Crooks' Hollow #071014

Nestled in a small valley, through which the Spencer Creek flows on its journey to the edge of the Niagara Escarpment, north of Dundas and Hamilton, lies the pioneer community known as Crooks' Hollow.

Following the close of the American Revolution in the late 1700's, Upper Canada became a haven for United Empire Loyalists escaping the United States, many of whom made their way from Niagara to the western end of Lake Ontario where they had been granted land by King George III of England. Attracted by the potential waterpower offered by the Spencer Creek, many early settlers came to this area of Flamborough West. It was to this particular area that two early families came, the Mordens and the Crooks.

The Conservation Area, with parking, is .06 km east of the ruins of the Darnley Mill.

United Empire Loyalists were granted land here and between 1813 and 1826, James Crooks established a sawmill, general store, barrel factory, blacksmith's shop, woollen mill, distillery and tannery here. Near the ruins of the Darnley Grist Mill, circa 1813, James Crooks produced the first writing paper made in Upper Canada. Today, you can discover other mill foundations and traces of dams, while the Hollow is a relaxing park of gentle green hills along Spencer Creek.

Crook's Hollow was founded by Scottish born James Crooks who immigrated to Upper Canada while still in his early teens. When James first arrived he joined his older brother Francis, who had been operating a store in Fort Niagara. By 1807, Crooks had established his own store, gotten married and was ready to settle down and raise a family.

It was war and politics that forced Crooks to relocate his centre of operations to Flamborough County. The Crooks brothers, which now included a third brother, William, had purchased several parcels of land along Spencer Creek with the intention of building a grist mill. Construction on the mill began in 1811 but the War of 1812 intervened and Crooks returned to the Niagara area to fight against the Americans. He was captured by the U.S. Navy and escaped, only to find his Niagara home had been destroyed. The schooner, which he and his brother had purchased several years earlier to transport supplies, was also captured by the Americans. It sank during a violent storm on Lake Ontario in 1813. With nothing left to hold him in Niagara, Crooks and his family returned to Flamborough to start a new life.

The area that became known as Crooks' Hollow had its industrial beginnings in 1801, when Jonathon Morden, a sawyer by trade, built a sawmill on Spencer Creek. Crooks constructed a new dam and sluice, south of the Morden property, and completed his mill in 1813.

Crooks was an industrialist who went on to build an empire that was massive for its time and astounding, even by today's standards. By 1829, the settlement had grown to include the original grist mill, known as Darnley Mill, a distillery, linseed oil mill, cooperage, tannery, woollen mill, card clothing factory, foundry, agricultural implement factory, paper mill, log cabins for the workers, a general store and inn. A 100 man workforce and their families lived in the community that aligned Spencer's Creek for half a century.

James Crooks died in 1860 at the age of 82. Following his death, the original grist mill was purchased by James Stutt and Robert Sanderson, who enlarged the structure and converted it to a paper mill. The mill was hit by a massive boiler explosion in 1885 that killed two men. It was rebuilt and continued to operate until 1934, when it was gutted by fire. The remaining industries gradually closed after the village was bypassed by the railways during the mid 19th century.

Although the city of Dundas, further to the south, has grown to encompass Crook's Hollow, the area has been under the protection of the Hamilton Region Conservation Authority since 1969. Although little remains of the early structures, visitors to the site can view maps and take a walking tour through one of Ontario's earliest industrial empires

Morden’s Mill

In 1798 Jonathon Morden built a dam and sawmill on the site. (see pictures) It was the first mill to be built on the Spencer Creek above the escarpment . His son James added a grist mill in 1841. The Morden family operated these mills until they burned in 1905.

Remains of a once thriving industry

In 1841 William Bullock built a large grist mill and sawmill on this site (see pictures), installing in 1850 the first steam plant on Spencer Creek. The mills were operated by William Joseph who continued in the lumber business. In 1866 the large steam engines were moved to a new location on lot 6, concession 4, in the township and the mill property and mill rights were leased to Andrew, James and William Clark and Mathew Langley, who installed woollen machines to manufacture blankets and woollen cloth which they sold throughout the country. Within a year fire destroyed the structure; undismayed the partners signed another lease for five years, from the completion of a new stone building to be erected by William and Joseph Bullock. The new stone building, 40 by 60 feet, three stories, was opened as a cloth and blanket factory. The Clarks purchased the property in 1871 and shortly after William Clark and Mathew Langley withdrew from the partnership and purchased the Miller property further up Spencer Creek in the village of West Flamborough. Here the produced woollen goods no doubt from the cloth produced at Bullock Corners.

