Mountain Mill Decew Falls

The Morningstar Mill was a working grist mill owned and operated by the Morningstar family in 1872.

Today you can visit the Morningstar Mill as a heritage property owned by the City of St. Catherines with partnership with the friends of Morningstar Mill.

The property has several accessible buildings still such as the grist mill and turbine shed, a saw mill, a blacksmith and carpenter's shed and the home of the Morningstar family.

Mountain Mills as it was called operated from 1883 to 1933.  It had three turbines.  One for the grist mills, another ran the saw mill and third ran a generator which provided private lighting on the property.    The grist mill turbine also ran an apple cider mill.  There was an orchard of apples, cherries, pears and peaches.  Local farmers would bring their horses and wagons and wait for their apples to be pressed into cider.  The nearby barn had a team of horses, a cow, chickens and pigs.


To make repairs in the grist and saw mills, the Morningstars had a blacksmith and carpenter shop located on the property.

When the Morningstars first purchased the Mountain Mills, the sawmill building was used as a community hall where local dances were held.  After a serious fight had ensued on the property they closed it down and converted it into a sawmill which continued to operate for over 40 years!

After Mr. Wilson Morningstar passed away, the sawmill was not maintained and was eventually dismantled.  The current sawmill was built by the Friends of Morningstar Mill in the 1990s.


I love history and especially when it applies to architecture.  I want to come back and revisit again to take a walk along the Laura Secord trail and the Bruce trail, which is just located directly behind the Morningstar house.

Balls Fall Conservation Area

 We recently spent some time near Jordan, which is just southwest of the town of Lincoln, located in the gorgeous Niagara region of Ontario.

This is in the heart of Niagara wine country - prevalent vineyards and acres of farmland.  Much much prettier in the summer months when everything is green.

I've seen it then when there are rows and rows of perfectly planted grape vines and there is a stark difference in the early signs of spring.

In this historical ghost town is Balls Falls Conservation area.  It occupies a small portion of the 1200 acres bought by the Balls Brothers in the mid 1800s.  There are two waterfalls at it's location, known simply as 'Upper falls' (10.7m), and 'Lower falls' (27.4 m) high.

They both run out of the 20 Mile Creek and both are pretty impressive to look at and easy to get to which is why it's family friendly and great for families with little kids.

One of the most frustrating aspect of taking waterfall pictures is when there always seems to be a tree(s) in the way!  Such is the case here in when I was taking pictures of the Upper falls.  It's really difficult to get a picture around it, but the Lower Falls has a clear path.  It also doesn't help when the trees are mere stick-like twigs!  It sure doesn't make much of a picture frame, but you can get the idea of how lovely the water flows over firmer limestone and several weaker sandstone layers.  

The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority had purchased this land in 1962.  The gorge has become somewhat of a scientific interest and at the Ball's Falls Centre for Conservation (located near the parking lot as you come in), there is a lot to help visitors learn of the area's cultural and natural history.

Inside when opened (may-October) includes galleries, exhibits and interactive displays, archaeological finds and some information about the watershed ecosystem of the 20 mile creek.


The village of Glen Elgin is located near the Lower Falls, just opposite of the foot bridge located at the bottom of the park.  In the village, you can see the original Ball family house, and operating gristmill, a lime kiln, a restored church, a blacksmith shop and a carriage shed.

The Ball family house is a Georgian style home, and was built in 1846 for George Ball and his family.  The front of the house was then used as a general store.  George's idea was for Glen Elgin to become somewhat of a hamlet for local residents.  It never came to pass and when Mortimer inherited the home in 1883, he decorated the home to be a law office so he could work from home.


You can also see the renovated Woolen Mill was reconstructed in the early 1840s to manufacturer cloth with water and the power of steam.  By 1851 George had over 30 employees working at the mill.

There is a quaint little church in the village called, St. George Anglican church.  It was built in 1865 to serve the growing hamlet of Glen Elgin.

By the 1960s due to the growing population on the Hamilton Mountain, it was advised to build a larger church to accommodate all the parishoners.  The old church was bought by the Niagara Conservation Authority and put on the Balls Falls Conservation area as part of the Elgin Mills village.  The church today is still used occasionally for small wedding services.

I had a wonderful time here, and despite slightly chilly temps, it was still a great visit.  This is no my list to return once the weather is warmer again.  I really do need to remember to bring my tripod!