dam, Structural Evaluation & Detailed Design, Cambridge, Ontario, Drawing 1X. Sanchez Engineering Inc., October 2008. 20 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Page 1 Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Project description
AMEC retained Unterman McPhail Associates, Heritage Management Resource Consultants, to undertake a Cultural Heritage Resource Evaluation Report (CHER) for the Riverside Dam as part of a Municipal Class Environmental Assessment, City of Cambridge. The proposed project is classified as a Schedule “B” undertaking in the Class Environmental Assessment for Municipal Road Projects (2007). The principal objective of this undertaking is to provide the Municipality with direction on a preferred solution that addresses the City’s risk management requirements associated with its long term operations and responsibility of the Riverside Dam. The 2009 Study indicated several parts of the dam are in disrepair and pose a risk of failure due to ice. Temporary stabilization works have been implemented.
Figure 1. The circle marks the location of the Riverside Dam on the Speed River in Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario [Preston Towne Centre Core Area and Business Improvement Area (BIA) Boundaries, The Corporation of the City of Cambridge, July 2011, as adapted].
The Riverside Dam on the Speed River is immediately upstream of King Street at Riverside Park in the former municipality of Preston, now part of the City of Cambridge. A dam has been located at this general site since the early 19th century. A.A. Erb may have built part of the existing dam as early as 1864 with the existing control towers possibly constructed in early 1890s by Samuel Cherry. The diversion of the north branch
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Page 2 Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario of the Speed River into a millrace dates to the early 19th century and is historically associated with the first Erb mill on the site, which became Cambridge Mills.
This CHER includes a historical summary of the Riverside Dam and the associated mill site, a description of the structure and its setting, an evaluation of the cultural heritage value of the structure and a summary of cultural heritage value and mitigation recommendations. The site was evaluated using the criteria set out under Ontario Regulation 9/06, which was developed for the purpose of identifying and evaluating the cultural heritage value or interest of a property proposed for protection under Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act. Regulation 9/06 describes the three criteria as design value or physical value, historical value or associative value, and contextual value. Historical maps and drawings are included in Appendix A. Appendix B contains a survey form with photographs of the structure and its setting.
1.2 Heritage Recognition
The Cambridge Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee (MHAC) has included the Riverside Dam, also referred to as the Speed Dam and the Cambridge Mills Dam, located on the Speed River at King Street West, Preston, on the City of Cambridge Heritage Properties Inventory (October 2010) as a property of interest by for its architectural and/or historical significance. The City of Cambridge Heritage Properties Inventory is a council endorsed inventory of known built heritage resources in the City of Cambridge.
In 1928, the Waterloo Historical Society placed a commemorative plaque on the associated mill building currently owned by P&H Milling Group building. The plaque, which still exists, refers to the site as the “oldest place of continuous business in Waterloo County”.
The Speed River is a Canadian Heritage River and the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) has identified the Riverside Dam, also known as the Cherry-Taylor Mill Dam, as a heritage structure on its Heritage River Inventory. Additionally, immediately downstream from the dam, the GRCA Heritage River Inventory identifies the P&H Flour Mill and the King Street Bridge as heritage resources.
2.0 HISTORICAL SUMMARY
2.1 Development of Preston
Richard Beasley purchased land from the Six Nations and John Erb bought 75,500 acres including land at the coming together of the Grand and Speed Rivers. John Erb, a major stockholder in the German Company Tract to the north of the Block Line, and his wife Magdalena Schrantz and family moved with William Corwell, Henry Kraft and family, Peter Hammacher and family, Matthias Scheirich and family, Abraham Stauffer and family, and others to Canada and settled in the township and county of Waterloo. Erb bought 500 acres of land along the Speed River, part of Beasley’s “Broken Front”
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Page 3 Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario comprising Lots 1, 2, 3 and 4. Outside of the German Tract, Erb’s choice of the land on the Speed River was astute. The Speed had a powerful and constant current that was reliable all year round for waterpower. At Erb’s site at the Great Road from Dundas, there were several small islands that slowed down the current enough to allow a safe ford for the crossing of wagons and livestock. Erb built a sawmill in 1806, the first in Waterloo County, and a gristmill in 1807. Together the two businesses became the nucleus for the establishment of a settlement called Cambridge Mills.
Mennonite settlers moved to the area in large numbers. Block Two was renamed Waterloo Township in 1816. Erb and his son-in-law Daniel Snider opened a general store and Erb expanded his milling enterprises in 1818. King Street (Highway 8) was opened officially in 1819. Although Cambridge Mills was positioned nicely for growth, it had only a handful of houses, a few mills and some cultivated land with dense forest all around. This lack of growth is attributed to Erb’s reluctance to encourage development.
After John Erb’s death in 1832, his son John S. Erb inherited the lands south of the Speed River and contracted English surveyor William Scollick to layout a village in a linear form along the Great Road from Dundas. This became the village of Preston.1 Completed in 1834, the survey laid out the streets and lots laid at right angles to the Great Road with almost all of the buildings in the settlement stretched out along the road. Scollick renamed the settlement Preston after his native town in England.2 Village sites were advertised soon afterwards, and by 1835, the Speed River had been spanned by a bridge. Interest in settling in Preston was immediate amongst generally young and recently arrived German immigrants from Europe including numerous tradesmen, craftsman and businessmen. They were attracted by the use of the German language, the clearance of much of the land and a need for skilled workmen. Soon after the survey, more than 30 buildings constructed in one year in Preston and it contained mills, stores, hotels and many tradesmen settled in the village.3
In the 1830s, Preston saw many changes and experienced substantial growth due to significant immigration from Germany and due to the Canada Company opening up settlement lands east and west of Preston. The Great Road from Dundas that ran through Preston was macadamized in 1836. Erb’s Mill was remodeled, a school was built, mineral springs were discovered and many new businesses opened in the burgeoning community. In 1836, Preston had 40 families.4 Although the Erb’s still discouraged development on their land, others, such as Jacob Hespeler, started successful industries in Hespeler on the Speed River. In 1836, Preston became the recipient of a number of immigrant families from Germany and well as some other new inhabitants of other nationalities. Village lots were developed and Preston’s population increased. An important newcomer to Preston was Friedrich Guggisberg, who had emigrated from Switzerland to Waterloo County in
1 Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, About Cambridge History, Brief History of the Community of Preston. Access;--< http://cambridgeweb.net/historical/ preston.html> (November 20, 2011). 2 Ibid. 3 Kenneth McLaughlin, Cambridge: the making of a Canadian city (Windsor, Ontario: Windsor Publications, 1987) 26. 4 Ibid, 28.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Page 4 Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
1834 to join family members. Guggisberg established the earliest furniture works in the community with his two brothers. In 1838, he started his own cabinetmaking shop, and it grew from making chairs to a diversified manufacturing concern that produced desks, tables and some of the first barrel type patented revolving drawer desks and high roll-top desks in Canada. The finest designs were sent to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. At one time, the Guggisberg furniture works was the largest employer in Preston. Frederick
Guggisberg served as a member of Preston's first village council in 1852.5 Otto Klotz arrived in 1837 and built a small brewery, and later, the Klotz Hotel. Klotz expanded his enterprises in 1862 by erecting a starch factory. Klotz’s hotel later became the Central Hotel.6 Jacob Beck arrived in Preston in 1838 and went on to establish a foundry business. Jacob Hespeler opened a general store in Preston and then tried to expand his business interests in 1839 through the using of the undeveloped water power on the Speed River below Erb’s mills on land owned by John Erb Jr. After the failure of his plan, he established a store, gristmill and distillery business on the north side of King Street that served as a strong competition to the Erb’s, until he moved to New Hope, now Hespeler. Hespeler also served as postmaster of Preston and the first village reeve. Robert Hunt bought an existing mill and established the Preston Woolen Mill in 1845.
In first half of the 19th century, Preston existed as two communities, namely, Cambridge Mills developing along a “T” juncture at the Speed River and largely controlled by agriculturally oriented German Mennonites, and the village of Preston along the Great Road populated by European Germans interested in commercial and industrial development. In 1846, Smith’s Canadian Gazetteer described the Preston as,
A Village in the township of Waterloo, three miles from Galt and fourteen from Guelph – was laid out in 1834- contains 600 inhabitants, who are principally Germans. There are two churches, viz., one Lutheran and one Catholic.
