Elmira is set amid bucolic rolling hills and fertile farmland in southern Ontario apx 15 km north of the city of Waterloo. If you are looking for a taste of real, authentic Canadian country life, then Elmira is the destination for you.

Elmira has strong Pennsylvania “Deutsch” (german) roots. It is here where you can view Old Order Mennonites following a way of life that their ancestors led. It is not uncommon to see these people traveling to and from town in horse drawn carriages.

Edward Bristow, one of the areas earliest settlers built a store and tavern in 1843 and named the community Bristow’s Corners. Eventually the land on which Elmira stands became owned by Joel Good, a surveyor who grew up on a farm close to Waterloo. It was Mr. Good who laid out the town, and with the coming of the Grand Trunk and CPR Railways the community continued to grow and prosper.

The last covered bridge in Ontario is in West Montrose about 10 kms (6 miles) east of Elmira. The Kissing Bridge was built in 1881 and is a popular subject for artists and photographers. For the past 150 years Elmira has held its annual Country Fair in August and in April Elmira holds it’s world-famous Elmira Maple Syrup Festival.