Preston, Ontario

Preston is a community in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. Prior to its amalgamation with Galt and Hespeler to form the new city in 1973, it was an independent town. It is located near the confluence of the rivers Grand and Speed. Downtown Preston is commomly considered to be from the entrance of Riverside Park on King Street to the King and Bishop plaza.

History

Preston was originally formed on land belonging to the German Company Tract, which was purchased earlier from the Six Nations Indians. It was John Erb who bought the convert|7500|acre|km2|0 of land and settled it in 1805. He later built a sawmill in 1806 and a gristmill in 1807. This settlement became known as Cambridge Mills. The settlement grew and by 1879 there were many industries such as a foundry, carriage manufacturer, potteries and a furniture company. This was also the year that the Cherry Flour Mills started, which would later become the Dover Flour Mills. A Preston company that still operates today. Preston became a town in 1900, and had a population just under 11 000 by 1959.

Education

Preston is home to one high school, Preston High; one public middle school, William G Davis; as well as the elementary schools Preston Public, Coronation Public, Grandview Public, Parkway Public, Ryerson Public, St. Michael's Catholic and St. Joseph's Catholic. [Waterloo Region District School Board List of Schools] .

Parks and trails

The main park in Preston is Riverside Park. It is Cambridge's largest community park with an area of 1.02 km². The park contains a splash pad, two playgrounds,tennis courts, soccer pitch, a petting zoo, a skateboard park , picnic areas that can be reserved and a multitude of walking trails. The baseball fields are used often and on Canada Day there is always an event at the field whether it is a fair, bands at a bandstand, or fireworks. Riverside Park also hosts a fishing derby on Canada Day when support is available. The start of the Mill Run Trail to Hespler begins in Riverside Park. This 7.5 km trail is great for a bike ride and goes under a high way, through meadows, forests and beside a waterfall.Also in Preston is the Linear Park which has extensive trails for walking, running or biking. At some points going right beside the Grand and Speed rivers this trail gives a perfect view of the confluence of the Grand and the Speed Rivers. With countless trails to be discovered off the beaten path Linear Park is a great place to explore on a quiet afternoon.

Preston Towne Centre

This traditional downtown core area remains quite vibrant and through the B.I.A. has organized a closely knit group of merchants providing a wide range of goods and services in office-related industry, business service industries and licensed restaurants. The target market area is predominately the immediate surrounding residential area, which is constantly growing through new high density developments. In addition, high traffic counts through this area adds to the market potential.

The Grist Mill Centre including a new Giant Tiger Department store is a small commercial mall on King Street in Preston. Several beautification projects have added charm to the character of this area.

References

1. Waterloo Region District School Board List of Schools (http://www.wrdsb.on.ca/school_find_process.php?searchmethod=6)

ee also

*Cambridge, Ontario

External links

* [http://cambridgeweb.net/historical/preston.html cambridgeweb.net: Brief History of the community of Preston]