Post Office, post every day.
Professions and Trades.- One steam grist mill and distillery, one tannery, two stores, four taverns, three breweries, one pottery, one grocery and drug store, three saddlers, two wagon makers, one baker, eight shoemakers, one watchmaker, one tinsmith, three cabinet makers, one cooper, five tailors.7
In 1851, Preston was the largest village in Waterloo Township and had reached a population of 1180 people, principally German.8 W. H. Smith’s Canada, Past, Present and Future described the community in 1851:
5 Waterloo Regional Museum/Inductees, Frederich Guggisberg (1818-1888). Access:--< http:// waterlooregionmuseum.com/region-hall-of-fame/inductees---g-to-i.aspx> (December 2011). 6 Otto Klotz, “Sketch of the History of the Village of Preston”, Fifth Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society (1917) 28. 7 Wm. H. Smith, Smith’s Canadian Gazetteer (Toronto: H. & W. Rowsell, 1846) 153. 8 McLaughlin, 28.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Page 5 Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
Preston….is the largest village in the township of Waterloo; it has considerably improved its buildings and business in the last few years. Stone of excellent quality is obtained in the neighbourhood of the village and it has for some time been extensively used for building, thus giving a solid and substantial character to the buildings;…The Speed here is a broad and rapid stream, not very deep, but having a sufficient body of water for the machinery it is required to turn. Preston contains about eleven hundred inhabitants, principally Germans, one of whom (Mr. Jacob Hespeler) sometime since, erected vinegar works…There are two grist mills in the village —the “Cambridge Mills” and Anchor Mills”,— two sawmills, two vinegar factories, a woolen factory, two tanneries, starch factory, pottery and three breweries. There are three schools…a court house and town hall and two churches…A daily stage runs to Goderich and Woolwich, and two stages between Guelph and Hamilton, passing through Preston. There is also a fire company established with an engine and company. Preston is pleasantly situated on a gravelly soil, at the termination of the Dundas and Waterloo macadamised road. A large number of houses are built in the old fashioned German style, and have a very comfortable appearance.9
1856 Dam on King Cambridge the Speed River Street Mills
Figure 2. View of Preston in 1856 [Fifth Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society, 1917, frontispiece].
Incorporated as a village in 1852, Preston was the most important centre in Waterloo Township of the time supporting many successful industries and businesses. Otto Klotz prepared a map of the village of Preston in1852 with Cambridge Mills on the northern edge of the village of (Appendix A). Four years later in 1855, Preston’s population had
9 W. H. Smith, Canada, Past, Present and Future (Toronto: T. Maclear, 1851) 118-119.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Page 6 Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario reached approximately 1600 people.10 During the 1850s, Preston was a popular stop on the Great Road leading to the interior of the Province for travellers. The hotels and inns at Preston attracted many European visitors as well.
The pace of Preston’s growth began to slow in the late 1850s and early 1860s after Berlin was selected as the county seat in 1850, thus bypassing Preston and Galt, and the Grand Trunk Railway built its route between Toronto and Berlin in 1856 shifting the economic orientation from Preston to Berlin. Berlin then surpassed Preston as the economic, religious and cultural centre of the German community as new immigrants headed to Berlin rather than Preston. Many of Preston’s inhabitants also moved away. In an attempt to preserve its earlier prosperity, Preston made two attempts at building railways, namely, the Galt to Guelph line and the Preston to Berlin line. The Galt to Guelph line bypassed the town to the north and east. The Preston to Berlin line failed and left the village with a large debt that was not paid off until the early 1870s. Tremaine’s Map (1861) depicts Cambridge Mills on the north side of the Speed River on King Street, Frederick Guggisberg’s Preston Chair and Cabinet Factory on the southeast bank of the Speed River, and further east on the south bank of the Speed River, the Hunt & Elliot’s Cloth Factory.
Around 1860 some of the principal businesses in Preston included, but were not limited to three breweries, two foundries, including Clare and Beck, Guggisberg‘s furniture store, Robert Hunt’s woolen mill, a pottery, four wagon makers, a tannery, four smithies, three loom factories, saddler shops and two lime kilns. Joseph Erb and Jacob Hespeler both operated a gristmill, distillery, cooperages and stores. Joseph Erb also ran a sawmill. There were six hotels, two churches, and two schoolhouses, a newspaper and two fire brigades. At this time, freighting of wheat and farm products from Lake Huron passed through Preston on it way to Dundas, and later Hamilton, and Lake Ontario. This resulted in a linear development of businesses along the main road.11
By the 1870s, Preston’s economic boom was over. The Illustrated Historical Atlas (1881) described Preston as an incorporated village with a railway station on the Wellington, Grey & Bruce Railway with a population of 1600 people.12 After Frederick Guggisberg’s death in 1888, his sons sold the family furniture business and it became the Preston Furniture Company, manufacturing office desks. In the late 19th century Preston had became a small manufacturing centre with furniture, stove, implement, woollen and boot and shoe manufacturers and extensive flour mills. Although mineral springs had been by a member of the Erb family in 1837-38, it was not until the early 1880s that Preston became a fashionable mineral springs spa. Later Samuel Cornell developed land near the hot springs believed to have been discovered by Joseph Erb. He built a hotel and a bathhouse. Christopher Kress acquired this property and it became the Kress Hotel. This activity created a slight upward trend in the population as many wealthy visitors arrived
10 Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, About Cambridge History, Brief History of the Community of Preston. Access;--< http://cambridgeweb.net/historical/preston.html >.(November 20, 2011) ; and, McLaughlin, 28. 11 Klotz, Otto. “Preston, reminiscences”, Ninth Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society. 1921) 171-172. 12 Illustrated Atlas of the County of Waterloo (Toronto: H. Parsell & Co., 1881) 44.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Page 7 Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario to experience the mineral springs. The North American Hotel, then the Del Monte, and finally the Sulphur Springs Hotel provided accommodation for the wealthy spa visitors.13 Preston’s fame as a spa destination lasted until 1910 when the mineral baths were closed.
The Galt and Preston Street Railway Company Limited was incorporated on November 12, 1890. After some financial difficulties, construction got under way in the spring of 1894. A single-track railway in the Village of Preston followed the centre of King Street to and across the Speed River by a timber trestle to Main Street (a continuation of King Street and now part of that same street). It terminated at the intersection of Main and Fountain Streets in the vicinity of what was then the Del Monte Hotel, later the Preston Springs, the Kress Hotel, and the Mineral Springs Bath House. In January 1896, the interurban railway between Galt, Preston and Hespeler was opened just as Preston was incorporated as a town. It ran from the Preston Junction Station at the King Street entrance to Riverside Park to Hespeler.
On July 6, 1888, William Schleuter sold 32 acres of land on the banks of the Speed River to the Preston Riding and Driving Association. This property was sold to the Town of Preston at a latter date and turned into Riverside Park. In 1911 the Town of Preston acquired the property associated with the Preston Curling and Skating Club Co. beside the lands acquired from the Preston Riding and Driving Association. The Town commissioned Frederick G. Todd of Montreal to design the Speed Park, later Riverside Park. The original park plan was typical of Olmstead‘s approach to park design. In the late 1890s, Todd (1876-1948) apprenticed in the American landscape architecture firm of Olmstead, Olmstead and Eliot, the most renowned landscape architectural practice in North America at that time. Todd was actively engaged in park planning in numerous Ontario communities in the early 1900s.14 The circa 1900 birds-eye view of Preston shows a large racetrack in the park. In 1920, J.J. Mickler submitted revisions of the 1911 plans prepared by Todd for Speed Park. J. Paterson, in association with local architect J.H. Meckler, originally designed the entrance gates in November 1919 as a memorial to the local men who lost their lives in World War I. The design for the gates was redone in 1921 on a more modest scale by Paterson and Meckler. They were built in the same year. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited Riverside Park in 1973.
