Saturday, November 26, 2016

David Watson’s 1859 house on the corner of Highway 10 and Highpoint Sideroad is sitting, waiting for a possible heritage designation.  The 1877 Peel County Atlas shows the property on Lot 26 east as belonging to David Watson.  Centre Road has been coloured green on the map and is known as Highway 10 today.  Highpoint Sideroad, or 25th sideroad, has been coloured brown.  The house is marked with a red arrow and an orchard is shown between the house and the road.

Meanwhile, in spite of the pending heritage designation, it is in a state of deterioration and opened up in many places to the coming winter weather.  The picture below reveals that the window above the front door has been broken.   Many of Ontario’s earliest brick structures were made of yellow brick and accented with red brick.  Later the opposite pattern would come to dominate as red bricks became the more commonly mass-produced bricks. The buff, or yellow bricks came from clay that had less iron in it than the clay used for the red bricks.  These yellow bricks are very common in 1850 and 1860 South-western Ontario homes.  Notice the detailed pattern in the bricks below the roof-line.

The master bedroom looked out of the only forward facing window on the second floor. The brickwork around the window lintels is quite unique with its curving form.  A string of old Christmas lights  hangs from the trim.

The north side of the building faces toward Orangeville where the lower window on the front looked into the living room and the rear one gave afternoon light to the kitchen.  The use of red bricks for quoins on the corners of the building give the structure an increased appearance of being solid.

The rear window on the north end of the building has been removed showing the inside of the kitchen.  A doorway from the kitchen leads to the family room where the three bay windows once looked out onto an orchard and a small gravel road.

This view shows the kitchen cupboards and the place where the sink has been removed. The view in the picture below shows the doorway that leads into the dining room.

The cellar door has been broken open and recent animal and human footprints show that the place has had activity since the last snowfall.

From the rear, the house has some odd colouring to the bricks which suggests that the central back door may have had a porch roof over it at one time.  The upstairs has a bathroom on the right-hand end, above the kitchen.  It has a window which is slightly smaller than the second one which is in the upstairs hallway.

In the field behind the house stands the concrete remains of the silo.  This also marks the location of the former barn on the property.

The south view of the house shows more broken windows, two of them in upstairs bedrooms.

One of the points mentioned in the application for historical status is the picturesque location of the Watson house.  This view looking out across the Credit River illustrates this quite well.

Also located near this location is Island Lake Park which makes a great place for a visit with the family for an extended hike.

Google Maps Link: Highpoint Sideroad and Highway 10

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Saturday, November 19, 2016

Rouge Park was created in 1995 and covers over 12,000 acres of the Rouge River watershed. There are current plans to make it Canada’s first National Park in an urban area.  It has been home to resorts, cottages, and campers since the 1800’s.  Throughout the park are signs of the historical uses that the native people had for the land as well as the early settlers in the area.  One such place is the early grist mill that was built on the Little Rouge Creek.

There is a large parking lot on Twyn Rivers Drive near the concrete arch bridge.  Directly across the street from the parking lot are four stone pillars which mark the gates for the former Maxwell Mill.  The remains of the mill are on the curve in the road between there and the Little Rouge Creek.  The property originally belonged to David and Mary Thompson who sold it to James Maxwell.  The Maxwell grist mill served Pickering and area beginning in the mid-1850’s.  A sketch from 1855 shows Maxwell’s Mill as it looked at the time.

In 1929 a flood destroyed the mill pond dam and put an end to water-powered milling at this site.  The remains of the dam can still be seen on either side of the creek near the parking lot.  Access to both sides is available for those who wish to cross the bridge and follow the trail along the other side.  Extensive concrete walls can be found along the sides of the creek and concrete also is supporting the berm that once held the mill pond.

The Maxwell Bridge where Twyn Rivers Drive crosses the Little Rouge Creek has been named a heritage property by the city of Toronto.  It is listed as a concrete rainbow through arch, fixed bridge.  A through arch bridge typically has a portion of the arch below the road deck so that it appears the road passes through the arch.  This bridge does not have an obvious portion of the arch below the road deck.

Four of these stone pillars formed the gates for the mill.  Wood straps can still be seen on the pillar to the left.  A matching pair stands on the right, just out of this picture.

Close examination of the inner pillar reveals a forged steel rod with an “eye” hook on the end that once supported the gate.

The same storm that destroyed the mill dam in 1929 also filled the sluice up with silt. Since it was abandoned it has been further damaged by the large tree that is now growing beside it.  The concrete of the sluice has been cracked as the tree pushed it out of the way.

From the back of the sluice, you can see how little nature thinks of the concrete structure. The crank that was used to control the flow of water toward the water wheel can still be seen.

After its days as a mill were finished the building served several purposes.  In 1923 Clarence Purcell bought the farm around the mill to run as a hobby farm.  He also used it to raise his ponies.  At one time the main floor of the mill was converted to house ten pig pens.  Grist mills were noisy places filled with vibration from the turning mill stones. In order to protect the building from damage, there were often two separate foundations.  In the case of Maxwell’s Mill the stone foundation walls were double thickness.  The picture below shows a cross section of one of the foundation walls.

