PUBLIC NOTICE - Notice of Intention to Designate - 3250 Beaverdale Road

In the matter of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, Ch.O.18. And in the matter of lands and premises at 3250 Beaverdale Road, City of Cambridge  in the Province of Ontario.

TAKE NOTICE THAT the Council of the Corporation of the City of Cambridge intends to designate the property municipally known as 3250 Beaverdale Road under Section 29, Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter O.18, as a property of cultural heritage value or interest.

Legal Description

PT LT 127 GERMAN COMPANY TRACT TWP OF WATERLOO; PT LT 1 BEASLEY'S MIDDLE BLK TWP OF WATERLOO (AKA BRICKER LT BEING PTS 1, 3 & 8 58R11612; CAMBRIDGE [PIN: 22739-0031 (LT)]

Description of Property

The property at 3250 Beaverdale Road is located on the east side of Beaverdale Road, south of Kossuth Road. It is located in the middle of an agricultural area, near a small body of water that is connected to the Speed River through a series of streams. The property contains a two-and-a-half storey red brick home with a buff brick rear tail, built in 1870 in the Georgian Mennonite architectural style.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest

Design and Physical Value

3250 Beaverdale Road is representative of a home built in the Georgian Mennonite architectural style. The two-and-a-half storey dwelling was built in 1870 by Mennonite settlers. It is distinguished by the red brick exterior, two-and-a-half storey massing, the buff brick rear tail, medium pitched gable roof, symmetrical paned glass windows, covered verandah, and column supports along the front verandah.

Historical and Associative Value

3250 Beaverdale Road was built in 1870 by Mennonite settlers and owned by the Snyder family, a local Mennonite family who contributed heavily to the development of the surrounding areas and the local religious community. Members of the Snyder family were highly regarded farmers, businessmen, and members of their local religious community.

Absalom Bricker Snyder (1861-1936), was a local Mennonite farmer and ordained preacher at the Wanner Mennonite Church in Cambridge. He was ordained in 1892 at the historic Wanner Mennonite church and transformed the way that his local religious community interacted with their church. From the start of his career as a preacher, he preached fully in English. He would continue to preach at Wanner until he retired in 1932, serving as a strong religious pillar in his community for over four decades.

Edward Groff Snyder (1905-1991), also known locally as “Mr. Spud”, was a well-known farmer, inventor, and businessman in Hespeler, Preston, and the surrounding communities. He is best known for his business ventures, including founding the Snyder Potato Chip Company in the late 1930s, which would employ hundreds of people from the surrounding communities to harvest and process potatoes and produce potato chips.

In the late 1930s, Edward Snyder would start his potato chip brand in his mother’s kitchen, using a large iron kettle to create the first few batches of chips. He would begin selling his chips at the Kitchener Farmers Market and quickly became a local success. His business would rapidly expand, with stores across Southern Ontario and the City of Toronto selling his chips. In the early-1940s, Snyder would purchase the property that adjoined his family’s farm at 2630 Beaverdale Road and built a factory to keep up with the demands that his business was facing. Snyder would sell his company to E. W. Vanstone in 1955, where it would become the beloved Hostess brand and later a part of the Frito-Lays Company.

Alongside his contributions to the local economy and his development of a successful potato chip company, Edward Snyder would play a large role in changing existing potato farming practices across Canada. The Snyder family was one of the first families in the area to have a pond on their farm used for irrigating their crops and later the first to adopt the practice of using pressurized pipes for irrigation. Additionally, in 1945 he would partner with Frankin Gray in the invention of the Gray-Snyder Potato Harvester, a machine that built upon existing potato harvesters to harvest, clean, and bag potatoes faster. The machine was especially popular on Prince Edward Island, where it was introduced in the late-1940s.

Contextual Value

3250 Beaverdale Road is located outside of the main urban areas of the city, near the village of Hespeler, and is surrounded by farmland, mature woodlots, and small bodies of water. It was originally settled by Mennonite farmers and continues to operate as a potato farm and processing facility. The property is important in supporting the historic rural character of the surrounding area, through the building materials, architectural styles, mature trees, bodies of water, and agricultural land. Each of these attributes contribute to the historical character of the surrounding area and provides context to what early settlement looked like in the City of Cambridge.

Additionally, the Snyder Potato Farm has served the local economy from this location for over 150 years, employing hundreds of people from the surrounding communities and supplying the surrounding area with produce.

Description of Heritage Attributes

The character-defining heritage attributes of 3250 Beaverdale Road include the following:

• The two-and-a-half-storey, red brick dwelling built in the Georgian Mennonite architectural style (built in 1870)
  • Mass, form, and style of the building
  • Rectangular-shaped floor plan
  • Red brick exterior
  • Buff brick rear tail
  • Medium pitch gable roof
  • Symmetrical paned glass windows
  • All existing window and door openings
  • Covered verandah
  • Column supports

These features contribute to the cultural heritage value of the property by reflecting physical/design value in the house’s original layout, original building material, and historic architectural and design features. The assemblage of these architectural elements forms a representative example of the Georgian Mennonite architectural style.

Identified heritage attributes of this property will only impact the area identified as the residential area

The property’s heritage designation does not extend to any interior features

Further information regarding the proposed designation may be obtained from the Policy Planning Division (Heritage Planning) at heritageinfo@cambridge.ca.

Objection

Any person may, within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice, serve on the City Clerk of the City of Cambridge a Notice of Objection to the proposed designation. The notice must set out the reason(s) for the objection and all relevant facts.

Notice of Objection should be addressed to:

City Clerk, The Corporation of the City of Cambridge
50 Dickson Street
P.O. Box 669, Cambridge, Ontario N1R 5W8
Email: clerks@cambridge.ca