A birds-eye view of the Town of Preston circa 1900 shows the principal buildings located at the Speed River and King Street were industrial and manufacturing businesses. S.J. Cherry’s Cambridge Roller Mills was situated in the northwest quadrant, the GP&H car sheds were on the north side of the Speed River, the large Guggisberg Furniture Factory, later the Preston Furniture Co. was in the southeast quadrant with the large manufacturing complex of the Preston Foundry of Clare Bros. & Co. located to its south. Riverside Park was located in the northeast quadrant along the banks of the Speed River. The expansive racetrack is shown on the birds-eye view. A metal truss bridge carried King Street over the Speed River and the GP&H tracks for the street railway were located on its east side. THE GP&H ran along Main Street to the Speed River and south on King Street with a
13 Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, About Cambridge History, Brief History of the Community of Preston. 14 J.R. Wright, Urban Parks in Ontario, Part II: The Public Park Movement 1860-1914 (Ottawa: University of Ottawa, 1984) 152.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Page 8 Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario line going east on Water Street between the two sites of the Guggisberg Furniture Factory and the Clare Bros. & Co. Preston Foundry. The Preston Furniture Company was sold to Percy Hilborn in 1919, and became consolidated with Hilborn's Canadian Office and School Furniture Company in 1928.15 In 1910, the Preston fire insurance plan shows a railway car shed and an electric powerhouse as well as a pumping station on the north side of King Street at the entrance to Riverside Park.16 The Town of Preston replaced the metal truss road bridge on King Street in 1923-24 with a concrete rigid frame structure with a decorative balustrade. F.H. Midgeley was the engineer and Webster and Tory the bridge contractors. The 1923-24 bridge was replaced with a replica in 1987.
The Galt, Preston & Hespeler Street Railway (GP&H) and the Preston & Berlin Street Railway were amalgamated in 1908, and, as the Berlin, Waterloo, Wellesley & Lake Huron Railway Company, it was leased to the Canadian Pacific Railway for 99 years. The existing CN rail spur was added by the GP&H to the east side of the King Street line across the Speed River downstream of the dam sometime after 1900 and before 1910. The GP&H railway spur is not shown on the circa 1900 view of Preston, but is depicted on 1910 fire insurance plan of Preston (Appendix A).17 The name of the railway was changed to the Grand River Railway Company Limited in 1914. In 1939, all passenger service moved to the freight trackage in Galt and Preston, and the track paralleling Highway 8 and the tracks on King Street in Preston was removed.18
Preston experienced tremendous industrial growth and prosperity in the early 20th century that continued into the 1920s. The 1930s were times of economic depression and then World War II spurred the town’s economy again and it was followed by a post war boom until the mid 1950s when the textile industry in Canada collapsed. In Preston, three major employers including the George Pattinson Company closed. Highway 401 was opened in 1960 and the Galt, Preston and Hespeler Railway closed in 1961. On January 1, 1973, Preston, Galt, Hespeler and North Dumfries became part of the new City of Cambridge.
2.2 Cambridge Mills and the Speed “Riverside” Dam
John Erb was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania on December 8, 1764 and was the third son of Christian and Maria Erb. He married Maris Schrantz and they had nine children. John Erb became an initial subscriber to the new German Company and therefore, acquired 7,500 acres of land in the north part of Block 2. He also bought additional land in what became Waterloo Township at the confluence of the Speed and Grand River.
John and Magdalena Erb settled on the Speed River and built the sawmill in 1805, another sawmill in 1806 and a gristmill in 1807. Before this time no sawed lumber could
15 Waterloo Regional Museum/Inductees, Frederich Guggisberg (1818-1888). 16 Underwriter’s Survey Bureau, Fire Insurance Pan of Preston, Ontario. Chas. E. Goad, 1910. 17 Ibid. 18 TrainWeb, “Grand River Railway, Preston Ontario, Canada”, Access:--< http://www.trainweb.org /elso/grr.htm> (November 2011).
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Page 9 Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario be obtained nearer than Toronto or Niagara.19 Erb’s mills were located at the best waterpower site on the Speed River. A dam was located on the Speed River immediately north of the crossing point near the large island where Erb’s sawmill was located on the north bank. The gristmill was situated slightly below the sawmill at a creek outlet flowing parallel to the river. It was at this creek outlet that a millrace was built between the island and the north bank to provide waterpower to run both of the mills.20 The location of the mills allowed for growth on the gravel terrace on the south bank of the river and provided a good and safe river ford that was situated near bedrock and various islets making the river crossing safe for wagons and stock.21 The mills were also located at the juncture of important land transportation routes connecting Cambridge Mills to Dundas, Waterloo, Woolwich Township, the Huron Tract and Guelph. John Erb added a general store to his site in 1816. He hired Ira White to expand the capacity of his mill business in 1818.22
The settlement of Cambridge Mills grew up around the Erb mills on the Speed River. Erb consistently refused to sell land around his mill site for commercial purposes. John Erb died on September 2, 1832 and transferred his property to John Erb Jr. and Joseph Erb. Son John Erb Jr. had the village of Preston surveyed in 1834 along the Great Road, while Joseph Erb took over the operation of the Cambridge Mills in 1832.
Joseph Erb was born in Lancaster Pennsylvania on March 30, 1800 and was the sixth of nine children and fourth son of John and Magdalena Erb. He moved with his parents to Preston in Waterloo County in 1805 and in 1827, married Mary Kolb.23 Joseph Erb rebuilt the gristmill in 183424 and enlarged the mill site adding a distillery, a store and other buildings. He took on Adam Argo as a partner and they conducted a milling, distilling and stores business under the name of Erb & Argo for a number of years.25 When Argo retired, Walter Gowinlock became a partner of Joseph Erb. Following Gowinlock, Joseph’s son Abram C. Erb became a partner and the business was named Erb & Son. At some point after 1859, John McNaughton was involved in the Cambridge Mills in Preston.26 After Joseph Erb retired in 1867, his sons Abram A., Cyrus, Jacob and Joseph27 took over the milling operations and became A.A. Erb & Bros.
Abram Albert Erb was born in Preston on March 30, 1829. He married Margaret Wallace and had nine children. His family lived in a stone house at 506 King Street East, Preston (Cambridge). Abram A. Erb was the proprietor of the second German language newspaper in Preston, first published in 1853 as well as being involved in the family
19 Ezra Eby, From Pennsylvania to Waterloo: A Biographical History of Waterloo Township. John Erb. 20 McLaughlin, 24. 21 Bloomfield, 79. 22 McLaughlin, 26. 23 Ezra Eby, From Pennsylvania to Waterloo: A Biographical History of Waterloo Township. Joseph Erb. 24 Ibid, John Erb. 25 Otto Klotz, “Sketch of the History of the Village of Preston”, Fifth Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society (1917) 31. 26 Jim Quantrell, Cambridge Mosaics (City of Cambridge, Ontario, 1998) 140. 27 Klotz, “Sketch of the History of the Village of Preston”, 31; and, Quantrell, 60.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Page 10 Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario milling business. He served on the Preston council (1853-1857) and as reeve of Preston (1860-1861 and 1868-1869 and 1871-1875).28
A map of Preston (1852) shows Cambridge Mills on the northern edge of the village of Preston. A.A. Erb & Bros. operated a mill at this location. As well, there was a dam structure on the Speed River, a road bridge over the waterway and a millrace. The dam and the mill race in 1852 are depicted in same general location as the current dam and mill race (Appendix A).
Figure 3. “Cambridge Grist and Flouring Mills, Preston, A.A. Erb & Bros., Proprietors” [Tremaine’s Map of the County of Waterloo, Canada West].