In 1954 Hurricane Hazel caused even more damage to the mill.  By this time the animals had been removed and the space was being used for storage.  In the early 1970’s a fire destroyed the mill and left only the stone walls remaining. The Toronto Region Conservation Authority bought the property after this as part of their flood prevention program following the hurricane.  Sticking out of the ground near the old water-wheel housing is the end of this drive shaft. This may have been attached to the turbines which replaced the water-wheel as the technology improved and water levels fell in the river.  Turbines could provide more power with less water.

The remains of the mill were listed as a heritage property in 2009.  After supplying energy to turn the water wheel, and later the turbine, the water was released back into the tail race through this opening in the wall.  The tail race then returned the water to the river.

In the woods just behind Maxwell’s Mill are the remains of an old vehicle.  This one is going to take a little more work to fix up than some of the ones seen on the tv show Counting Cars.

From the Little Rouge Creek to the Rouge River is a short walk along the Twyn Rivers Road. The bridge over The Rouge River has also been listed on Toronto’s inventory of  historic structures.  It is a metal Warren Truss Pony bridge made of 5 panels riveted together.  Just before the river passes under the road there is a large embankment on the east side of the river.  Two horizontal stripes of darker stone can be seen along the left-hand side of the picture.  While taking this picture I was surprised to smell rotting fish.  Near my feet was the remains of a salmon that had come upstream to spawn and die.

Rouge Park has much left to be explored.  Two previous posts looked at parts of the park. Toronto’s Only Suspension Bridge and Abandoned Passmore Avenue provide additional reading about sites in the park.

Google Maps link: Maxwell’s Mill

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Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016

The Ken Whillans Resource Management Area is an unique part of the Credit Valley Conservation network.  This is due to the fact that, along with conservation, they are also providing public access to fishing.  Bass, perch, and trout are all able to be caught during their respective seasons but the CVC recommends a catch-and-release program.  The park is located on the former Kidd property and has been used as a conservation area since 1954.

The resource management area is named after Ken Whillans who was the 46th mayor of Brampton.  He ran the city from 1982 until he drowned while on vacation in Prince Edward Island in 1990.  There is a link from the parking lot near the fishing ponds to the Caledon Trailway. The trail follows the old right of way for the Hamilton and North Western Railway.  Near where the trail crosses highway 10 there are four concrete culverts under the rail berm. These are old and starting to crumble but would not be from the original construction of 1877 as concrete was not in use for another 25 years.

Where the Caledon Trailway intersects with Hurontario Street (Center Road on the county survey) a 175-meter bridge has been constructed.  Just south of here the 1850’s hamlet of Sligo once stood near where the road made a switch back to ease the grade of the hill.  In 1857 about 50 people lived in the community where the road began its climb out of the Credit Valley onto the Peel Plain.  The post office closed in 1883 and the hamlet was lost to history except for the switch back which had taken the name Deadman’s Turn.  When the land was acquired in 1923 for the development of a highway, the switch back was left in place until 1949 when the road was straightened.  From the bridge, the trail continues east as it makes its way toward Cardwell Junction.

As a resource management area, they encourage visitors but not of the invasive species kind.  A brush is provided for you to clean your footwear to ensure you are not carrying pollen, spores, or seeds into the park.  Two ponds are located on the property.  One is known as Kidd Pond, after the original landowner, and the other is named Orchard Pond after the part of the homestead it covers.  The orchard can be seen as rows of dots on the county atlas near the larger black square that marks the home itself.  The Harvest Trail runs 2.3 kilometres around the two ponds while the Fisherman’s Walk extends for 300 meters between the two ponds.

Canoe, kayak and paddleboard rentals are available for $20/hour or $50 per day, once you make the $200 security deposit.  Fishing rods can be rented for $10 a day with a $20 security deposit.  A boat launch is provided near the parking lot.

Part of the control of invasive species that has become common throughout conservation lands in the GTA is the removal of ash trees damaged by Emerald Ash Borer insects.  It has left some of our woodlands looking rather thin but the loss of larger trees always means opportunities for smaller growth to succeed.  Planting programs are designed to replace lost trees with native species to help recreate a more natural local habitat.

Fishing is encouraged in the ponds at the conservation area.  Only children under 18 and seniors over 65 are allowed to keep trout, in their season.  All other people must practice catch and release or contribute their catch to the possession limit of the child or senior. Trout season runs from the fourth Saturday in April until September 30th.  Bass fishing is allowed during the season which runs from the fourth Saturday in June until November 30th.  All bass fishing is catch and release.  There are nine fishing piers plus the boat launch located around the two ponds.  Scattered in the branches around the fishing piers are the lost bobbers and lures that tell a story of fishing for trees.

The Autumn Meadowhawk is one of the later flying species of dragonflies.  The were formerly known as Yellow-legged Meadowhawks because they have yellow legs to go along with their red abdomens.  They are found along the edges of ponds in October and November.  This specimen was sunning itself on one of the boardwalks along the Kidd Pond.

The river grape, or vitis riparia, are growing in great abundance along the trail.  The grapes are particularly hardy and have been known to withstand winter temperatures of -57 Celcius.  They are also resistant to mildew and black rot which makes them of interest to domestic grape producers.  For over 100 years the genes of vitis riparia have been used to breed cold and fungal resistance into cultivated grape species.

