Elmira, Ontario, a town (1955 pop. 2,800; 2006 pop. 12,000), is located in the northern part of the Region of Waterloo about 12 miles north of Kitchener. In the 1950s approximately 2,200 Mennonites lived within shopping distance of the town. The various branches of Mennonites in the community were Old Order Mennonites, 60 per cent; Mennonite Church (MC), 35 per cent; and the David Martin group, 5 per cent. Elmira is centrally located in this Mennonite settlement, which also extends into Wellington County. In 1955 approximately 10 per cent of the Mennonites lived in town or in the villages in the community. Mennonites have lived in the community since the early 1800s. The Elmira Mennonite (MC) Church (256 members in 1953) was established in the town in 1924. The Old Order Mennonite church at the edge of town has a total of over 400 members in two divided groups.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 190. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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