Tremaine’s Map (1861) shows an illustration of the Cambridge Mills (Figure 3) as well as a map of Preston (Appendix A) showing Cambridge Mills and an advertisement for “A. A. Erb & Brothers, General Merchants, proprietors of “Cambridge Mills”, —also Saw Mill and Distillery, Dealers in Real Estate, etc.”. In the same year, the Cambridge Mills gristmill operated by A.A. Erb & Son was described as having five run stones with a production capacity of 160 bbls. of flour.29 Under A.A. Erb & Bros. the business premises were enlarged considerably in 1864. A substantial store and a large dam structure across the Speed River were built in order to provide steady waterpower to turn the five mill stones.30 Tremaine’s map also shows Frederick Guggisberg’s Preston Chair and Cabinet Factory on the southeast bank of the Speed River. Further east on the Speed River, was the Hunt & Elliot’s Cloth Factory. About 1860, Joseph Erb operated a gristmill, sawmill, distillery and a cooper shop and stores on his mill property about
28 Quantrell, 58. 29 Your Heritage Waterloo Region. President’s Address: Milling Industry2. This article contains a chart of the Milling Industry in Waterloo County from Data contained in Sutherland’s Gazetteer and Directory of 1864 and supplemented by information gathered from other sources. 30 Hosted by rootsweb. An ancestry.com community. Cambridge Mill – Preston, Waterloo Co., Ontario – about 1880. Access:--< http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~larkins/photos/photos17.html> (December 2011).
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1860.31 Otto Klotz describes playing shinny on an ice rink in the winter and swimming at Erb’s dam in the summer during the early1860s.32
In 1878, the five mill stones at the Erb mill were replaced. A year later in 1879, the mill building was destroyed by fire.33 Abraham Erb retired in the same year as the fire after selling the gristmill business to Samuel and John Cherry. He died on June 24, 1896 and is buried in the Preston Cemetery.34
Figure 4. View of Cambridge Mills, 1886 [Fifth Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society, 1917, 31].
Samuel J. Cherry was born on February 4, 1843, in Diamond, Carleton County, where his parents had settled after moving to Upper Canada from County Armangh, Ireland. His family moved to Dundas, Ontario in his infancy, where he attended school and at age of 15 years became an apprentice in the gristmill of the late James Coleman. At age 19 years, Cherry arrived in Preston to work in the Abram Erb & Bros. owned Cambridge Mills. In Preston, Cherry married Barbara Willerich (1845-1908). They had three children, all born in Preston: George A. (1863-1944), Mary E. (b. 1865) and William Cherry (B. 1866). Samuel Cherry returned to Dundas to take charge of the Joseph Webster mills, and a few years later, went to Guelph to work at the Speedsville mill owned by James Goldie. When Goldie built a new mill, Samuel Cherry worked as the
31 Otto Klotz, “Preston, reminiscences”, Ninth Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society (1921) 171-172. 32 Ibid, 176-177. 33 Ontario Mennonite Archives, 1992-7.1 Erb’s Mill. 34 Quantrill, 58.
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Figure 5. Early 1890s view of the Speed Dam to the east of the King Street Bridge before the construction of the Galt, Preston & Hespeler Railway line trestle bridge [PH6382, City of Cambridge Archives].
Figure 6. View of the Speed Dam in the 1890s to the east of the King Street Bridge after the construction of the Galt, Preston & Hespeler Railway line trestle bridge [LAC, James Esson, MIKA No. 325823. Dam Speed River 1905].
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In 1879, John and Samuel Cherry acquired the Cambridge Mills in Preston from the Erb family, which became the Cherry Taylor Flour Mills Ltd.35 The Cherry brothers modernized the mill by introducing a Hungarian roller milling process equipment.36 In 1886, S.J. Cherry became a sole proprietor
Figure 7. View of Speed Dam to north in the winter, with north control tower stone structure, n.d. [PH787, City of Cambridge Archives].
In 1894, fire destroyed the older mill building and S. J. Cherry built new brick mill buildings.37 One year later, the Preston and Hespeler Railway was built and opened in January 1896 with a station at Cambridge Mills. Cherry also improved and beautified his mill property and built two brick houses at Nos. 126 (demolished) and 140 King Street West c1906, with the first replacing an old frame house. The 1910 Fire Insurance Plan shows the Cambridge Flour Mill and its associated millpond and flume on King Street at the “T” junction of King Street immediately north of the Speed River and the Galt, Preston and Hespeler Railway trestle and the stone dam structure constructed on the Speed River to the east of King Street.38
35 “Samuel Cherry”, Fifth Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society. Vol. V (1917) 55. 36 Quantrill, 27. 37 Ibid. 38 Underwriter’s Survey Bureau, Fire Insurance Pan of Preston, Ontario, Chas. E. Goad, 1910.
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After the death of his first wife, Samuel Cherry remarried in 1913 to Berina Stengel.39 During his years in Preston, Mr. Cherry served as a member of the Preston town council, chairman of the Park Board almost from its inception to the time of his death, and for eight years as member of the Waterloo County council, being warden of the County in 1906. He was member of the Toronto Board of Trade, member of the Dominion Millers' Association, and director of the Galt Malleable Iron Co., Ltd., and of the Canadian Millers Mutual Fire Insurance Co. He was a member of St. Johns Church (Anglican) Preston. In politics he was a Conservative.40
When Cherry died on July 2, 191741, the Galt Reporter noted,
“Sam” Cherry was one of the most successful of the old time flour millers, a worthy contemporary of the Sherks and Sniders and Goldies, who have made Waterloo County famous in the flour markets of Canada, England and Scotland. Sam was a public-spirited citizen, as Preston well knows. Who has not admired the beauty spot he created out of the canal and the slopes thereof? What would he not have done to beautify Galt had he been the owner of the dam and the surrounding property which, not long ago, offered opportunities for embellishment rarely at hand in a growing and picturesque city? The Cherry idea in Civic Beautification should not be allowed to lapse in the district of which Galt and Preston form a part.42
Figure 8. View of “Speed Dam” c1949 showing Figure 9. View of “Speed Dam” c1949 north control tower and a boater above the dam showing the north control tower [Preston: [Preston: a friendly welcome awaits you]. a friendly welcome awaits you].
Eldest son George Cherry succeeded his father Samuel in family flour milling business. He was born in Preston, Ontario on May 4, 1863 and married Minnie Herman. George Cherry worked as the head miller at the S.J. Cherry flour mill in Preston for many years as well as the head miller, at various times, at Walkerton, Arkell and Glenmorris. George
39 Waterloo Region Generations, Samuel Joseph Cheery. Access:--< http://generations.regionofwaterloo.ca/ getperson.php?personID=I89122&tree=generations> (December 2011). 40 Kitchener Public Library, Grace Schmidt Room of Local History Digital Collection, Samuel J. Cherry. Access:--< http://images.ourontario.ca/kitchener/ 44187/data?n=14> (November 2011); and, “Samuel Cherry”, Fifth Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society. Vol. V (1917) 55. 41 Kitchener Public Library, Grace Schmidt Room of Local History Digital Collection, Samuel J. Cherry. 42 “Samuel Cherry”, Fifth Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society. Vol. V (1917) 55.
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Cherry retired in 1929 and died on November 5, 1944 at his home at No. 126 King Street, Preston, Ontario.43 The Cherry family maintained management control over the mill until 1923 when it was taken over by Standard Milling Company. On December 26th, 1928, the Waterloo Historical Society placed a commemorative plaque on the mill building. It read,
”Oldest Place of Continuous Business in Waterloo Count”
The First Grist mill on this Site was built by John Erb in 1807. Succeeding owners were: Joseph Erb, 1832; Abram A., Cyrus, Jacob K., and Joseph J. Erb, 1867: Samuel J. and John Cherry, 1879; Samuel J. Cherry, 1886; S.J. Cherry and Sons, 1913; Standard Milling Company of Canada Limited, 1923.
By the 1950s, this site was the only flourmill left in the geographic township of Waterloo. It continued to produce flour into the late 20th century. It was operated as the Dover Flour Mill for some years, and currently as P & H Flouring Company.
The residence located at 140 King Street West served as the office of Dover Mills for a number of years and is now an employee lunchroom. The four storey buff brick mill building built by Cherry in 1894, which is clad in modern metal siding, and the original millrace from the Speed River remain on the site.