After Clark retired in 1900, James Clark and son-in-law Fred Thornton continued under the name of Clark Blanket Company until the death of Mr. Clark in 1921. The business was continued by John and Gilbert Clark, sons of James Clark until the early 1930’s when John died. A severe flood on February 5,1938 carried away a greater part of the foundation of the mill and the machinery and business were move to Dundas. Remains of the mill were removed in the 1950’s, however a greater part of the dam has withstood the test of time and has been restored as a historic symbol of the pioneer industry that once occupied this land.

The area adjacent to Spencer Creek from Webster’s Falls to the Christie Conservation Area reservoir was the hub of industrial development in the West Flamborough area during the early 1800s. The creek provided a source of power needed to run the early mills located along its banks.

Since the settlement of this area, eight dams have been constructed, two of which are still in place. The Dundas Public Utilities Commission dam, built in 1913 to provide water to the Town of Dundas, is located within the Crook’s Hollow Conservation Area. The Christie Conservation Area reservoir is still in operation providing low flow augmentation in the summer and providing Dundas protection from flooding. The ruins of the dams constructed in the 1800s and early 1900s are still evident today along the banks of Spencer Creek.

Ashbourne Mills is a good example of this industrial development. The mill was constructed in 1830 by Joseph Webster Jr., and operated as a flour, grist and oatmeal mill until it was destroyed by fire in 1898. The location of the mill was approximately 45 metres west of the brink of Webster’s Falls. The cobblestone bridge immediately adjacent to the brink of Webster’s Falls is the former site of a dam used in the operation of Ashbourne Mills.

The Dundas Parks Board removed the wooden dam and, using the existing stone and earthen banks on the side of the creek, constructed the cobblestone bridge over Spencer Creek in the 1930s. The cobblestone bridge as a popular attraction of the park; however, over time the bridge deteriorated and was closed to the public. To maintain the bridge as the focal point of the park and to ensure it was maintained for future generations, the Optimist Club of Greensville undertook to restore the bridge. It was officially re-opened on Canada Day, 2000.

Natural Areas Report: CHRISTIE STREAM VALLEY

The Christie Stream Valley study area is located in a semi--rural section of Flamborough, 8 km west of the Dundas urban area. This area includes a 7.5 km segment of the main trunk of Spencer Creek, from north of Peters Corners downstream to Greensville. This study area encompasses Christie Conservation Area, which is centred on a 60 ha reservoir, and the historic Crooks Hollow Conservation Area, located along Spencer Creek downstream of the reservoir. Much of the terrestrial habitat in this large area consists of manicured parkland and coniferous plantations which provide only low quality wildlife habitat. Aquatic habitat in the reservoir is also of poor quality.

The Christie Stream Valley study area encompasses the floodplain valley of Spencer Creek, including the Christie Reservoir, and adjoining upland areas. Community mapping was not conducted at this site during the NAI. The vegetation communities within the Christie Conservation Area have been previously mapped at part of the wildlife management program at this C.A. Most of the area consists of former agricultural lands which have been converted to manicured parkland on the north side, and conifer plantations and successional fields on the south side. Only small pockets of remnant natural communities (cattail marsh, cedar swamp, broadleaf swamp, and broadleaf upland woods) are present; high quality natural wildlife habitat is very limited. Parts the Christie Conservation Areas are being intensively managed for desirable wildlife species.

Physiography and Topography: The Christie Stream Valley includes the main trunk of Spencer Creek as it crosses the northern extension of the Norfolk Sand Plain physiographic region. This area is located between the shallow bedrock of the Flamborough Plain on the north, and the Dundas Valley re-entrant in the Niagara Escarpment to the south.

