BALL'S FALLS CONSERVATION AREA #070926

DIMENSIONS

* Ball's Falls consist of Two Waterfalls and a bedrock gorge where Twenty Mile Creek cascades over the Escarpment.

· Surface Area: 218 Acres of land.

· Basin Area: Ball's Falls (upper)-355km sq, Ball's Falls (lower)-355km sq.

· Elevation: Ball's Falls (upper)- 35ft, Ball's Falls (lower)- 90ft.

SIGNIFICANT FEATURES

ECOLOGICAL

BALL'S FALLS IS A NATURAL CORE AREA LOCATED ON THE NIAGARA ESCARPMENT

Biota:

· Plant species: Ball's Falls conservation area is home to 471 species of vascular plants including Wild Sarsaparilla, Green and White Trilliums, Wild Ginger, Wild Geranium, Virginia Bluebells, Canada Yew, Arrowhead, Wild Leak, Asparagus, Wild Yam, Red Mulberry, Wild Columbine, Canada Anemore, Chokecherry, Virginian Creeper, St. John's Wort.

· Tree species: Ball's Falls lies within what is known as the deciduos forest zone. Hardwoods mixed with coniferous trees predominately characterizes this area. Species include Eastern Cotton Wood, Butternut, Black Walnut, Shagbark, Hickory, White Oak, Tulip Tree and Slippery Elm.

· Animal species: Ball's Falls is a provincially significant warm water fishery. Twenty Mile Creek has a variety of species such as Largemouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Grass Pickerel, Rock Bass, Green Sunfish, Creek Chub and Pumkinseed. Within the Ball's Falls area there is also a presence of wildlife including birds and waterfowl such as Robins, House Sparrows, Cardinals, Mallards, and Killdear to mention a few.

· Rare species: Ball's Falls is a habitat for rare tree species including Sycamore, Sassafras and Pignut Hickory.

Geomorphology:

Ball's Falls is recognized as a unique and outstanding Geological feature. The lower falls have the following formations:

1. "Irondiquoit Formation: Crystalline crinoidal limestone forming the lip of the cataract and acting as a resistant caprock.

2. Reynoles Formation: A thick to thin bedded dolomite with dark grey shale partings.

3. Thorold Formation: A green-gray, cross bedded sandstone with green shale partings; these units intermingle with the underlining red sandstones and shales of the Grimsby formation.

4. Grimsby Formation: Red sandstones and shales which blend in the overlying Throld Formation; the lower half of this unit is mostly red shale.

5. Power Glen Formation: Green-Gray siltstones alternating with shale bands, this unit is exposed at the base of the waterfall and exposures continue downstream for approximately 95m

The upper falls have the following formations:

1. "Decew Formation: A fine-grained, grey dolomite which shows conchoidal fracture patterns on a weathered surface.

2. Lockport Formation: Fine-grained, crinoidal, grey-brown dolomite which is the cap rock for the cataract.

3. Rochester Formation: Dark grey shale forming the base of the cataract; it has a blocky, weathered appearance

Hydrogeology:

Twenty Mile Creek has the largest drainage area of all creeks emptying into Lake Ontario in the Niagara Peninsula. Ball's Falls to Lake Ontario measures approximately 4 miles. In the summer months the flow of water is almost non-existent, but during the spring there is an enormous volume of runoff, which can be observed rushing over the falls. The mean annual discharge of the upper falls is 3.75 m cubed/s.

Climate / microclimate:

With Lake Ontario to the North and Lake Erie to the South the Niagara Peninsula has one of the mildest climates in Ontario.

HISTORICAL

Ball's Falls Conservation Area is a Historical Park. The discovery and settlement of Ball's Falls resulted indirectly from the American Revolution. The remaining colonies who remained loyal to the British, migrated North to Upper Canada in search of new homes. On October 13, 1807, 1200 acres of land was sold to John and George Ball. Thus begun the Ball tenure of these historic lands which lasted for more than a century and a half. Today the area is still recognized by that very name, Ball's Falls.

Archaeological:

The remains of an early nineteenth century red earthenware pottery are located on an undeveloped extension of the Ball's Falls Conservation Area Land Parcel (p.303) During the period of 1976 to 1980 a pottery excavation project was conducted. Numerous pottery sheds were revealed from the dig.

