In 1798, six major blocks of land in the Grand River watershed were sold by the people of the Six Nations to prospective settlers. These land parcels, totaling 352,707 acres, became the first settled areas in the interior of Upper Canada. They included the sites of the major cities in the Grand River watershed, and much of the valley's prime agricultural land. The disposition of these lands set the stage for the development of the rich cultural heritage of the valley.
Block 1, bought by William Dickson and settled with hardy Scots immigrants, became Cambridge and the Dumfries Townships. Scottish immigrants also settled on the banks of the Irvine and the Grand Rivers in Block 4, to create the communities of Fergus and Elora in Nichol Township. The strong Mennonite heritage of the Waterloo region can be traced to the sale of Block 2, originally known as the Beasley Tract. Mennonites from Pennsylvania purchased 60,000 acres through the agency of the German Company. Later Mennonite settlers acquired most of the adjacent Block 3 to create Waterloo and Woolwich Townships.
The first settlers in the fertile lands in the south and middle of the watershed were farmers who cleared the forest, and tilled the newly-opened lands to grow wheat and other grains, and graze livestock. Cleared trees were used, sold as lumber, or burnt to produce potash for export. The fast flowing Grand River and its tributaries provided transportation, and a reliable source of power for the grist and saw mills that sprang up in response to the needs of the settlers. The Grand River also provided drinking water and a waste disposal system for the river communities. Mill ponds were created in some areas to provide a constant power source for local mills. As a focal point in the development of the community, these ponds often became treasured scenic parks and recreation areas for the townspeople.
Patterns of settlement developed early. The well-drained fertile soils of the middle valley were prime agricultural lands, especially in the valleys of the Conestogo and Nith Rivers. In the lower basin, the sand and silt soils in the Brantford area were also used for crops, although irrigation of the land was needed for good productivity. The clay soils of the lower basin and the extensive marshes along the river banks made the land a poor agricultural prospect and of less interest to most settlers. Few early settlers reached the swamps and high land of the upper reaches of the Grand River.
Because of the advantages of water power from the fast flowing watercourse in the middle basin, and the proximity of easily cultivated valley land, the middle basin became the focus for growth and development. Communities such Guelph, Galt, Preston, Hespeler, Paris, and Brantford grew around mills and the valley flats.
Industrious settlers changed the face of the valley. German and other European immigrants brought better tools and technology, and stores and factories were built to provide commodities for the growing population. Streets were laid out in new communities, and older wooden mills and homes were replaced by stone structures. The introduction of steam power in the late 19th century revolutionized transportation and manufacturing. Cities like Berlin (later renamed Kitchener) were created away from the river and became centres of industry, producing beverages, food, and clothing. Riverside textile mills in Galt, Preston and Hespeler converted to steam, and provided employment for the steadily increasing numbers of people moving into the towns.
In 1829, the first Welland Canal was built to link Lakes Ontario and Erie for commercial navigation. Water was diverted from the lower Grand River at Dunnville to provide flow for the canal, and the feeder canal became part of the navigable waterway of the Grand River itself. The Grand River Navigation Company was created in 1832 to introduce a new era of prosperity to the Grand River valley. Five dams, five locks and two canals were built to enable horse-drawn barges to travel upriver as far as Brantford. Teams of horses plied the towpaths, and rights of way were established that are still mentioned in local deeds. Riverside communities such as York, Indiana and Middleport evolved to serve the needs of boatmen and travelers. The dams also provided industrial water power and some prosperity to communities like Dunnville and Caledonia.
The coming of the railway provided the impetus for the most dramatic changes in the industrial settlement of the Grand River valley, and ultimately resulted in the failure of the Grand River Navigation Company in 1861. By the 1850's, the trip from Brantford to Toronto could be accomplished by rail in a matter of hours as opposed to days required by river barge and lake steamer. The canals fell into disrepair, and all but a few remnants disappeared.
As the middle basin of the watershed became more populated, settlers moved north in their quest for agricultural land and arrived in the area of the headwaters of the Grand River around 1831. They found an enormous bog covered with tamarack and cedar trees. The area was named Luther and Melancthon by an early surveyor, who described the area as 'all swamp', and declared it the meanest land he ever saw. A devout Roman Catholic, he named the land after the meanest men he could think of, the leaders of the Protestant reformation!
In the heavy, poorly-drained clay soil of the Dundalk Till Plain, seed rotted in the wet ground. The short growing season and difficult conditions proved daunting for even the most determined farmers and many turned to lumbering to provide a livelihood. Massive timber cutting took place in Luther and Melancthon in the 1860's. Pine, cedar and tamarack logs were cut in the winter and floated downstream in the spring to Galt, to be shipped by train to Toronto. Thousands of logs were also taken from swamp lands near the Irvine and Conestogo Rivers. By 1894, the forests of Luther were almost completely consumed.
Deforestation did not increase the agricultural potential of the swamps, but it did change the way the Grand River was able to deal with heavy spring rains and snowmelt. Surplus flows, previously restrained in woody swamps, now rushed downriver, flooding river side lands, destroying property and livestock, and sometimes claiming human lives. Drainage channels, built to create agricultural land, also provided avenues for the spring rains to flush off the high land into the already swollen rivers.
As Luther marsh and other swamps in the upper watershed were drained, summer flows in the river were no longer augmented by a steady seepage from these wetlands. Settlers downriver contended not only with heavy spring floods, but at other times had insufficient water to power their mills and remove their waste. Increased population meant increased sewerage to be dealt with by a river that became sluggish and polluted. By the late 1800's there was growing public concern and recognition of the serious community problems resulting from the environmental crisis occurring in the Grand River.
From the early 1900's to the 1930's the Grand River valley was plagued with problems of too much river flow or too little. Municipal representatives petitioned the Ontario government to provide flood protection for the valley communities. After many studies and the collaboration of governments, watershed agencies and business representatives, the need for action was recognized. The Shand Dam was built at Belwood, near Fergus, in 1942. It was the first dam to be built in Canada for the prevention of flooding and low flow problems and its creation heralded a new era of cooperative river management.
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