Dundas Valley Conservation Area
Encyclopedia
Dundas Valley Conservation Area is located on the Niagara Escarpment
in Dundas, Ontario
, a constituent community of Hamilton, Ontario
, and is owned and operated by the Hamilton Conservation Authority
. Its 40-kilometre trail system provides a connection to the Bruce Trail
. The area contains a trailhead
of the Hamilton-Brantford-Cambridge Trails
, Canada's first fully developed interurban multi-use trail system, which is a part of the Trans Canada Trail
.
furthered the erosion processes and resulted in deposition of glacial and glaciolacustrine
sediments, forming the hummocky kame
and kettle topography of the present.
. In 1850, it was replaced by a cement fountain. Having crumbled, it was restored in 1972.
. Construction materials were obtained locally. Bricks originated from the Dundas Valley clay
; limestone
was quarried at the Credit River
valley. The Hermitage burned down in 1934. After that, Leith's daughter built a much smaller house among the ruins and lived there until her death in 1942. To prevent further deterioration, the ruins were stabilized using wooden braces.
A modern replica of a Victorian
railway station serves as the area's Trail Centre. Adjacent to it is a remnant of the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway
track with a 1929 executive coach car and a 1931 baggage car donated by the Canadian Pacific Railway
. The track was converted into an interurban rail trail
, having been abandoned in 1988.
Niagara Escarpment
The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in the United States and Canada that runs westward from New York State, through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois...
in Dundas, Ontario
Dundas, Ontario
Dundas is a formerly independent town and now constituent community in the city of Hamilton in Ontario, Canada. It's nickname is the Valley Town. The population has been stable for decades at about twenty thousand, largely because it has not annexed rural land from the protected Dundas Valley...
, a constituent community of Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, and is owned and operated by the Hamilton Conservation Authority
Hamilton Conservation Authority
The Hamilton Conservation Authority maintains the greenspace, trails, parks and some attractions in the Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.The Hamilton Conservation Authority has managed the natural environment in partnership with the City of Hamilton and the Province of Ontario to help ensure a safe and...
. Its 40-kilometre trail system provides a connection to the Bruce Trail
Bruce Trail
The Bruce Trail is a hiking trail in southern and central Ontario, Canada.-General:The trail follows the edge of the Niagara Escarpment, one of the thirteen UNESCO World Biosphere Reserves in Canada, for almost...
. The area contains a trailhead
Trailhead
A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles...
of the Hamilton-Brantford-Cambridge Trails
Hamilton-Brantford-Cambridge Trails
The Hamilton-Brantford-Cambridge Trails was part of the abandoned Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway. It has been converted to a multi-use interurban recreational rail trail.-Gordon Glaves Memorial Pathway:...
, Canada's first fully developed interurban multi-use trail system, which is a part of the Trans Canada Trail
Trans Canada Trail
The Trans Canada Trail is a proposed corridor in Canada. The creation of the trail was announced as part of Canada's 125th anniversary celebrations in 1992. It is expected that when complete, it will be the longest recreational trail in the world...
.
Landform
The origins of the Dundas Valley, the main feature of the area, date back to the pre-glacial times, when the Niagara Escarpment was deeply incised by erosion. The Wisconsin GlaciationWisconsin glaciation
The last glacial period was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age occurring during the last years of the Pleistocene, from approximately 110,000 to 10,000 years ago....
furthered the erosion processes and resulted in deposition of glacial and glaciolacustrine
Glaciolacustrine deposits
Sediments deposited into lakes that have come from glaciers are called glaciolacustrine deposits. These lakes include ice margin lakes or other types formed from glacial erosion or deposition. Sediments in the bedload and suspended load are carried into lakes and deposited...
sediments, forming the hummocky kame
Kame
A kame is a geological feature, an irregularly shaped hill or mound composed of sand, gravel and till that accumulates in a depression on a retreating glacier, and is then deposited on the land surface with further melting of the glacier...
and kettle topography of the present.
Sulphur Springs Hotel
A sulphurous spring found in the area was the site of the Sulphur Springs Hotel built during the late 1880s. As sulphur was believed to possess wondrous curative powers, the hotel's mineral spa was a very popular summertime destination. The hotel closed down in 1910 after it was ravaged by two fires. The spring flows from a fountain first built in 1820 from cast ironCast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
. In 1850, it was replaced by a cement fountain. Having crumbled, it was restored in 1972.
The Hermitage
A magnificent stone mansion was built in 1855 by George Gordon Browne Leith, an immigrant from ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Construction materials were obtained locally. Bricks originated from the Dundas Valley clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
; limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
was quarried at the Credit River
Credit River
The Credit River is a river in southern Ontario which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment to empty into Lake Ontario at Port Credit, Mississauga. It drains an area of approximately 1,000 km²...
valley. The Hermitage burned down in 1934. After that, Leith's daughter built a much smaller house among the ruins and lived there until her death in 1942. To prevent further deterioration, the ruins were stabilized using wooden braces.
Trail Centre
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
railway station serves as the area's Trail Centre. Adjacent to it is a remnant of the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway
Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway
The Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway was a railway based in Hamilton that ran in Southern Ontario from 1894 to 1987. It never reached the other two cities in its name, although it did have branch lines extending to Dunnville and Port Maitland.-History:...
track with a 1929 executive coach car and a 1931 baggage car donated by the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
. The track was converted into an interurban rail trail
Rail trail
A rail trail is the conversion of a disused railway easement into a multi-use path, typically for walking, cycling and sometimes horse riding. The characteristics of former tracks—flat, long, frequently running through historical areas—are appealing for various development. The term sometimes also...
, having been abandoned in 1988.