Land use history:

The area's land use history is diverse. In 1809, a grist mill was built for the inhabitants of Louth for the grinding of their grain. This mill as built by George and John Ball is the same one that stands today. The labour required to build the mill by hand, proved the necessity of a sawmill. The coopers shop was the next development. This shop produced the barrels needed for shipping the flour processed in the Grist mill. On the west bank of the cruk, the blacksmith's shop was built. The blacksmith created the necessary ironware to keep things running smoothly; made shoes for horses and the hoops for coopers barrels etc. In the early 1830's a five storey wooden woollen mill was built. The woollen mill was the largest project at Ball's Falls. It employed a large number of people who lived near by. Houses were built on either side of the creek. The original 110 acres of this escarpment property was sold to the Niagara Conservation authority in 1962 by Mr. Manly Ball.

CULTURAL

The Niagara Conservation Authority purchased this site in order to protect and provide public access to the two cataracts at Ball's Falls and to preserve the remaining heritage resources.

Education / Interpretation:

At the time of the purchase of Ball's Falls, a number of features of historical interest included:

1. The original flour and Grist mill built between 1807-1810

2. The site of a saw mill built in 1816

3. Partial remains of a woollen mill built in 1824

4. The second Ball home built in 1846

5. A barn built in 1880. (Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, 1983)

These existing historical resources have provided the foundation to develop the present education/interpretation programme. The documentary nature of the Ball's Falls settlement of the area authenticates and compliments a programme which focuses on pioneer life and its dependency on existing natural resources.

Architectural Heritage:

The Ball's Falls site contains the Ball home which was built in 1850. It is a Georgian Style of architecture.

Ghost Town

Ball's Falls, Ontario, is ghost town that dates back to the early 1800s. John and George Ball were among the soldiers who received land for remaining loyal to Britain during the American Revolutionary War. 1200 acres (4.9 km²) of land was awarded to the Ball brothers in October 1807. By 1809, they had already built a grist mill at the lower falls, and a saw mill was located at the higher falls.

To ship the flour ground by the mill the industrious brothers created a coopers shop to produce barrels, followed by a blacksmith's shop to produce hoops for the barrels. By the 1840s, the area became known as Glen Elgin and included a five story mill for processing wool, two lime kilns and other industries.

In the 1850s, the Great Western Railway siphoned all further commerce away from Glen Elgin, and the town was gradually abandoned. In 1962, Manly Ball sold an area of 110 acres (0.45 km²) to the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority.

On October 13, 1807, brothers George and John Ball purchased 1200 acres of land. This was part of 1500 acres of crown land granted at this site to United Empire Loyalist, Thomas Butler and family members in 1803.

The Ball family remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolution (1776-1783), with Jacob Ball and his elder sons joining the fighting corps known as Butler’s Rangers. Following the American Revolution, Jacob Ball and his family, like other United Empire Loyalists, were forced to flee their home and potash works in the Mohawk Valley, near Albany, New York. In recognition of their loyalty to the British Crown and personal losses suffered during the conflict, the Ball family was issued Crown land grants in Niagara by 1783.

The rich well-forested land and then abundant waters of the Twenty Mile Creek, provided a source of power for the Ball brothers to operate the flour, saw and later woollen mill. The Ball’s constructed these mills to provide much needed materials for the growing number of settlers in the area.

Ball’s Four & Grist Mill

George and John first built a flour and grist mill, with George listed as a Miller on the original deed. By 1810 the three-storey structure was in operation. The mill assumed major importance during the war of 1812, supplying flour to British regiments. The British placed the mill under military guard to prevent its capture or destruction by the Americans.

Ball’s Sawmill

In 1816, the Ball brothers built a saw mill at the edge of the lower falls. Surrounding forests were harvested and the mill provided much of the plank and timber for the bridges built in the area. The sawmill ceased operation in the early 1900’s.

Ball’s Woollen Mill

In 1824, George Ball constructed a five-storey woollen mill ¼ mile upstream on the west bank of the Twenty near the Upper Falls. Robert Gourley in the “Statistical Account of Upper Canada” Vol. 1 1822, described the Twenty Mile Creek in the 1820s:

“Twenty Mile Creek is quite navigable to the centre of the township (Louth Township) for boats of 20 tons burden. This creek abounds with fine fish, say salmon, bass, pike, pickerel, eels, millets, suckers, perch and many fine fish”.