3.0 CULTURAL HERITAGE LANDSCAPE DESCRIPTION
3.1 Area Context
The area immediately around the location of the Riverside Dam has undergone numerous changes since 1990. The industrial site buildings associated with the Preston Furniture Company, later Hedstorm Canada at No. 185 King Street East have been demolished. The Rivers Edge Condo and Luxury Apartment I & II development has been built on the location of the former Clare Bros. City Bakery & Café now occupies the self service Shell Station beside the Grand Valley Auctions at No. 194 King Street East. On the P&H Milling Group site, the residence once located at No. 126 King Street West has been demolished for a parking lot. The Grand River Railway Shop just off King Street West beside Riverside Park has been demolished.44
The street alignment of King Street has remained essentially unchanged since the early 19th century. The T intersection of King Street north of the road bridge over the Speed River allows for a framed view of the bridge crossing. Long views up and down the
43 George A. Cherry, (1863-1944) Access:--< http://generations.regionofwaterloo.ca/getperson. php? personID= I89120&tree=generations> (December 2011). 44 Wendy Shearer Landscape Architect Limited and Unterman McPhail Cuming Associates. The Preston Mills Heritage Conservation District Study, Heritage Assessment Report (Prepared for the City of Cambridge, September 1990).
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Speed River and of the dam to the east of the bridge are possible for pedestrians on the King Street Bridge. Riverside Dam can also be viewed downstream from Riverside Park and along the CP rail line. The City of Cambridge Mill Run Trail is located in Riverside Park, the largest park in Cambridge. Connecting Hespeler to Preston, this 6.5-km long trail follows the 1895 right-of-way for the Galt, Preston, Hespeler Electric Railway Line that opened in January 1896 between Preston Junction Station at the King Street entrance to Riverside Park and the Village of Hespeler. In 1918, a new right-of-way was built further away from the river to solve the problem of the rail line being under water when the Speed River flooded in the spring. As the Mill Run Trail follows the Speed River from Hespeler, under the highway to Riverside Park to the King Street Bridge, three mill races are noted as points of interest: Pattinson’s Mill that includes a remnant of the dam and mill race associated with Preston; and associated with Hespeler, the Silknit dam and mill race (formerly R. Forbes Co. Mill built in1864 and later Dominion Woollens and Worsteds) and the site of Jacob Hespeler’s 1847 stone dam associated with a grist, flour, saw mills and a distillery and cooperage.
Riverside Park, the largest park in Cambridge, was opened in the late 19th century on the north banks of the Speed River adjacent to the Cambridge Mills area. Originally it contained a race track. The existing entrance gates located on the east side of King Street north of the Speed River were built in 1921-22. The City of Cambridge designated the structure in 1993 under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, and erected a commemorative plaque noting the entrance gates as a heritage landmark. The Riverside Park Gates form a part of the streetscape as a prominent landmark and gateway to the Riverside Park, greeting vehicular and pedestrian traffic from King Street. The park contains a band stand, splash pad, playgrounds, tennis courts, a soccer pitch, skateboard park, picnic areas, walking trails and baseball fields. It is often used for Canada Day celebrations. The 7.5 km Mill Run Trail runs northeast from the park at Russ Street, along the banks of the Speed River, to Sheffield Street in the town of Hespeler. The Speed River is designated as a Canadian Heritage River and is under the management of the Grand River Conservation Authority.
3.2 Site Description
For the purposes of this report, the Riverside Dam runs in a north to south direction with the upstream to the east and the downstream to the west. The dam is situated 30 m east of King Street East (formerly Highway 8) and the Speed River Bridge on the Speed River and approximately 1.8 km metres upstream of the confluence of the Speed River and the Grand River and beside Riverside Park. (Figure 10).
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Figure 10. Aerial of the Riverside Dam site in the former municipality of Preston, now City of Cambridge [Google Maps 2011].
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Currently, the area immediately around the Riverside Dam is characterized by the Speed River, the CN timber trestle railway bridge carrying a railway spur line, the King Street Bridge over the waterway, the north stoplog sluiceway the runs under King Street to the P&H Milling Group mill site, and Riverside Park. The King Street Bridge was rebuilt in 1987 using the design of the earlier 1923-24 concrete bridge structure. The CN spur line was built after 1900 and before 1910.
The dam comprises a stone north control structure and a stone south control structure with a stone south abutment. The north control structure is relatively complete, while the south control structure has collapsed into the river. Upstream from the dam structure, the head pond has deeper water and a low flow velocity. The north shore is sand and silt with gravel and seasonal vegetation. There are some large trees on the bank. Shrubs and aquatic vegetation define the south shore. Downstream from the dam and east of the King Street Bridge is a wide and shallow channel. Stone masonry retaining walls are located on both the north and south banks of the river. The CN timber trestle bridge curves northward across the downstream side of the dam, partially obscuring the view of the dam from the King Street Bridge
4.0 DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILT HERITAGE RESOURCE
The following description of the dam is based on the Sanchez Engineering Inc. report (October 2009) and a site visit in November 2011. No drawings of the dam structure or the adjacent control structure were provided by the City of Cambridge. Measurements of the structures are taken from the Sanchez Engineering Inc. report (2008). For the purposes of this report the dam runs in a north to south direction with upstream to the east and downstream to the west.
4.1 Riverside Dam
The Riverside Dam is a gravity dam with two control towers built as part of the dam (Figure 11) . The foundations of the dam sit directly on river alluvium consisting of dense to very dense coarse sand and gravel, cobbles and boulders.45 The dam is about 66.8 m long with an approximately 1.5 m high concrete weir.46 It is classified as a Small Size Dam based on its height (<7.5 m) and on the head pond storage (<1000,000 m3).47
The dam structure has two control tower structures, one on the north end and one on the south end. The two control structures were built with a set of stoplogs for controlling the water level; however, there is no mechanism for the removal and replacement of the stoplogs.48 The rubblestone core and coursed, ashlar pattern, limestone facing of the north and south control towers possibly dates from the 1860s when local history suggests the
45 Sanchez Engineering Inc. The City of Cambridge Riverside Dam Structural Evaluation and Detailed Design (Final Report October 2009) 40. 46 Ibid, 11. 47 Ibid, 23. 48 Ibid, 11. Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013
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Erb brothers built a new stone dam for their mill. The two control towers are shown on c1900 bird’s-eye aerial of Preston (Appendix A). The older illustrations and postcards of the two control towers indicate they originally had a slightly raised or chamfered top cap. The existing concrete cap and some concrete repair work at the top was probably added in the early 20th century as repairs.
Figure 11. View east to the Riverside Dam on the Speed River with CN railway spur line in the foreground.
There are three stone buttresses on the downstream side of the structure placed on the ends and two, round-headed stone arch outlets. Photographs from 2009 show the south control tower is of the same design as the north control tower with two stone arch water outlets with more concrete repair work. The north control tower is relatively intact while the south control tower has collapsed and been repaired with concrete.
A third control structure, referred to as a stoplog control sluiceway, is located immediately north of the river dam. It is associated with the former mill race to the mill. This concrete structure measures 8.4 m long and 2.6 m high. It releases water flow into the north branch of the river, which was once constituted the millrace for the Cambridge mill. The c1900 bird’s-eye view of Preston indicates there was once a taller control tower structure, similar in design to the control towers on the dam, standing on the north bank at the gate (Appendix A). The banks of the Speed River at the dam are held in place by coursed, stone retaining wall.
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Figure 14. North elevation of the stoplog sluiceway Figure 15. West elevation of the south structure at the mill race. stone masonry control tower and rubblestone debris.
Figure 13. West elevation of the north stone masonry control tower.
Figure 12. View north to the railway spur downstream from the dam. Figure 16. Existing Conditions Plan, Riverside Dam, Structural Evaluation & Detailed Design, Cambridge, Ontario, Drawing 1X. Sanchez Engineering Inc., October 2008.
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5.0 CULTURAL HERITAGE RESOURCE EVALUATION
5.1 Introduction
The Cambridge Mills Dam, also known as Riverside Dam, on King Street West, Preston, is included on the City of Cambridge Heritage Properties Inventory (October 2010) as a property of interest by the Cambridge Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee (MHAC) for its architectural and/or historical significance. This document is a council endorsed inventory of known built heritage resources in the City of Cambridge.
The Heritage Planner at the City of Cambridge confirmed the Riverside Dam is not listed on a municipal heritage register adopted under the Ontario Heritage Act and it is not municipally designated under the Ontario Heritage Act. The site is not recognized through a local, provincial or federal plaque program.
