George Moore Biography

b. 1844 d. 1916
Married – Mary Barrie

Hop growing was once a viable agricultural crop in parts of Ontario where many small breweries needed this product for their beer making operations. George Moore grew up in the Preston area, where this father, also named George, owed the Preston Hop Yards. About 1875 Moore moved to Waterloo where he purchased from the Devitts land that extended along the South side of Union St from present Mary St to Weber St. He first resided in the farm home on Union St E. where much later the Schiefle farm & home were located. About 1880 he built a large brick home called “Hop Villa” on the corner of Union E and Mary Sts. The 76 acre farm was all planted in hops. The operation was quite labour intensive because most work, especially the harvest, had to be done by hand. During the September harvest many Waterloo citizens earned extra money helping pick and gather the hops. A large hop kiln and storage facility was built on Union E at Herbert St. George Moore had many other interests. He was considered a leader in food marketing of Canada.

He was a horse fancier, keeping horses to show at fairs and exhibitions around the country. He even exhibited a six-horse team of heavy draught horses at the Chicago World’s Fair and won first prize. He also dabbled in real estate, having been part owner of the Waterloo Brick Yards that was sold to Isaac Bechtel in 1871. He bought and sold other properties around town such as the Killer farm out on Bridgeport Rd that, in 1885, was purchased by Joseph E. Seagram who soon established his famous racing stables there. Moore had an interest in the Waterloo Woolen Mills and was part owner of the Waterloo Gas Company built at William St E and Herbert St. Before electricity came to Waterloo in 1910, the gas was used for lamps in stores, businesses and street lighting. He was quite interested in politics, serving on Town Council and was elected mayor in 1884 and 1890. As a Liberal Candidate, he unsuccessfully contested the Waterloo riding for the provincial legislature. Moore also became an egg merchant, buying from local producers and then selling them wholesale to larger concerns. For his egg business he developed a storage facility in Montreal. It appears that Moore over-extended his business interests because c1909 he made an assignment of all his real estate holdings to son-in-law WMO Lochead who had married daughter Agnes. In 1911 he moved to Galt where he passed away in 1916.

Sources
1. Waterloo County Councillors: A Collective Biography, Elizabeth Bloomfield & Linda Foster, Caribou Imprints, 1995
2. Waterloo Mt Hope Cemetery Records
3. Marg Rowell et al. Welcome to Waterloo
4. Middleton & London, George Moore, Province of Ontario, A History 1615-1927
5. Waterloo Chronicle, May 2, 1901, January 25, 1905
6. Historical Atlas of Wat & Wellington Counties
7. Obituary, Berlin News Record, Oct 24, 1916