Hespeler is a historic town located on the Speed River in southwestern Ontario. Its history dates back to 1784 when land was acquired from the Six Nations.

 

The town of Hespeler was originally called Bergeytown and then New Hope. In 1845 Jacob Hespeler arrived and purchased 145 acres of land on the Speed River. Subsequently, the settlement of New Hope was incorporated as the village of Hespeler in 1859. This was possible due to the arrival of the Great Western Railway to New Hope on its route from Galt to Guelph. As the village grew is was incorporated as a town in 1901. 

 

Historically Hespeler has had a strong industrial base starting with a grist mill, a distillery and a

textile mill followed by a foundry, a bathtub manufacturer, appliance manufacturing and the

famous Hespeler hockey stick factory.

 

In 1973 Hespeler joined with Preston and Galt to form Cambridge as part of the Regional

Municipality of Waterloo. Since that time Hespeler has continued to grow, adding a number of

businesses and residential neighbourhoods.