The following municipally listed and designated properties adjacent to the Riverside Dam are included on the City of Cambridge Heritage Properties Inventory. The Landmark Series comprises properties noted under a summer program as being of potential heritage interest or value, but not evaluated. o Riverside Park Main Entrance Gates – municipally designated o No. 1633 King Street East – listed o No. 101 King Street West – Erb House/Triangle Traffic Services, Landmark Series – listed o No. 140 King Street West – Cherry-Taylor Flour Mills – listed o No. 134 King Street West – Cottage – Landmark Series
The Speed River is a Canadian Heritage River. The GRCA has identified the Riverside Dam, referred to as the Cherry-Taylor Mill Dam, as a heritage structure on its Heritage River Inventory.
5.2 Evaluation
The criteria for determining cultural heritage value or interest were set out under Ontario Regulation 9/06 made under the Ontario Heritage Act, as amended in 2005. These criteria were developed to assist municipalities in the evaluation of properties considered for designation. The regulation states that:
“A property may be designated under section 29 of the Act if it meets one or more of the following criteria for determining whether it is of cultural heritage value or interest: 1. The property has design value or physical value because it, i. is a rare, unique, representative or early example of a style, type, expression, material or construction method, ii. displays a high degree of craftsmanship or artistic merit, or iii. demonstrates a high degree of technical or scientific achievement. 2. The property has historical value or associative value because it,
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i. has direct associations with a theme, event, belief, person, activity, organization or institution that is significant to a community, ii. yields, or has the potential to yield , information that contributes to an understanding of a community or culture, or iii. demonstrates or reflects the work or ideas of an architect, artist, builder, designer or theorist who is significant to a community. 3. The property has contextual value because it, i. is important in defining, maintaining, or supporting the character of an area, ii. is physically, functionally, visually or historically linked to its surroundings, or iii. is a landmark.”
The evaluation criteria set out under Ontario Regulation 9/06 were applied to the Riverside Dam structure.
5.2.1 Design Value or Physical Value
Design or Physical Value i. Rare, unique, representative or early example of a style, type, expression, material or construction method. N/A ii. Displays a high degree of craftsmanship or artistic merit. ✔ iii. Demonstrates a high degree of technical or scientific achievement N/A i. Representative example of a style, type – The existing Riverside Dam was built in the 19th century, possibly as part of renovations carried out by Samuel Cherry in the early 1890s. ii. Craftsmanship or artistic merit – The stone masonry of the control towers of the Riverside Dam indicate a skilled stonemason was used in the construction of the structure. iii. Technical or scientific achievement – The Riverside Dam is a typical gravity style dam, and is not considered to demonstrate a high degree of technical or scientific achievement.
5.2.2 Historical Value or Associative Value
Historical or Associative Value i. Has direct associations with a theme, event, belief, person, activity, organization or institution that is significant to a community ✔ ii. Yields, or has the potential to yield, information that contributes to an understanding of a community or culture ✔ iii. Demonstrates or reflects the work or ideas of an architect, artist, builder, designer or theorist who is significant to a community N/A
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The Speed Dam, or the Riverside Dam, was prominently shown in postcards of the early 20th century and is linked historically from the 1890s onwards with the cultural landscape of the neighbouring Riverside Park. The existing millrace and the dam structure are linked physically and historically to the first mills built by the Erb family and its owners to the present P&H Flour Mill site. Thus, the dam structure played a significant role in the industrial development of Preston through its association with Cambridge Mills from the early 1800s to the present. As well, it has social significance in the community of Preston. ii. Contributes to an understanding of a community or culture. A dam structure on the Speed River in the location of the Riverside Dam has been associated with a mill site since the Erb’s established their first buildings in 1805-1807. Erb’s Mills, later Cambridge Mills, was the nucleus for the development of the village of Preston. The Erb mill was a prominent business in the 19th century economy of Preston, as was the Cherry Mills in the late 19th century and early 20th century. In 1928, the Waterloo Historical Society placed a commemorative plaque on the mill building noting it was the oldest place of continuous business in Waterloo County at the time. The mill site is still operational today, 84 years after the commemorative plaque was unveiled. The dam is an important component in the understanding of the history of the mill site, and therefore, the development of Preston.
Riverside Dam is considered to yield significant information that contributes to an understanding of the community. iii. Demonstrates work of a builder, designer who is significant to a community – The current dam structure was probably built for Samuel Cherry, the owner of the Cambridge Mills in the early 1890s. The name of the builder is unknown.
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5.2.3 Contextual Value
Contextual Value i. Is important in defining, maintaining, or supporting the character of an area. ✔ ii. Is physically, functionally, visually or historically linked to its surroundings. ✔ iii. Is a landmark. ✔ ii. Character – The Speed River with the King Street Bridge, the P&H Flour Mill and Riverside Park define the character of the area. There is mixed land use along the riverbanks including former industrial and current lands, commercial use and recreational use. A millrace, adjacent and linked to the dam structure visually and functionally, carries the north branch of the Speed River to the P&H Flour Mill. Riverside Dam is important in defining, maintaining, and supporting this area character. As well, as part of the P&H Flour Mill landscape, it is an important element mill in interpreting the industrial history of the Speed River between Preston and Hespeler. The Riverside Dam would be an important addition to this interpretive story of the Mill Run Trail between Preston and Hespeler. ii. Linkages –Riverside Dam is physically, functionally, visually, and historically linked to its surroundings including the mill race, the P&H Flour Mill and Riverside Park. A dam structure has been situated on the Speed River in this location since the first mills built between 1805-07. It is shown on the 1852 map of Preston. The construction date of the current dam structure is undetermined, however, it may have been built by Samuel Cherry for the his mill in the early 1890s. Therefore, it has been linked to the mill site, as well as Riverside Park landscape, for over 115 years. The route of the early 19th century millrace, built by the Erbs is still in-situ adjacent to the dam structure, and water flows under the current mill structure. iii. Landmark –Riverside Dam is located on the Speed River and is a physical and symbolic landmark within the area. Although a clear view of the dam structure from the King Street Bridge has been somewhat obscured by the CN railway spur since the early 20th century, the dam structure and its control tower structures are clearly visible from the north and south banks of the Speed River, and form part of an important view of the Speed River from Riverside Park. The dam has been a popular landmark in Preston since the mid 1800s. It was mentioned as a popular place for swimming and skating as early as the 1860s, and early twentieth century postcards of Preston feature the Speed River Dam showing boaters and people fishing from the dam structure. It has also been a part of the Riverside Park landscape since the 1890s. Riverside Dam has been a well-known and significant landmark in Preston since the mid 19th century.
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5.3 Summary of Cultural Heritage Value
It is determined through the application of the Criteria for Determining Cultural Heritage Value under Ontario Regulation 9/06 of the Ontario Heritage Act, as amended in 2005, that the Riverside Dam is considered to be of cultural heritage value for design/physical, historical and contextual reasons. As a structure of municipal heritage significance it is considered to be worthy of designation under the Ontario Heritage Act.
5.3.1 Statement of Cultural Heritage Value
The Riverside Dam is a gravity dam with two, stone masonry control towers built as part of the structure. A dam structure has stood in the Speed River at this location since John Erb built his first mills on the Speed River between 1805 and 1807. Local history suggests A.A. Erb & Brothers built a new stone dam for the Cambridge Mills in this location in 1864. It is possible some of the stone masonry construction of the existing dam is from this period of time. A dam in this location provided waterpower to John Erb’s first mills (1806-07), the A.A. Erb & Brothers Cambridge Mills (1832-1879) and the Cherry Flour Mill, owned and operated by Samuel Cherry (1879 to 1923). The dam is an important element of the cultural heritage landscape encompassing the P&H Flour Mill site, the King Street Bridge, Riverside Park and the CPR railway line and wood trestle. It is located on the Speed River, which is a federally designated Canadian Heritage River.
Riverside Dam is closely associated with the Cambridge Mills site, now P&H Flour Mill, which has been an important industry in Preston and area from 1806 to the present and formed part of a cultural heritage landscape that includes, but is not limited to, the dam, mill sluiceway structure and mill race, and the mill buildings. The Waterloo Historical Society commemorated the Cambridge Mills site in 1928 as the oldest continuous place of business in Waterloo County at that time. It is still operating 84 years later. The mill has been a major employer of Preston residents for over two hundred years.
