Hermitage Cascade
Encyclopedia
Hermitage Cascade is a 4-metre cascade waterfall
located in the Dundas Valley Conservation Area
in Hamilton, Ontario
, Canada
. Its source is Hermitage Creek.
Nearby attractions include the Bruce Trail
, Griffin House, Dundas Valley Trail Centre, Hamilton Conservation Authority Main Office, Fieldcote Museum, historic Ancaster Town Hall (built in 1871). There's also a convenience store, gas station, restaurant, motel and retail stores nearby.
George Gordon Browne Leith purchased the Hermitage in 1855. The Hermitage itself was a magnificent place to behold and visit: its ground floor contained an opulent dining room, library, drawing room, and stately entrance all, all furnished with original works of art and the best furniture. Leith spent over 2000 pounds in modernizing the place. After his death in 1901, his daughter Alma bought the estate
from the rest of the family and lived there until 1934, when a fire broke out during a party and burned the house down. All that can be seen today is the old gatehouse and the ruins.
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
located in the Dundas Valley Conservation Area
Dundas Valley Conservation Area
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...
in 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...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Its source is Hermitage Creek.
Nearby attractions include 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...
, Griffin House, Dundas Valley Trail Centre, Hamilton Conservation Authority Main Office, Fieldcote Museum, historic Ancaster Town Hall (built in 1871). There's also a convenience store, gas station, restaurant, motel and retail stores nearby.
History
The property on which Hermitage Cascade is found was originally owned by Otto Ives, who bought it in 1833 and moved in with his wife and niece. Coachman William Black fell in love with the girl, and when Ives blocked the marriage proposal, Black went to the property's gatehouse and killed himself. Suicides were rarely given cemetery burials in those days, so he was interred at the nearest crossroads, now locally known as Lover's Lane because of the ill-fated affair. It is believed that Black's final resting place is adjacent to property now owned by Chris Ecklund.George Gordon Browne Leith purchased the Hermitage in 1855. The Hermitage itself was a magnificent place to behold and visit: its ground floor contained an opulent dining room, library, drawing room, and stately entrance all, all furnished with original works of art and the best furniture. Leith spent over 2000 pounds in modernizing the place. After his death in 1901, his daughter Alma bought the estate
Estate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
from the rest of the family and lived there until 1934, when a fire broke out during a party and burned the house down. All that can be seen today is the old gatehouse and the ruins.