The hoof of a horse is made of a material which is similar to a human toenail.  Although thicker and harder than the human counterpart it is prone to wear and damage in working animals.  Records from ancient Asia suggest that feet were wrapped in rawhide while the Romans had a type of hoof boot that they strapped on.  The idea of nailing a protective shoe to the hoof came around 900 AD.  Within 100 years it was common for a shoe with 6 nail holes to be used.  Iron was still a scarce commodity and so in the 11th to 13th centuries it was possible to pay your taxes with horseshoes.  Someone had been around the trails very recently and there were examples of horseshoe prints where you can see some of the nail holes.

The average dog produces about 340 grams of feces per day.  We have a stoop and scoop program in place for dog owners so our trails don’t become unusable.  A horse, on the other hand, produces over 22 kilograms of feces per day.  Why is this allowed to remain on our trails?  As a side note, horses are not allowed in the conservation area although they are welcome on The Caledon Trailway.

A small stream connects the two ponds on the western end and the trail continues to follow the shore of the Orchard Pond.  When you pass through the remains of the old orchard you’ll know that you are near the end of your trek.  From here the view back across the pond reveals the Niagara Escarpment and The Devil’s Pulpit at The Forks of The Credit.

Google Map link: Ken Whillans Resource Management Area

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Saturday, November 5, 2016

Cardwell Junction came into being in 1877 when the Hamilton and Northwestern Railway (H&NW) made its way toward Barrie and intersected with the Toronto Grey and Bruce Railway (TG&B).  The TG&B was aligned east-west and was set on a berm to control the slope as the railway climbed the Caledon hills.  The picture below shows the berm as it exists today on the north side of the H&NW line.  The name Cardwell comes from the Federal Electoral District of Cardwell that existed from 1867 until 1903 when it was realigned into other ridings.

In order to allow the H&NW to pass under the TG&B a wooden trestle was built.  The wooden trestle was anchored on an abutment made of blocks of cut limestone.  Careful examination of the blocks reveals the tiny marine fossils that it is made of.  The earlier abutment is visible on the south side of the tracks where the rail corridor has been reclaimed for farming uses.  A dark stain in the field, perhaps from coal, shows where the line once ran.

The map below comes from the Digital Archives at McMaster University and dates to 1903. The TG&B had come under the ownership of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1884 and is shown as yellow on the map.  The H&NW had become part of the Grand Trunk Railway by this time and their property holdings are shown in green.  The two railways had been built using different track gauges and when the narrow gauge TG&B line was standardized in 1882 a connecting curve was built.  This allowed the construction of a shared station where passengers and freight could switch between the lines.  Notice how each company owned their half of the curve.  In 1903 the CPR had a single water tank where their end of the curve connected to the main line.  In 1904 they added a second tank, this octagonal one was a little larger than the first.

The Google Earth image below has been coloured to show the H&NW which runs just above the yellow line.  The TG&B ran just below the blue line.  They were connected with a curved track that can still be seen just outside the red line.  St. Andrews Road, marked as “road between concession iv & v” on the 1903 map, is crossed by both lines as it heads north.  An abandoned house sits just inside the connecting curve at the lower end.  The shared station must have sat pretty close to where the building with the blue roof stands at the mid-point.

The H&NW was operated by The Grand Trunk Railway before becoming part of the Canadian National Railway network.  The section through Cardwell Junction was abandoned in the 1960’s.  The former H&NW rail bed was purchased by Caledon in 1989 and has been repurposed as a hiking trail.  The Caledon Trailway uses 35 kilometers of the line to create a multi-use path.  The Trans Canada Trail, aka The Great Trail, was started in 1992 as part of Canada’s 125th-anniversary celebrations. When complete it will cover over 24000 km connecting the east, west and arctic coasts. Just over 20,000 kilometers are complete and the goal is to finish in time for next year’s 150th celebrations. My younger brother is commemorated at a pavilion in Calgary. This section shares the trail with The Caledon Trailway at Cardwell Junction. This was the first official section of the trail and Caledon East boasts the first pavilion on the trail.  Walking east from St. Andrews Road the TG&B bridge abutments are the primary reminders of the junction of the two railways.

The charter for the Toronto Grey and Bruce Railway was granted in 1868 with construction beginning the following year.  Passenger service to Orangeville was opened in 1871 with the line being extended to Owen Sound by 1873.  After being operated by the Ontario and Quebec Railway it was finally absorbed into the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1884.  The original trestle was replaced in 1925 with a new one set on concrete abutments.  The earlier abutments on the north side are hidden in the berm but they are still visible on the south side.  The north abutment on the TG&B has a date marker but it is badly worn and hidden behind grape vines for most of the summer.The portion of the line through Cardwell Junction was abandoned in 1932.

The view from standing atop the rail berm looking south along the TG&B.

This view from a similar position looks to the north where the water tanks once stood.  A brickyard was established at the junction in 1914 under the name of Bowlby Sand, Lime and Brick Company.  Located along the curve, they worked a clay deposit on the side of The Little Credit River until it was exhausted in the early 1920’s.

