Hilton Falls #071017

Hilton Falls is well-known for its outstanding natural features. As one of the largest remaining forest tracts in Southern Ontario, the park is protected and managed by the Halton Region Conservation Authority.

The area is also protected by Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment Plan and by it’s regional designation as an Environmentally Sensitive Area.

The park includes the headwaters and wetlands of several tributaries of the 16 Mile Creek, one of which cascades over the escarpment at this point.

From here, the creek passes an unusual glacial pothole before entering a large glacial valley located just outside the park where Hwy 401 crosses the Niagara Escarpment. As the creek heads further south, it passes several other prominent geological features located at Kelso, Crawford Lake and Rattlesnake Point.

Waterpower and the Niagara Escarpment

The rocky ridge of the Niagara Escarpment is closely tied to the history and development of Southern Ontario. Long before the first Europeans arrived, native hunting parties used the Escarpment’s high, dry forests to establish settlements, to hunt, and to fish its rivers.

The first explorers may have cursed the Escarpment as a physical barrier, but later settlers were drawn to it. Escarpment waterfalls provided power for mills the flourished along the Niagara Escarpment until the early 1900’s.

The ruins of this mill provide us with a brief picture of a passing era and a remnant of our vanishing heritage. (see pictures) Pioneer saw mills were often the first sign of civilization in the bush as well as the nucleus for developing communities.

Three separate saw mills were constructed at this site from 1835 to 1867. Each mill was only in operation for a short period of time before being destroyed by fire or simply abandoned. Although little has been written about Ontario milling, this rapid destruction and rebuilding seems to have been quite common throughout the province.

The second mill at Hilton Falls was built in 1856 by Dr. George Hamilton Park, a medical doctor, who likely constructed the mill for investment or speculation.

The first consideration in establishing a saw mill was selecting a site near a supply of timber and a watercourse. At Hilton falls, a dam was built above the falls to redirect the stream into a new channel that led to a small dug pond near the mill. The channel from the pond to the mill was known as the mill race. The mill race led to a wooden structure called the flume where water fell over the waterwheel to make it turn. The water eventually re-entered the stream through the tail race arch which can still be seen below the falls.

The substantial stone remains that exist today suggest that the mill was well constructed. Historical data and site research indicate that the mill was powered by a large waterwheel made of iron and wood. Documented information indicated that the wheel was 40 feet in diameter. The Mill building was approximately 30 ft wide, 50 ft long and 18 ft high.

In 1991, an archaeological excavation uncovered more information about the mill. The presence of much glass, on the site, suggests the mill building was enclosed and has several windows. Analysis of charred wood chips revealed that pine and oak were the most common sawn trees.

A road, now closed, extended westward from the mill to Guelph Line. From here, sawn lumber could then reach local markets or perhaps was taken to the nearest rail line located eight Km away in Acton and used for export.

The history of the mill began in 1830 when the Crown awarded 200 acres of free land to Henry Young, an early settler of Nassagaweya. During Young’s ownership, Edward Hilton built a sawmill at the falls in 1835. After operating the mill for a short time, it was believed that Hilton left to take part in the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837 and the mill was left to rot. In 1850, the mill was rebuilt and operated by several people until 1863 when it burned down.

Many early tales about the mill add mystery to its sketchy history. It has been said the gold was discovered nearby and kept in a great cave with iron gates. Another story has Hilton Falls as a stop on the underground railroad used by slaves escaping from the U.S into Canada.

The Raceway Arch

The raceway arch is part of a wall that held a forty foot mill wheel. After flowing over the wheel, water would re-enter the creek through the arch. Remnants of the raceway channel, mill walls and diversion dam can still be found above the falls.

The Great Cave

The small cave (pothole) located on the gorge was carved out by glacial melt waters. It is only as large as can be seen in the pictures and does not include the “hidden gold” that was suggested in early historical accounts of the area.

Early History

Edward Hilton built a saw mill on Lot 8, in the 5^th concession, and this mill has a history. It is supposed to have been built about 1835 at a place where the creek runs over the crest of the mountain into a gorge over forty feet deep, and has been known as Hilton Falls ever since. Hilton himself was a curiosity and so was the mill. The bulkhead was made by scooping out a tree in a shape like a trough, the open side covered by a slab, then setting this on its end into the gorge it carried the water to the wheel about forty feet down. The wheel was an old fashioned flutter wheel. A piece of timber about ten inches thick set on its end, pieces of plank two or three feet long and about eight inches wide were mortised into this post on six or eight sides, this placed so as to catch the water where it discharged from the bottom of the bulkhead, drove the whole concern. Hilton went off in the rebellion, was away about twenty years and the mill rotted down.

Formation

Hilton Falls was formed over 12,000 years ago as meltwater from retreating glaciers flowed over the escarpment just south of here. Today, the 16 Mile Creek continues to modify the escarpment by carving the gorge by way of a process known as sapping.

Erosion from running water slowly removes the softer shale and limestone rock that underlies the harder dolomite caprock. Larg blocks of caprock eventually fall off and form the vertical face of the escarpment. Erosion from running water is largely responsible for the many indentations and irregular features seen on the Niagara Escarpment today.

In Ontario, the Niagara Escarpment is a continuous geological landform that dips to the centre of Michigan. Its origin dates back 450 million years when the Michigan basin was a huge warm sea. Corals and other sea creatures built up and eventually became limestone rock. The long period of erosion that followed helped create the cliffs and features of the escarpment today.