St. Jacobs

St. Jacobs is one of Canada's nicest towns.  Its main attractions is the famous fruit market and the Mennonite people.  The Mennonites, who are often compared to the Amish, trekked from Pennsylvania in Conestoga Wagons and settled in and around St. Jacobs in the late 1700s and early 1800s, making St. Jacobs one of the original Mennonite settlements in Ontario. Today, the rural areas around St. Jacobs Country are populated with many Old Order Mennonite farmers who retain the religion, customs and lifestyle of their 19th century forefathers. Interest in this unique group of people has increased dramatically over the past 20 years and visitors from all over the world want to learn about the culture of the Old Order Mennonites

History of St. Jacobs

14,000 years ago, the area of St. Jacobs was covered by a glacier. The Hawkesville Hill, three miles west of St. Jacobs, is the result of the retreat of the Lake Huron and Lake Ontario ice lobes. Newly exposed land looked like the tundra of Northern Canada today. This area was the first in Southern Ontario to see the ice recede.

The first non-native settler in this area was a loyalist from Vermont - Captain Thomas Smith, his wife and three sons. A daughter, Priscilla, was born in January 1808 and is believed to be the first white child born in the township.

In the early days of the settlement, fences were built to keep livestock out of fields. Cattle and pigs were left to fend for themselves in the uncleared bush for most of the year.

Bank barns were introduced here by the Pennsylvanians and were first constructed in Woolwich Township in the 1840's. This area became noted for the size of its barns, the largest in Canada at the time.

St. Jacobs was first known as "Jakobstettel" which means "Jacob's Village". St. Jacobs was officially named in 1852, the "St." being added "for the sake of euphony" and the pluralization was in honour of the combined efforts of Jacobs C. Snider and his son by the same name - founders of the Village.

The St. Jacobs Tour

The entire St. Jacobs tour is 8 hours.  The tour departs from Toronto and surrounding area Tuesday, Thursdays and Saturdays.

We will tour the mennonite villages in a horse drawn buggy.  The tour will include the Market Loop and the History of St. Jacobs. 

We will have plenty of time available for shopping.  St. Jacobs is known for its many antique shops, boutiques that sell hand made crafts, furniture, and museums.

As part of our tour we offer a home-style lunch at Stone Crock Restaurant.