The view from atop the south abutment looking west along the H&NW railway.  This was a rare shot without people in it as the trail is well used by dog-walkers, cyclists, and joggers.

In 1893 Cardwell Junction had a population of 29 and by 1908 it had dropped to just 20. There are still houses visible on the Cardwell Junction curve but they are on private property.  From the hiking trail, one abandoned and slowly decaying house can be seen through the woods.

Bulrush, or cattail, seed hairs were used by some native peoples to line their moccasins with.  One Native American group used a word for the hairs that meant “fruit for papoose’s bed”.  It was also used for diapers, baby powder, and cradle boards.  It can be used in emergency situations to get a fire started.

On the west side of St. Andrews Road a gate now closes off the right of way from the former TG&B.  The rail allowance on the east side of the road is quickly being overgrown. Continuing west from here the rail line makes its way to the site of the Horseshoe Curve where a deadly accident occurred in 1907.

The trail through Cardwell Junction has an occasional railway spike showing through the fine gravel surface to help remind us of a bygone era.

Google Maps link: Caldwell Junction

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Halloween 2016

Happy Halloween from Hiking the GTA.

Alex Robertson Park covers 48 acres of the 134-acre Hydro Marsh in Pickering at the mouth of Duffins Creek.  This marsh is an important place because so much of the coastal wetlands along the Great Lakes has been lost due to urbanization.  The marsh is home to many kinds of waterfowl and the park has meadows including a Monarch Butterfly monitoring station.  The park has recently been turned into an outdoor art exhibit called Home Place which officially opened Sept. 22, 2001.  Dorsey James did most of the carving featured below.  Home Place and its enchanted artwork is formed of three parts: The Area of Enchantment, The Portal, and The Kijimba Kind.  The name Home Place was chosen in honour of the original name of Pickering.  The 1791 map below from the Pickering/Ajax Digital Archive shows Pickering Home District as it was originally laid out with lots running along the lake.

The Kijimba Kind is an area that contains wood carvings on old trees.  The first one you come to is Thor, the Norse god of thunder.  His mother is the earth itself and he is responsible for protecting mankind from chaos, destruction and the forces of evil.

The Bridge Builder.  Tji-Wara had the power of metamorphosis.  When her people were being pursued she transformed into a tree so they could cross a river to safety.  When there was no food for the people she changed into an antelope so they could eat of her body.

Aquilla, the eagle.  Most cultures see the eagle as representing power or determination. Some others see the eagle as bringing floods or periods of great loss.  The serpent in its talons represents evil to most cultures.  There are those, however, who see it as a symbol of reincarnation because it renews itself by shedding its skin.  The serpent lifted up on a pole is a symbol of the medical community and has likely been adapted from a story about Moses lifting a serpent on a pole to heal the people.

The Sentinel.  Some cultures think that the crane is always alert.  They say it rests with one leg raised and a pebble held in its claw.  If it starts to fall asleep the pebble falls and the crane wakes up.

The Hibou, or Owl, is believed by some to be an omen of ill portent.   They symbolize death and mourning to those people.  Others see the owl as a symbol of knowledge and wisdom because of its ability to see at night.

The Moirai are three sisters who represent the past, present, and future of our lives.  At the top of the pole is Clotho who spins the thread at the start of our lives.

Atropos weaves the thread of life into our actions while at the bottom Lachesis cuts the thread at the end of life.   Together these three are known as The Fates.

The Parson is a man of God and a man of Peace.  He represents the role that religion played in the lives of the people who settled here.

Spring.  When Persephone was abducted by the lord of Hades her mother, who controlled the weather, went searching for her and the result was winter.  Zeus decreed that Persephone could return provided she hadn’t eaten any food of the dead.  Since she had eaten six seeds she was condemned to spend six months per year in the underworld and this is where winter comes from .  When she returns from Hades the spring arrives, or so the ancient Greeks believed.

Twenty telephone poles in two intersecting circles form a ring around The Portal.  They grow in height as they reach toward the centre to symbolize how we grow in strength as a community.

The Portal is at the centre of the design and it is built of post and beam construction similar to the methods used by early settlers.  On the west side of The Portal is the face of a young woman.  She is Vesta the Greek goddess of the hearth and home.  The faces carved into the poles behind represent male and female as well as young and old.

On the east side of The Portal is a cob of corn symbolizing nurturing.  Every kernel of corn on the cob has been carved with a human face.  The various races that call Pickering home are also revealed in the carvings on the surrounding poles.

In the Enchanted Area there are several faces carved into the knots on the trees.  As you enter the area you are greeted by Merlin himself.  His face is shown in the cover photo but the carving is starting to be hidden by a new growth of bushes and grape vines.  Elves, fairies, and nymphs are seen in addition to Merlin’s apprentice who is weathering badly. The face of a woman is seen in the tree below.

Here is another face in a smaller knot.

Google Maps link:  Alex Robertson Park

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Saturday, October 22, 2016

This hike was a return to the location of our first blog which was little more than a collection of pictures that didn’t have a story to tell.  What came out of this visit was much different than the original blog which we called Humber River at Finch and Islington.

