Reinhold Lang
Inducted In
1972
Reinhold Lang came to Berlin from a small village in the German Rhineland and, in 1849, with his eldest son, George, established a small tannery.
Lang’s tannery was located on Foundry (now Ontario) Street in Berlin. He later moved it to an area with a natural spring between Wilmot (now Victoria) and Francis Streets, on which no buildings had previously been erected. This area was chosen because an adequate water supply for the tannery was obtained by digging a twelve feet by twelve feet hole.
The Lang Tannery became the largest sole leather producer in the British Empire.
Lang was a member of the Berlin Council in 1859 when it was decided to dispense with remuneration to councillors because village finances were very low.