page_title: Woolwich, Ontario
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Woolwich, Ontario / Economy
caption_attribution_description: English: Farmer's market in St. Jacobs. Photo courtesy Tomas Vinar. Photo taken in October 2003.
context_page_description: The Township of Woolwich is a rural township in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, considered as a municipality. The Township is located in the northeast part of Waterloo Region and is made up of 10 small communities, with Elmira, Ontario the largest and St. Jacobs, Ontario the second largest. The population at the time of the 2016 Census was 25,006, up slightly from the 2011 population of 23,145. Waterloo Region is still home to the largest population of Old Order Mennonites in Canada, particularly in the areas around St Jacobs and Elmira. They are often seen on the local roads using their traditional horse and buggy transportation; many also use horses to pull the implements in their farm fields.
  Woolwich is part of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and is located directly to the north and east of the City of Waterloo. It is bounded by the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge. The township is a municipality as established by the Regional Municipality of Waterloo Act 1972, which created a regional government structure and established limits of the local municipalities effective January 1, 1973.
context_section_description: Elmira is the primary industrial centre of Woolwhich Township. Major employers include Trylon TSF, Sanyo Machine Works, Elmira Pet Products, Lanxess (formerly Chemtura and Uniroyal), Toyota Boshoku (formerly Trim Masters), Engineered Lifting Systems, and Southfield Windows & Doors. Since the 1970s, tourism has become an increasingly important industry in Elmira and especially in St. Jacobs which has a very popular Farmers' Market and many quaint stores in its downtown area.
  St. Jacobs features dozens of artisans in historic buildings, such as the Country Mill, Village Silos, Mill Shed, and the Old Factory. Visitors may watch artisans make pottery, quilts, designer clothes, jewellery, glass vases, woven wall hangings tiffany lamps, stained glass doors, miniature doll houses and more. There are also two blacksmith shops. The two-kilometre millrace is a pleasant, treed hiking path along the Conestogo River. The Visitor Centre in downtown St. Jacobs is a Mennonite interpretation centre, providing information and education about the Mennonite people in the township.
  St. Jacobs is also the headquarters of Home Hardware, a national chain of over 1000 independent hardware retail stores located across Canada that was founded in the village in 1963. The first store opened in St. Jacobs in 1964. It remains in use by the chain as the furniture outlet but a new store was built across the street, opening in November 2014.
  Economic development for the township is handled by the Region of Waterloo. Elmira and St. Jacobs have their own Business Improvement Area committees.
caption: The St. Jacobs Market is a major tourist attraction
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