This house, constructed in 1820 by Joseph Schneider (1772-1843), is the oldest surviving dwelling in Kitchener. Built of frame and originally covered with roughcast, it has been little changed externally since 1850. Schneider, a native of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, purchased this lot in April, 1807 in the German Company tract in Waterloo Township. He arrived here in June of that year, and after clearing his farm and cutting a road along the line of Queen Street, built a sawmill in 1816. Shortly thereafter a small settlement began to form along "Schneider's Road", partly on his land, which became the village of "Berlin" and the nucleus of the city of Kitchener.

Location

On the grounds of the house, now a museum, 466 Queen Street South, Kitchener

Themes

• Buildings and structures
• Industry and trade