The site is formally known as lot 36 and part of lot 35 and was owned by Alex Card and Jason Carruthers at the time of the 1878 county atlas.  Alex Card’s property was accessed from Kipling and his driveway is shown in white on the map below.  The laneway extended past the house to a grist mill that was operated near the Humber River.  In 1926 The Hospital For Sick Children was looking for a country location to build a satellite facility. They wanted to replace their John Ross Robertson Lakeside Home For Children which was on Hanlan’s Point.  This small facility had been opened on Toronto Islands in 1883 but was only in service four months per year.

When they settled on lot 36 they used Card’s laneway off of Kipling and decided that an entrance off of Islington would be created with a sweeping laneway, shown in green, that would showcase the hospital.  Ten acres of land were purchased off of Carruthers to allow the laneway to be extended and this short stretch is also marked in green on the map above.  At this time Finch Avenue did not extend across the river and when it was extended in the late 1980’s the 10-acre corner was cut back off of the property.  Due to the fact that these few acres were owned by the hospital, they escaped development when the rest of Carruthers property was sold off.  Today it is known as Finch Islington Park and is a largely unused area which is returning to its forested condition.  The exploration started here before making its way across Finch Avenue.  Among the new growth stand rows of mature trees that once lined this entranceway.  This portion of the old laneway has almost vanished but an old culvert still reveals where the road once crossed a seasonal flow of water.

The former road surface on the south side of Finch Avenue has been reclaimed by the forest.  New growth trees stand out in a strip between the mature pine trees on either side of the former roadway.

It was decided that the old laneway from the mill was too steep and so only the lower portion was incorporated into the new driveway.  The old laneway is still discernable but unlike the roadbed north of Finch, it isn’t paved.

Along this old laneway is a stone bridge across a small tributary to the Humber River.

The old laneway will eventually bring you to a portion of the Humber River Recreational Trail but we turned back when we came to the back of the old power plant.  Another row of streetlights led us to this set of stairs.  At one time this led from the back of the hospital to the laneway and then to the gardens beyond.

At the bottom of the stairs, a small footbridge crosses the same tributary that we had seen on the older laneway.

The little footbridge leads out to where the laneway curves toward the river and Islington Avenue.

The road curves where it approaches the Humber River and makes its way south toward Finch Avenue.  Mature pine trees can be seen running parallel to the road which was planted for a hundred feet along either side.  This was done in 1930 to compliment the 50,000 seedlings that had been planted prior to opening.  Stands of pine trees had been planted around the hospital in the belief that their scent helped cure those who suffered from lung ailments like tuberculosis.

Running parallel to the river the laneway runs almost to Finch Avenue where it dead-ends just before the fence along the road allowance.  Somewhere along this section of the 19th-century roadway once stood the grist mill.  Today you can clearly see the pattern of alternating pine and deciduous trees that was planted along either side of the road.

Construction on the country addition to The Hospital For Sick Children was started in May 1927 and it officially opened on October 10, 1928.  It was built to house 112 patients as well as the doctors and caregivers.  The north face of the building is shown in the picture below.  and it housed the staff.  A rear section can just be seen in the picture and it housed the patients.  They were taken outside daily for treatment with “sunshine and fresh air” and the rear dorms had a place to roll beds outside as well.  The hospital was a long distance from the city so it incorporated a power plant, water and sewage treatment and high-pressure firefighting system.

By the 1950’s its operation had become outdated with modern treatments in downtown hospitals replacing most of them.  Following power loss due to Hurricane Hazel in 1954 it was soon closed.  In 1957 the hospital was purchased by the Department of Health for use as a mental health hospital for juvenile patients.  In 1960 they added a centre for autistic children and in 1967 the name was changed to Thistletown Regional Centre for Children and Adolescents. These signs are new and appear all over and include a variety that claims that the area is patrolled. For this reason, I am not suggesting that people should visit this location.

Link to original blog for this location: Humber River at Finch and Islington

Google Maps Link: Finch-Islington Park

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Saturday, October 15, 2016

The Humber Arboretum was started in 1977 by the horticulture students of Humber College.  Today it covers 250 acres behind Humber College’s North Campus.  It covers an area of the West Humber River Valley between highway 27 and the 427 and features botanical gardens, meadows, and natural areas.  It also features a large variety of trees that have been dedicated to the memory of various individuals.  It is a little tricky to find but look for the first left east of highway 27 off of Humber College Boulevard (see the map link at the end).  This is Arboretum Boulevard and is on college property.  There is free parking in lot 1 and a large sign announcing the arboretum.  There are over 6 kilometers of trails in the park which will allow you to walk among the various ponds and gardens where you can watch for a wide variety of wildlife.

The trees start to prepare for winter by withdrawing useful chlorophyll from the leaves and storing it in the woody parts of the tree for use next year.  This removes the green colour from the leaves and causes them to turn various colours.  Without the chlorophyll to protect the colours of the leaves they are soon broken down by UV light leaving just the brown tannin in the decaying leaf.  This Red Oak is starting to change at the end of this one branch.

