Doon is a suburban community and former village which is now a part of the city of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Doon was settled around 1800 by German Mennonites from Pennsylvania, and after 1830 by Scottish immigrants. The area is located at the confluence of Schneider Creek and the Grand River. The post office was opened in 1845. A large flour mill, oatmeal mill, distillery and sawmill were built on the Doon River over the following years. The Perine brothers established extensive linen works and flax mills near the settlement. By 1870, there was a single church, Presbyterian, a variety of tradesmen and a population of 200.
Although never large, at one time it was a bustling community with sawmills, a rope factory and other businesses.
It is known as the lifetime home of landscape artist Homer Watson. It is now a suburb of Kitchener, Ontario, home to the Doon Heritage Village and the main campus of Conestoga College.
History
Origins
Doon was established in a forested area around Schneider Creek where it enters the Grand River from the south. Richard Beasley sold of this land to John Biehn Sr. of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in 1800. Biehn's relatives bought portions of this land, and started to clear it for farming, His son John Biehn Jr. built a sawmill in what became Doon, and Frederic Beck also ran a sawmill in the area. Most of the early settlers were German Mennonite farmers from Pennsylvania.
Growth
In the 1830s the Ferrie family moved to the area, where they established several businesses in what is now Lower Doon including a distillery, tavern, general store, saw mill, cooperage, blacksmith shop and kiln. They also built workers' houses. Adam Ferrie Jr. gave Doon its name after Loch Doon and the River Doon in Ayrshire, Scotland. From this time most of the settlers were artisans, millers and brick makers of Scottish and English background. Doon Mills, driven by water, was fully operational in 1839, grinding oatmeal, flour, and barley for the local population. The population of Doon in 1855 was 200. A population of 200 was also listed in 1869.
The hamlets to the west, about a mile further up Schneider Creek, were originally called Oregon and Tow Town. They later merged and were called Upper Doon. James Watson, grandfather of the painter Homer Watson, set up a sawmill, carding and fulling mill and a pail factory in Oregon. John Tilt had a small sawmill and an enterprise for clay brick and tile manufacture, also in Oregon.
In Tow Town, Moses and Joseph Perine established a sawmill and a flax mill that made rope and twine, the first in Canada of this nature. The Doon Twine and Cordage factory opened in 1856 making products from locally-grown flax and hemp. Products included tying twines, plow lines, halter ropes, clothes lines and broom twine. Farmers were later banned from growing hemp because of its cannabis content. There was also a decline in local production of flax, so the factory had to import both of these raw materials.
New businesses served the growing population. By the early 1890s there was a post office, grocer and baker, two tailors, a cooper, blacksmith, shoemaker, wagon maker, bridge builder and scissors manufacturer. By the end of the 19th century visitors could stay in the Red Lion Inn, Doon Hotel or the Bush Inn, all respectable establishments.
A non-denominational Sunday School was founded in 1848. In 1854 the Doon Presbyterian Church was opened on land donated by Robert Ferrie and built with his financial assistance. A Methodist church was built in 1868 on a site donated by William Allen. The Bonnie Doon School was the first public school, opened in 1878 with one room, and extended to two rooms within ten years as the student population grew. The school burned down and was replaced in 1956. The Christadelphians built a church on Old Mill Road, formerly Richmond Street, in 1880. In 1889 it was clad in red brick. The church was used until 1916. The building was closed until 1936, then used as a residence until 1971. It was torn down in 1981.