Waterfalls are one of the nature's spectacles. They offer a festival of sight and sound. They are awe inspiring and invigorating. For some the sights and sounds of waterfalls helps to renew the spirit. In Ontario the waterfalls of the Niagara Escarpment provide us with an understanding of the beauty of the land which we call home. They also provide us with a door through which we can understand our past cultural, economic and social heritage. Today, the waters may be a little less pure than they were a few centuries ago, but they still cascade from the rivers and creeks across the brow of the Niagara Escarpment.
Most of the falls on the escarpment are now contained within the grounds of conservation areas and are kept in natural setting by the local Conservation Authorities. These falls can be accessed by a system of trails and some are only a short walk from a parking lot or bus stop. Most of these falls are situated in a natural setting, although a few have now been swallowed up by encroaching urbanization. Some are more difficult to get to and may for a good view require a vigourous hike, some rock climbing and wading through creeks. Most of the falls are either visible from the Bruce Trail or adjoining trails. This is what makes Niagara's other falls worth the hike. The natural setting of these falls surrounded by woods is quite breath taking.
In addition to their natural beauty, waterfalls also hold a key to understanding our past and the pioneering spirit of our early settlers. The area is rich in the history of Ontario. The earliest settlers, Canada's aboriginal people's were drawn to the fast moving rivers and creeks as a source for fish and game. In the late eighteenth and early nineteen centuries communities developed in areas where waterfalls had strong enough flows to power grist mills, saw mills and logging operations. In the late nineteenth century, the power of the escarpment's water falls was harnessed to produce electricity. The birth of hydroelectricity in Ontario has its roots power generated by falls from the escarpment.
Ironically, the development of electricity powered by the energy of waterfalls contributed to the demise of waterfall-powered mills and settlements that grew around them . With the establishment of long distance transmission lines and improved transportation, mills could now be located closer to larger towns and cities. The commercial mills that once thrived in mill towns have long since been closed down. Only the shells of the mills or their grindstones have been preserved. Historical markers remnants of mills and power plants remind us of an era that contributed to developing Ontario. Power stations however still generate electricity from plants located at Decew Falls in St. Catharines and Eugenia Falls, just east of Flesherton and of course the Sir Adam Beck Generating Station in Niagara Falls.