The arboretum claims to have over 1,700 species of plants and animals and serves as a living classroom for students at the North Campus.  The common snapping turtle featured below and in the cover photo is about the size of a toonie.  This is just a little baby of a species that can grow to be 75 lbs and live for 100 years in the wild.  The snapping turtle has distinctive ridges on the carapace as well as a serrated shell, especially along the tail end.  This turtle species has the latin name Chelydra Serpentina because of its snake-like neck that can reach to bite near the rear legs.  This little one may be from this spring’s hatching.  It was making its slow way across the path that was shared with bicycles and joggers.

We moved the snapping turtle to the grass near the edge of one of the three little ponds that have been created on the arboretum grounds.  These ponds have been planted to provide habitat for wetland species that are being conserved and presented here.  Students conduct experiments and gain hands-on work experience.

One of the projects is an attempt to help save the endangered butternut tree that was native to this region.  A severe fungal canker threatens the trees but students have teamed up with the Ministry of Natural Resources to plant 5 new samplings in an enclosure in the arboretum.  Plans include planting up to 20 additional trees. Currently, the only method of propagating new trees is to graft a healthy plant onto another plants root stock.  Students are looking for new ways to grow healthy trees.  The enclosure pictured below has some new cedar trees planted by the students.

Golden Weeping Willow is a hybrid tree that was first mentioned in 1888.  The latin name Salix Alba records that it is a  hybrid because all hybrids have the letter x in the name.  Primary Willow branches grow upward but all secondary branches grow down giving it the “weeping” aspect which it inherited from the Babylon Willow.  These trees are distinctive and are among the first signs of spring as their branches take on a golden hue before the leaves start to come out on most of the other trees in Toronto’s urban forest.

Dekay’s Brown Snakes hibernate communally through the winter and breed upon emerging in the spring.  The female carries the fertilized eggs internally until between 3 and 31 babies emerge in late summer.  They are small, just 8-11 centimeters, and will grow to about 50 centimeters at a maximum.  When they feel threatened they can give off a strong musky odour but this one seemed calm enough.

The Centre For Urban Ecology was completed in the fall of 2007 at the arboretum.  It is used by both students and adults to study and promote ecological stewardship.  The building is LEED Gold Certified and incorporates sustainable design elements.  The roof has vegetation growing on it to help with storm water management.  Rainwater is collected and used for irrigation for the landscaping and sewage and gray water is filtered on-site before being released.  The Humber Arboretum and Centre For Urban Ecology are a joint venture between Humber College, The City of Toronto and Toronto Region Conservation Authority.

Alder Trees belong to the same family as Birch Trees.  Alders are unique among deciduous trees in that they have cones.  The picture below shows male catkins but the tree will also have female ones that resemble small pine cones.  The inner bark of the alder tree contains salicin which is an important part of aspirin.

Green Mountain Sugar Maple can grow up to 60 feet tall and 50 feet wide.  They can grow up to one foot per year in good growing conditions.  This tree is a staple in the manufacture of maple syrup, a major industry in Ontario.  It is estimated that in 2011 members of the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association grossed $53 Million from 4 million litres of syrup.

We were probably about a week too early for the best colours, but the Humber Arboretum is a place that can be enjoyed all year.

A map of the trails at the arboretum can be found here.

Google Maps Link: Humber Arboretum

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October 13, 2016

The war of 1812 had been declared on June 18, 1812, partially because the British were stopping American ships and forcing British citizens found on board into military service to feed their war against Napoleon in Europe.  On August 15th General Brock had captured Detroit.  This followed the capture of the American Fort Mackinac in July.  With two early losses the Americans were looking for a victory and taking the town of Queenston would give them a bridgehead into the Niagara Peninsula.  The following map is marked to show the key locations as identified throughout the text.

American forces had been gathering at Lewiston and by 3:00 am on October 13th there were 600 men ready to board boats and cross the river to invade Queenston.  300 British forces waited in the graupel and drizzle and successfully pinned the few Americans who landed on the beach.  This picture shows the landing area, however, there are a great deal more trees on the hillside than there were on that morning.  The town of Queenston lays to the left along the river. (1. on the map)

Captain John Ellis Wool knew of a small fishing path that led up the steep cliff face of the Niagara Gorge.  The British had believed the gorge, cut as Niagara Falls was beginning its slow path toward Lake Erie, to be unassailable.  The picture below was taken from the approximate place where the invaders reached the top of the cliff.  Climbing up this side would have been similar to climbing up the American side that can be seen across the river. (2. on the map)

The British had a small number of soldiers manning an 18-pound cannon that was firing on the invading troops, trapping them on the beach and preventing reinforcements from crossing the river.  The cannon stood behind a redan, an earthen mound shaped like a half moon. Captain Wool led his men in a bayonet charge that quickly overtook the position. The curve of the redan can still be seen and an 18-pound cannon stands, looking down on the Queenston Harbour. (3. on the map)

General Isaac Brock gathered 200 troops in the town and prepared to launch a counter-attack to reclaim the redan.  As they began the rush up the hill from town General Brock was leading the charge and was shot in the chest and killed.  His aide-de-camp, John Macdonell, led another charge to try to regain the hill top.  He took Brock’s horse, Alfred, but both horse and rider were killed in the charge.  The site of Brock’s death is marked in the town of Queenston with the memorial cairn pictured below. (4. on the map)

Defence of the Niagara Peninsula, and Upper Canada, now fell into the hands of Major-General Roger Hale Sheaffe.  He was positioned at Fort George (Niagara-On-The-Lake) with his troops of the 41st Regiment, Royal Artillery and Militia.  Sheaffe had already left Fort George by this time and was marching his troops to Queenston.  Meanwhile, the Americans were prevented from expanding their position on top of Queenston Heights by the efforts of John Norton.  Along with a band of 100 Iroquois, Norton was able to harass the American troops and keep them pinned near the redan.  To honour the part that native peoples played in this battle, and throughout the war, a memorial has been created. (5. on the map)

The American troops did not receive any of the support they expected from the militia. Many of the militia saw the bodies floating in the river and quickly decided that they were not required to fight on foreign soil and so refused to cross the river.

