Ball's Falls, Ontario

Ball's Falls, Ontario, is a ghost town that dates back to the early 1800s which is now preserved as a Conservation Area operated by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority. [ [http://www.conservation-niagara.on.ca/conservation_areas/ballsfalls/ballsfalls.html Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority page for Ball's Falls] ] 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 sold to the Ball brothers in October 1807, including two waterfalls where the Twenty Mile Creek passes over the Niagara Escarpment, the lower falls 90 feet high and the upper falls 35 feet high. By 1809, they had already built a grist mill at the lower falls, and a saw mill was located at the higher falls. [ [http://www.brocku.ca/epi/3v23page/ballfall.htm Information about Ball's Falls from Brock University's Environmental Policy Institute] ]

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 Conservation Authority.

External links

* [http://www.conservation-niagara.on.ca/conservation_areas/ballsfalls/ballsfalls.html Official Site from Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority]
* [http://www.ontarioabandonedplaces.com/ballsfalls/balls2.asp Balls Falls at Ontario Abandoned Places]
* [http://ghosttownpix.com/ontario/towns/ballsfal.shtml Balls Falls at Ghosttownpix.com]

References