Previous Names: Bristow's Corners, Upper Woolwich, West Woolwich

Elmira House, ca. 1890 DHC X.965.761.001.37

Elmira, the urban heart of Woolwich Township was established around 1840 by Edward Bristow; the community had a post office from 1849. Until 1853 the community was called Bristow’s Corners; other ephemeral names for the village or its locale were Upper Woolwich and West Woolwich. Settled primarily by emigrants from continental Germany, the village was laid out for settlement by Joel Good, a major land owner in the area. Serving a prosperous farming township, by 1869 Elmira had reached a population of about 450, and in 1891, about 1,069. The Woolwich Agricultural Fair was held in Elmira from 1854, and since 1965 the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival has been an annual springtime attraction for thousands of visitors. From the late nineteenth century, Elmira was served by both the Grand Trunk Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway, spurring growth of Elmira’s furniture and other industries and trades. Elmira was incorporated as a town in 1923, and with reorganization of Waterloo County municipalities in 1973, it became the administrative center of an enlarged Woolwich Township.

Elmira Musical Society Band, ca. 1908. DHC X.965.164.002