Major-General Sheaffe decided not to confront the American troops head on and so he took his troops toward St. Davids.  This allowed him to come up behind the Americans who were defending the redan.  It was around 3:00 pm when Sheaffe’s troops reached the top of the escarpment and rested briefly in a field while another 150 men joined them from Fort Chippewa.  By 4:00 pm they were ready to advance on the Americans and after firing an opening volley of musket balls they led a bayonet charge.  The Americans had their backs to the cliff and were faced with the choice of jumping to their deaths or surrendering.  (6. on the map) The turkey vultures in the picture below are looking out across the river to the two remaining towers from the Queenston-Lewiston Suspension Bridge. (7. on the map)

In the final analysis, the battle was another disaster for the American troops.  They failed to take and hold the town of Queenston and in the battle they had over 300 men killed or wounded.  The British took 925 captives following the surrender of the redan.  For the British, the toll was much lighter.  They had only 14 dead, including Brock and Macdonell, and 77 injured.  More importantly, the civilians saw that there was a solid hope of defending Canada against an American invasion.  Many of the citizens had families living in the USA and had not committed to one side or the other but were waiting to see which side to support.  General Brock’s death became the rallying point that united the population to protect their country.

Brock and Macdonell were taken to Fort George where their remains were interred.  In 1823 a 135-foot monument was started that would have a viewing platform at the top.  When it was completed in 1824 it was inaugurated on October 13th, the anniversary of Brock’s death and his and Macdonell’s remains were moved to the monument.  It was first opened to the public on October 13, 1827.  On April 17, 1840, the monument was severely damaged by a bomb in an attack that may have been linked to the Rebellion of 1837.  The damaged monument had to be torn down and Brock and his aid were taken to Queenston for their third burial.  The archive photo below shows the damage to the monument with almost all of the outdoor platform destroyed.

A second monument was designed and construction began on the 185-foot tall structure. Brock and Macdonell were moved here.  On October 13th, 1853, they were interred for the fourth time, now in the base of the new monument.  The monument would be completed and opened to the public on October 13th, 1859. (8. on the map)

A set of winding stairs leads you to the top of the monument.  There are 235 of them and it took me almost exactly twice as long going up as it did coming back down.

When you reach the top of the stairs there is a small viewing platform that lets you look out from the round windows just below the statue of Major-General Brock.  The statue of Brock on top of the monument is nearly 16 feet tall.  He is positioned in a classic military pose of leadership.

In the spring of 1814, the British built a small redoubt with a blockhouse in the middle to defend the main road.  They named it Fort Drummond and the earthworks remain, not far from Brock’s monument. (9. on the map)

In Queenston Heights park there is a cairn to mark the southern terminus of the Bruce Trail.  Having visited the northern terminus on Monday, a mere 890-kilometer hike away, I was interested in visiting this cairn while I was in the park. (10. on the map)

There is a hiking trail that links all the points of interest from the battle but it is poorly marked and may take less than the intended 45 minutes because you will miss some things.

Google Maps link: Brock’s Monument

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September 16, 2016

The first bridge between Queenston on the Canadian side of the Niagara River and Lewiston on the American side was built in 1851.  It was a suspension bridge and was destroyed by in a wind storm and not replaced until 1898.  That was the year that the Second Falls View Suspension Bridge was moved to this location.  In the years in between the towns were served by a ferry that crossed the river.  The first suspension bridge is seen in this photograph from closer to the time of replacement.

The original Falls View Suspension Bridge was built just south of the American Falls in 1867 and opened officially on January 2, 1869.   Twenty years later, on January 9th, the bridge was destroyed in a storm.  By commissioning a bridge of the same design a lot of time was saved and construction began on the Second Falls View Bridge on March 22, 1889, and lasted for only 38 days.  Just 117 days after the collapse of the first bridge, on May 7th, the second bridge was opened.  It was also known as the Niagara Clifton Bridge and can be seen in the Currier and Ives painting below.

Built in 1897 and opened in 1898 the Upper Steel Arch Bridge, or Honeymoon Bridge, was built 14 feet closer to the American Falls than the Second Falls View Bridge.  After it was opened the suspension bridge was dismantled and moved to serve as a replacement Queenston-Lewiston Bridge.  The Honeymoon Bridge would eventually collapse on January 27, 1938, when ice build-up in the river pushed the abutments over.  An arch bridge known as the Rainbow Bridge was built as a replacement and has been in service since November 1, 1941.  If you follow York Street past the last houses it is blocked to vehicles by large stones but pedestrian traffic is still allowed.  The old road bed can be easily followed because the pavement is visible in many places.