The Riverside Dam forms part of a large industrial cultural heritage landscape that extends along the Speed River from Hespeler to Preston. This landscape includes the three mill sites identified on the Mill Run Trail.
Riverside Dam forms part of the cultural heritage landscape associated with Riverside Park.
5.3.2 Description of Heritage Attributes
Heritage attributes, i.e., character defining elements, of the Riverside Dam structure include, but are not limited to: o the limestone facing stone on north control and south control structures; o the round headed stone arches with stone voussoirs on south elevation of north control structure; and,
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o the stone buttresses on south elevation of north control structure (buttresses on south control structure are hidden from view).
Although not physically linked to the Riverside Dam, the sluice gate to the former mill race to its north is considered to be an important defining element in the landscape associated with the dam.
6.0 MITIGATION RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1 Introduction
The City of Cambridge has completed a Municipal Class EA for the Riverside Dam structure on the Speed River in Preston. An undertaking should not adversely affect cultural heritage resources and intervention should be managed in such a way that its impact is sympathetic with the value of the resources. When the nature of the undertaking is such that adverse impacts are unavoidable, it may be necessary to implement management or mitigation strategies that alleviate the deleterious effects of the undertaking to cultural heritage resources. Mitigation measures lessen or negate anticipated adverse impacts to cultural heritage resources. These measures may include such actions as avoidance, monitoring, protection, relocation documentation, salvage, remedial landscaping, etc., and may be a temporary or permanent action.
The principal heritage philosophy for the protection of cultural heritage resources is retention in-situ. The protection of built heritage resources is to preserve in-situ the structures and their material integrity to the maximum extent possible, consistent with public safety. The following heritage conservation options, listed in descending order of preference, should be considered within the context of the project:
1. Retention of existing built heritage resource in-situ with no major modifications. 2. Retention of existing built heritage resource in-situ with sympathetic modifications. 3. Retention of existing built heritage resource adapted for a new use, e.g., pedestrian walkway, bicycle path or scenic viewing with a new sympathetically designed structure in proximity. 4. Relocation of existing built heritage resource to an appropriate new site nearby in its municipality, preferably in the vicinity of the existing site to preserve its historical value. 5. Salvage of elements of built heritage resource for incorporation into other structures. 6. Full recording and documentation of the built heritage resource and its associated cultural heritage landscape if it is to be demolished.
The Riverside Dam is considered to be of municipal heritage significance (See Section 5.3.1 Statement of Cultural Heritage Value and 5.3.2 Heritage Attributes) and is worthy of designation under the Ontario Heritage Act.
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6.2 Mitigation Recommendations
The most appropriate mitigation recommendations will be dependent on the conclusions of the engineering study for the Riverside Dam. The mitigation recommendations are:
o If it is determined it is feasible to rehabilitate the existing structure, modifications should be sympathetic and care should be taken to conserve the character defining elements of the bridge (see 5.3.2 Heritage Attributes). o If rehabilitation occurs, it is recommended the Riverside Dam be municipally designated under the Ontario Heritage Act. The sluice gate to the former mill race located immediately north of the dam should be included in the heritage designation description and notice. o If it is determined it is not feasible to rehabilitate the existing dam structure and it is to be decommissioned and removed, full recording and documentation of the dam and its associated cultural heritage landscape, including the stoplog sluiceway structure, the mill race under King Street, the Cambridge Mills site and Riverside Park in the area of the dam, should be completed prior to its removal and any modifications to its surroundings. o Given the demonstrated cultural heritage value of the existing dam, if it is determined a replacement dam structure is to built, it should be designed in such a manner as to complement the scenic character and views along the Speed River. The design of a replacement dam and associated construction activities should not impact any adjacent structures, i.e., the stoplog sluiceway structure and mill race. o If the dam is not rehabilitated in full, or rebuilt, consideration should be given to the rehabilitation of parts of the existing structure, e.g., the north or south control structures in-situ, or for the relocation of the control structure(s) to nearby Riverside Park as part of the interpretation of the dam site.
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SOURCES
Bloomfield, Elizabeth. Waterloo Township Through Two Centuries. Waterloo Historical Society, October 1995.
Bloomfield Elizabeth, and Stelter, Gilbert A. Guelph and Wellington County: A bibliography of Settlement and Development since 1800. Guelph Regional Project University of Guelph, Ontario: 1988.
Bray Heritage, et. al., Cambridge Heritage Master Plan, Final Report. Prepared for The Corporation of the City of Cambridge, June 2008.
City of Cambridge Heritage Properties Inventory. October 2010.
Illustrated Atlas of the County of Waterloo. Toronto: H. Parsell & Co., 1881.
McLaughlin, Kenneth. Cambridge: the making of a Canadian city, 1st ed. Windsor, Ontario: 1987.
Paulter, Alfred. Preston: a friendly welcome awaits you. Preston, Ontario: Preston Corporation, c1949.
Quantrell, Jim. Cambridge Mosaics. City of Cambridge, Ontario, 1998.
Sanchez Engineering Inc. The City of Cambridge Riverside Dam Structural Evaluation and Detailed Design. Final Report October 2009.
Smith, Wm. H. Smith’s Canadian Gazetteer. Toronto: H. & W. Rowsell, 1846.
Smith, W. H. Canada, Past, Present and Future. Toronto: T. Maclear, 1851.
Waterloo Historical Society Annual Report. Byerley, A.E. “Preston in 1866”, Twenty-first Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society,1933, 53-56.
Klotz, Otto. “Sketch of the History of the Village of Preston”, Fifth Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society. 1917, 24-40.
Klotz, Otto. “Preston, reminiscences”, Ninth Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society. 1921, 171-182.
“Preston Mill Historical Tablet”, Waterloo Historical Society, 1928, 77-78.
“Samuel Cherry”, Waterloo Historical Society. Vol. V. Kitchener. Ontario: Waterloo Historical Society, 1917, 55.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013
Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
Velae, Barbara J. A Decade in the Canadian Heritage Rivers System: A Review off the Grand Strategy 1994-2004. Cambridge, Ontario: Cambridge River Conservation Authority, May 2004.
Wendy Shearer Landscape Architect Limited and Unterman McPhail Cuming Associates. The Preston Mills Heritage Conservation District Study, Heritage Assessment Report. Prepared for the City of Cambridge, September 1990.
Wright, J.R. Urban Parks in Ontario, Part II: The Public Park Movement 1860-1914. Ottawa: University of Ottawa, 1984.
Web Sites
Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, About Cambridge History, Brief History of the Community of Preston. Access;--< http://cambridgeweb.net/historical/preston.html > (November 20, 2011)
Canada’s Historic Places, Canadian Register, Riverside Park Gates, Cambridge Ontario. Access:--< http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=15304 > (November 2011).
Dover Industries Limited. History. Access:--< http://www.dovergrp.com/ dover_flour_history.htm> (November 2011).
Ezra Eby. From Pennsylvania to Waterloo: A Biographical History of Waterloo. Access:--< http://ebybook.region.waterloo.on.ca/about.php> (November 2011).
Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA). Heritage River Inventory, Searchable heritage database. Cherry-Taylor Mill Dam, Cambridge. Access:--< http://www.grandriver.ca/heritage/Results.aspx?HIT_ ID=15362> (April 2012).
Searchable Old Time Trains. Access:--< http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/ CPEL/history.htm> (December 2011).
Township. Kitchener Public Library, Grace Schmidt Room of Local History Digital Collection, Samuel J. Cherry. Access:--< http://images.ourontario.ca/kitchener/ 44187/data?n=14> (November 2011).
Trails, trails and more trails. Cambridge Mills, a virtual visit to the pat and present. Access:--< http://www3.sympatico.ca/bobmcmu/Cambridge_Mills.htm> (November 2011).
TrainWeb Galt & Preston Street Railway. Access:--< http://www.trainweb.org/elso/gph.htm> (December 2011).
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013
Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
Grand River Railway. Access:--< http://www.trainweb.org/elso/grr.htm> (December 2011). Mill Run Trail. Access:--< http://www.trainweb.org/elso/millrun.htm> (December 2011). Preston & Berlin Street Railway. Access;--< http://www.trainweb.org/elso/pb.htm> (December 2011).
