The Regional Municipality of Waterloo is located approximately 100km West of Toronto. It is bisected from north to south by the Grand River and east to west by Highway 401. The area was first settled in the early 1800's by Pennsylvania German Mennonites by purchase of a grant of land known as the German Company Tract. Waterloo County was first organized in 1852. The County seat was the Town of Berlin, now the City of Kitchener. The Regional Municipality of Waterloo was formed in 1972 as part of the general reorganization and modernization of municipal government in Ontario. The Regional Municipality has the same boundaries as the former County. Within the Regional Municipality are the Cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge. The City of Kitchener has amalgamated with it the villages of Bridgeport, Freeport, and Doon. The City of Cambridge has amalgamated with it the towns of Preston, Hespler, and Galt and the villages of Blair, and Shade's Mills. There are also four rural Townships, North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot, and Woolwich. The Township of North Dumfries has amalgamated with it the villages of Ayr, Branchton, Clyde, Hawkesville, Haysville, and Macton. The Township of Wellesley has amalgamated with it the villages of Bamburg, Crosshill, Linwood, Phillipsburg, and Wellesley. The Township of Wilmot has amalgamated with it the villages of Baden, Mannheim, New Dundee, New Hamburg, Petersburg, and St. Agatha. The Township of Woolwich has amalgamated with it the town of Elmira, and the villages of Breslau, Bloomingdale, Conestogo, Floradale, Heidelberg, Maryhill, St. Clements, St. Jacobs, Wallenstein, West Montrose, and Winterbourne.
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