While Schneider Haus National Historic Site has previously focused on one year of the history of the site we are currently working on a long process of researching and working with community members to expand the narrative and accurately reflect the history of our site and its many untold stories. We welcome feedback from community members. If you have anything to share please contact us at schneiderhaus@regionofwaterloo.ca
Who Were the Schneiders?
The Schneider Family arrived in what is now Waterloo Region in June 1807. By 1816, Joseph had built a sawmill and a substantial Georgian-style wood-frame home for his growing family. He had cleared a road - called Schneider Road - through the bush to link his farm with the Great Road from Dundas. It was at this intersection that a town gradually grew up, eventually becoming Kitchener.
By 1834, Joseph's youngest son and namesake, Joseph Eby Schneider, was married. His wife Sarah moved into the house and she and Joseph eventually took over the operation of the farm and mill. Old Joseph and his wife Barbara both died in 1843. By then, Joseph E.'s family was growing and his business was thriving. By 1856 there were eight children living in the house ranging in age from two to 18 years. It is the life of this second Schneider family, pictured right, that plays itself out in the restored historic house today.
The 1850s were a prosperous period for the Schneiders. With the arrival of the railroad, the town of Berlin (now the city of Kitchener) flourished and many more goods and services became available.
Much has changed since the 1850s. The Schneider's original farm was 448 acres. Victoria Park occupies the land where the saw mill once stood. And Schneider Road is now Queen Street.
Schneider Haus History
Built in 1816, Schneider Haus is a local landmark that was restored and opened as a living history museum in 1981. The Haus was built by some of the area's earliest non-Indigenous settlers, Joseph and Barbara Schneider, Pennsylvania-German Mennonites.
The site began as a family home, transitioned into a rental property, then a provincial historic site and finally the community museum it is today.
Restoration of the Site
This prominent Kitchener building has undergone many changes since first being erected in 1816. By 1979, when the restoration process first began, the building had been converted into a duplex and its walls were layered with paint and wallpaper.
Through dedication and careful research, a team of historians, architects, archaeologists, volunteers, and craftspeople revealed the details of the house's earlier life. Structural changes that had been made in the 1840s and 50s are represented in today's interpretation of the historic homestead. By 1856, the Schneiders had replaced their open hearth with a modern cook stove, the kitchen had been expanded and a back porch added. On the exterior of the house, the original plaster siding had been replaced with weatherboarding.
Details of the renovation process are outlined in This Old Haus: A Place in Time by the museum's founding curator, Susan M. Burke, available in the museum gift-shop.