The upstream section of the study area consists of a moderately-developed meandering stream channel and floodplain. The central portion of this stretch of Spencer Creek is affected by seasonal flooding and draw-down in the reservoir created above the dam by Crooks Hollow. Downstream of the dam, the course of Spencer Creek follows a shallowly-incised bedrock valley. This lower section of the stream is marked by a long history of waterpower-based industrial developments. The reservoir (elevation 235 m at recreational level) is flanked by upland areas comprised of thick sand deposits rising to 265 m elevation on the south side, and 250 m on the north side.

Topography on the south side is rolling, with moderate to steep slopes. Slopes on the north side of the area are generally gentle except in the northeastern portion. The steepest slopes are located near the dam. Bedrock Geology: The bedrock surface in this area forms a south to southeast-sloping plain (207 to 245 m elevation). Bedrock outcrops occur locally along Spencer Creek, including a few outcrops on the south shore of the Christie reservoir.

The contact between bituminous dolostone of the Eramosa Member of the Lockport Formation and the overlying brown dolostone of the Guelph Formation passes through the southeast corner of this area. This contact is exposed in two geologically significant outcrops: one near the main dam, and the other in a roadcut on the north side of the Crooks Hollow C.A.

Overburden Geology: Overburden in this area consists of thick sand deposits which grade from hilly ice-contact kame terrain south of the Spencer Creek valley into gently-sloping glaciolacustrine plain to the north. Overburden thickness generally increases from 5 to 10 m along Highway #5, to 40 metres at Christies Corners. However, Spencer Creek and the side streams which join the main creek have created incised ravines so that overburden thickness within the study area varies from 0 to 30 m.

Soils: Soil development in the floodplain and reservoir is affected by seasonal flooding and deposition of alluvium. On the south side of the stream valley are well-drained soils of the Grimsby sandy loam - Brant silt loam complex, except for a small area of Ancaster silt loam in the southeast corner. Springvale sandy loam is the dominant soil on the north side of the reservoir but small patches of imperfectly- to poorly-drained Vineland sandy loam, Flamboro sandy loam, and Beverly silt loam are also present. Farmington loam and muck soils are present on the small patches of shallow bedrock in this area.

Hydrogeology: Most water wells in the vicinity of this study area tap various bedrock aquifers located anywhere from one to 21 m below the bedrock surface. Some of the deeper wells encounter sulphur water. Southwest of the study area, some wells use a shallow overburden aquifer which extends south towards Ancaster. The piezometric surface is similar but some 10 m lower than the topographic surface. The southerly movement of groundwater found on the Flamborough Plain converges on Spencer Creek valley from the north.

On the south side of the valley there is a local northerly movement of groundwater from the piezometric high associated with the topographic high comprised of sandy kame deposits. Small springs and groundwater-supported wet areas are reported on the north side of this area. While the high infiltration rates in the sandy overburden suggest the upland areas function as recharge areas, this shallow groundwater may largely discharge locally into the Spencer Creek system rather than move vertically into fractures in the bedrock.The poor water quality in the reservoir and fluctuating natural flow levels downstream reflect the predominate influence of overland flow.

Hydrology and Surface Drainage: This study area encompasses a 7.5 km long segment of the Spencer Creek valley from the confluence of West Spencer Creek and the main stream, to Highway #8 upstream of the Spencer Gorge. This is the middle reach of the main trunk of Spencer Creek and has an average gradient of less than 5 m/km. Due to the agricultural setting and general lack of natural areas and riparian habitat, moderately degraded, warmwater condition prevail in the creek and reservoir. The Christie reservoir was constructed in 1971 as a multi-purpose flood control and recreation facility.

During the summer the reservoir is maintained at a recreational level of 60 ha with a maximum depth of 6 m. The water is drawn down to the original creek bed level each fall for flood control purposes. This draw-down precludes the establishment of wetland vegetation. Water quality in this reservoir is adversely impacted by upstream agricultural and industrial activities. The reservoir is subject to pollution surges and algal blooms. Nine small artificial ponds, some of which are spring-fed, have been managed as put-and-take trout ponds. Water quality in these ponds is reported as "generally good", but at least one pond has been affected by phosphorus and ammonia rich effluent discharged from wastewater treatment facilities at an upstream industrial complex.