Plans for the Future

By 1840, George Ball’s son, George P.M. Ball, built several homes and a large boarding house on this site to accommodate the mill workers and other village residents, such as a blacksmith, butcher, cooper, tailor and bookmaker.

As time passed, many a settler in early Niagara made their way to this property. The barrels of flour, smoked meat, yards of cloth and sawn lumber, were only a few of the many supplies that necessitated a stop at Ball’s Mills or Louth Mills, as it became known.

In 1849 George P.M. Ball hired a surveyor to draw up plans for a regular sub-divided community to be named Glen Elgin. Glen Elgin was never officially incorporated as a village and the ownership of the land in the survey remained in the Ball family for many years.

Glen Elgin reached its peak by 1850 and George P.M. Ball never realized his dram of sub-dividing. He was powerless to stop the forces that would result in the decline of the village.

Ironically, the escarpment location that was so favourable to the settlement in 1807, caused both the railway and major roadways to choose more favourable terrain below the escarpment. Expansion of the Welland Canal also spurred the growth of other villages and more modernized industries appeared. Glen Elgin, like many small hamlets, fell victim to economic and technological change.

Balls Falls Conservation Area offers lots of opportunities for the photography buff. The falls is a beauty, although you should be aware that Twenty Mile Creek can dry up completely during mid-summer droughts, making for a real disappointment. At about 27 m in height, Balls Falls is one of the larger waterfalls in the Golden Horseshoe region (unless the river has dried up!), and after Niagara, is surely the most visited in the Niagara Peninsula. The park is fairly well developed, with a large parking lot, picnic tables and a small pioneer village of some half dozen buildings. Still, the natural beauty of the area hasn't been disturbed too much. After parking your car, walk across the road and along the short footpath to the viewing platform located beside the old mill buildings.

Leaving the viewing platform, you can walk over the road bridge and through the grassy field on the west (left bank) side of the gorge. There is a footpath leading into the forest that eventually follows the gravel road, and ultimately takes you down into the lower portions of the gorge. There are some nice cascade sections below the main falls, and you could spend a few hours exploring this portion of Twenty Mile Creek. The trails become quite rugged, but are beautifully shaded by large Hemlocks and Cedars. Bedrock is exposed for several hundred meters downstream from the main falls, and a few large rock slides can be explored.

Many of the various Silurian and Ordovician rock strata of the Niagara Peninsula are exposed in the gorge. The main Balls Falls plunges over the Irondequoit limestone, which is a resistant layer overlying several weaker shale and sandstone units (Reynoles, Thorold, Grimsby, Power Glen formations). The upper falls is formed by the Lockport dolostone, which is the same unit that forms the crest of Niagara Falls. The site was originally settled in the early 19th century by John and George Ball. They established grist, saw and woollen mills here, and for some time, the site was a local center for the newly colonized area. The settlement declined in importance when it was bypassed by the railway, which presumably couldn't find an easy way up the escarpment. Many of the pioneer buildings on the site can be visited, although you should check for visiting hours and dates.

The Woollen Mill

In 1824, George Ball began construction of a five storey woollen mill situated on a 60 foot high bluff along the west bank of the Twenty Mile Creek near the Upper Falls. Water was diverted to by-pass the Upper Falls and channelled into a raceway excavated into the side of the hill to the west of the mill. The gradient of the natural terrain was sufficient to obtain a water supply for power without constructing a dam.

The mill is thought to have housed 8 looms that produced woollen cloth and yarns for local and export markets. Within its first years of production George Ball leased the factory to several tenants, among them Jacob Snure, who later played a large role in the settlement of the Village of Jordan. Jacob Snure’s advertisement in the Farmer’s Journal, St. Catherines 1829 sheds light on the woollen mill’s operation.

The Woollen Factory

At the Little Falls, on the 20 mile creek

Formaly (sic) occupied by Mr. James Tompson, has been rented by him to the subscriber for the term of ten years; and he, therefore begs leave to inform his friends and the public, that he intends continuing the business, in all its various branches, on as good terms as at any other works in the province. CLOTH will be kept constantly on hand, to exchange for good clean WOOL in the Fleece, on liberal terms.

WOOL CARDING and CLOTH DRESSING, executed as usual in a work-manlike manner and on accommodating terms.

Jacob Snure

Louth, January 21, 1829