Waterloo Region Generations, Samuel Joseph Cherry. Access:--< http://generations.regionofwaterloo.ca/getperson.php?personID= I89122&tree=generations> (December 2011). George A. Cherry, (1863-1944) Access:--< http://generations.regionofwaterloo.ca/getperson.php?personID= I89120&tree=generations> (December 2011).
Waterloo Regional Museum/Inductees, Samuel J. Cherry (1843-1917). Access:--< http://waterlooregionmuseum.com/region-hall-of-fame/inductees---a-to- c.aspx> (December 2011). John Erb (1764-1832) Access:--< http://waterlooregionmuseum.com/region-hall-of-fame/inductees---d-to- f.aspx> (December 2011). Frederich Guggisberg (1818-1888) Access:--< http://waterlooregionmuseum.com/ region-hall-of-fame/inductees---g-to- i.aspx> (December 2011).
Your Heritage Waterloo Region. Mennonites and Milling in Waterloo Region. Access:--
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013
Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
Maps, Drawings and Photographs
City of Cambridge Archives. Maps. Town of Preston with Views of Principal Business Buildings, c1900. Map of the Village of Preston in the County of Waterloo, Canada West. Otto Klotz, Conveyancer, 1852. Photographs: PC137. Preston Dam late 1860s, early 1870s. PC 138, Preston Dam, c1907. PC 140, Preston Dam, n.d., PC148, Preston Dam, c1907. PH787, Preston Dam, n.d. PH1323, Preston Dam. n.d. PH6380, James Esson, King Street, Preston, n.d. PH6382, Preston Dam, n.d. PH6554, Aerial c1974.
City of Toronto Reference Library (TRL). Virtual Reference Library. Fire Insurance Plan, Preston, Ontario. Chas. E. Goad, Montreal, 1910. Title page. Access:--< http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDMDC- OHQ-MAPS-C-R-289&R=DC-OHQ-MAPS-C-R-289&searchPageType=vrl (November 2011); and, Page 3. Access:--
Library and Archives of Canada (LAC) James Esson, PA-029073, Item No. 16349, Preston, Ontario, Dam Speed River, 1905.
Map of Waterloo Township, Illustrated Atlas of the County of Waterloo. Toronto: H. Parsell & Co., 1881.
Tremaine’s Map of the County of Waterloo, Canada West, 1861.
Mennonite Archives of Ontario. Photograph, 1992-7.1 Erb’s Mill.
Preston in 1856. Fifth Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society, 1917, frontispiece.
Preston Towne Centre Core Area and Business Improvement Area (BIA) Boundaries. The Corporation of the City of Cambridge, July 2011
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013
Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
Sanchez Engineering Inc Existing Conditions Plan, Riverside Dam, Structural Evaluation & Detailed Design, Cambridge, Ontario, Drawing 1X, October 2008.
TrainWeb. GP&H 51 crosses the Speed River as it departs Preston for Hespeler. Access:--< http://www.trainweb.org/elso/GPH_51.HTM> (November 2011).
University of Waterloo. Maps, University Map Library, Air Photos Digitization Project, Digital Historical Air Photos of Kitchener-Waterloo, Photo IMD16. Access:--< http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/locations/umd/project/IMD16.html> (November 21, 2011). 1945 : A9196_14 1955: 4319_168, 4319_170, 4318_230, 4318_232
View of Cambridge Mills, 1886 [Fifth Annual Report of the Waterloo Historical Society, 1917, 31].
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013
APPENDIX A: Historical Maps, Aerial Views and Photographs
Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix A Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
On this 1852 map the dam, bridge, mill race associated with the Cambridge Mills and the north branch of the Speed River are depicted. Joseph Erb owned land on the north side of Main (King) Street and A. A. Erb & Bros, owned south of Main (King) Street [Map of the Village of Preston in the County of Waterloo, Canada West. Otto Klotz, Conveyancer, 1852].
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix A Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
Location of Riverside Dam on Speed River in the Village of Preston as shown on Tremaine’s Map of the County of Waterloo, Canada West, 1861.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix A Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
Map of Waterloo Township showing the Town of Preston development south of the Speed River and the location of the Riverside Dam [Illustrated Atlas of the County of Waterloo. Toronto: H. Parsell & Co., 1881].
Cambridge Mills, c1880. Photograph noted as the John Erb mill [Mennonite Archives of Ontario].
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix A Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
View northwest showing the Galt, Preston and Hespeler Railway spur, the pre-1927 metal truss King Street Bridge, Cambridge Mills in the background, and the north retaining wall west of the dam and mill race in the background, circa early 1900s. Note the low water level immediately downstream from the dam, which is to the right just outside the photograph [PH6381, City of Cambridge Archives].
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix A Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
Town of Preston with Views of Principal Business Buildings, c1900. Note Riverside Dam shown with the north and south control towers, the north stoplog sluiceway and mill race leading to S.J. Cherry’s Cambridge Roller Mills [City of Cambridge Archives
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix A Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
Location of stone masonry constructed Riverside Dam [Toronto Reference Library: Underwriter’s Survey Bureau, Fire Insurance Pan of Preston, Ontario, 1910].
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix A Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
View of the dam on the Speed River in 1907 showing the Galt, Preston & Hespeler Railway bridge railway spur in the foreground and the Riverside Dam and the north control tower with an ashlar pattern stone exterior [PC 148, City of Cambridge Archives].
Galt, Preston & Hespeler Car 51 crossing the Speed River leaving Preston for Hespeler, circa the early 20thC Note the Riverside Dam to the right with the stone embankment wall and mill race to the north [TrainWeb].
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix A Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
1945 aerial view (above) and 1955 aerial view (below) of the Riverside Dam and the Speed River in Preston Ontario [University of Waterloo Map Library, Air Photos Digitization Project, Digital Historical Air Photos of Kitchener-Waterloo, Photo IMD16.].
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix A Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
Aerial view showing Riverside Dam c1974 [City of Cambridge Archives, PH 6554].
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013
APPENDIX B: Photographs, Context
Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix B Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
View west from Riverside Park to the dam and Speed River Bridge on King Street East.
View southwest to former mill race gate on right and the Riverside Dam.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix B Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
Riverside Park Memorial Entrance Gates.
City of Cambridge Heritage Landmark plaque on Riverside Park Gates.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix B Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
View south along former mill race on west side of King Street showing the north branch of Speed River on H&P Milling Group site.
View to the northwest of the King Street road bridge over the Speed River to the H&P Milling Group site, former site of 19th century Cambridge Mills that includes a former residence at No. 146 King Street West.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix B Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
No. 149 King Street West.
No. 101 King Street West.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix B Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
View south to CPR tracks and Riverside Dam with Rivers Edge Development in the background.
View south over the Speed River Bridge on King Street with CPR bridge to left.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix B Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
View north over Speed River Bridge on King Street East.
View east from Speed River Bridge to the CPR wood trestle bridge in front of Riverside Dam.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix B Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
View northward to Riverside Dam, the CPR track, the Speed River Bridge and H&P Flour Mills in the background.
Commemorative plaque on the southeast corner of the 1987 Speed River Bridge.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix B Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
No. 204 (to right) and No. 210 (to left) King Street East.
No. 223 King Street East.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013
APPENDIX C: Photographs Riverside Dam
Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix C Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
View northwest to the Riverside Dam with the remains of the south control structure in the foreground.
View north to dam with the south elevation of the south control structure in the foreground.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix C Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
View to northwest corner elevation of the south control structure on dam. Note the south elevation has been hidden behind the rock deposited into the Speed River.
View south to Riverside Dam.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix C Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
View east of north end of Riverside Dam showing the stone retaining wall and north control structure.
South elevation of the north control tower showing the older limestone masonry and round arch voussoirs and quoins highlighting the two downstream water outlets.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013 Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report: Riverside Dam Appendix C Speed River, Preston, City of Cambridge, Ontario
Sluice gate located to the north of the main dam structure. It was the entrance to the former mill race to the Cambridge Mills and now serves as an outlet for the north branch of the Speed River.
Unterman McPhail Associates June 2012 Heritage Resource Management Consultants Revised March 2013