After it’s installation in Queenston the suspension bridge served until November 1, 1962, when the current Queenston-Lewiston Bridge was opened.  The new arch bridge is modeled on the same design as the Peace Bridge making it, in a round-about way, the second time this design has replaced this same suspension bridge.  The trail is marked with blue slashes on the trees, and look, they left the gate open!

Along the abandoned road there are places where earlier attempts have been made to reinforce the embankment.  In some places, the vines and bushes have almost obscured the old blocks of cut limestone.  In another spot, a large chunk of stone has broken away from the embankment and rolled onto the former roadway.

A large steel support for the crane that was used to remove the suspension bridge stands to the side of the abutment.  Nature is turning it into a planter.

The towers and abutments were made of cut limestone blocks.

From the level of the river, you can get a good view of the two towers that remain on the American side of the river.  A steel sculpture and observation deck were added in 1981 by Owen Morell.

The old abutments look pretty impressive from below.

A curved steel rail is embedded in the old roadway near the abutment.

Looking over the side of the abutment you can see one of several places where steel support columns have been cut away.

The suspension bridge was dismantled in 1963 and sold to a scrap yard.  The archive photo below shows the bridge with most of the road deck removed.

Google Maps link: York Street Queenston

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September 16, 2016

Niagara Falls may be the fastest moving waterfall in the world having cut The Niagara Gorge from Queenston to Niagara Falls over the past 12,500 years.  The Niagara River runs for about 58 kilometers and is the natural outlet for Lake Erie.  That lake is about 99 meters higher in elevation than Lake Ontario and half of that difference occurs at the Niagara Falls.  Having spent a day of my holidays in the area of Niagara Falls and Queenston the common theme in all my pictures was the Niagara River.

The Niagara River extends for about 35 kilometers from Lake Erie dropping less than three feet in height until it reaches the Upper Niagara Rapids.  It drops another 15 meters through the kilometer rapids as it reaches the brink of the falls.  There are a couple of interesting things along the stretch of rapids above the falls.  It was here in 1786 That John Burch built a saw and grist mill which was the first industry on the Canadian side of the river.  These mills were torched by the American Army when it retreated on July 26, 1814, after the Battle of Lundy’s Lane.  In the middle of the river, near the powerhouse, sit the remains of an old dumping scow.  On August 6, 1918, the scow broke loose from the tug it was tethered to and started drifting toward the falls with two men on board.  They opened the dumping chutes on the bottom and the scow grounded on the shale in the river just before they would have been carried over the falls.  They were rescued the following day on a line shot out from the roof of the powerhouse.

In 1906 The Electrical Development Company of Ontario opened a beautiful building as home to their powerhouse.  This building supplied the Toronto market and was in operation until 1974.  In 1950 a treaty was signed by both the Canadian and American Governments limiting the amount of water that can be diverted from the falls and the hours in which it can be done.  During “tourist hours” the flow must not be less than 2832 cubic meters per second and it can be cut to half of that overnight.

The Canadian Falls drops an average of 57 meters and there is a 52 meter deep plunge pool at the bottom.  Six million cubic feet of water goes over the falls every minute.  The process that erodes the falls and causes it to carve through the solid rock is known as cavitation.  As the water goes over the falls it picks up speed and loses internal pressure.  This allows air to escape as bubbles or cavities.  When the water comes to rest these cavities collapse sending out shock waves that help disintegrate the rock at the base of the falls.  The falls are expected to cut back for another 15,000 years at their current pace before they reach an old riverbed about 6 kilometers upstream.  At that time erosion will increase rapidly and the falls may be replaced with a series of rapids.  It should take about 50,000 years before the remaining 20 miles to Lake Erie is cut through.

Looking downstream you see the American Falls on the right.  It ranges between 21 to 34 meters and carries less than 7 percent of the river’s water.  It is less spectacular because of the talus at the bottom caused by collapses and landslides.  It is estimated these falls could dry up in 2,000 years or so.

The Bruce Trail runs from Queenston to Tobermory and follows the Niagara Escarpment for an 890-kilometer hiking trail.  Earlier in the week, I had used a day of holidays to visit the northern terminus of the trail and so it was fitting to visit the southern one as well.  The southern one stands in Queenston Heights Park near where the Niagara Gorge begins. This is also near the point where the original Niagara Falls began cutting a path through the escarpment on its slow journey to Lake Erie.

Queenston Heights Park is the site of one of the battles of the War of 1812.  It was during the Battle of Queenston Heights on October 13, 1812, that Isaac Brock was killed.  The current monument to Brock was built to replace an earlier one which was blown up in 1840.  For a small fee, you can climb the 235 spiral stairs inside the monument.  From the small portals at the top you will have a great view over the area.  In the picture below the casino and tall hotels in Niagara Falls Canada can be seen.  This shows you the distance that the falls have cut through the escarpment.

Looking to the east, past Queenston, the Niagara River appears peaceful as it flows to Lake Ontario.  The tableland below the escarpment does not have any gorge because the falls began to the west of here.  The cover photo shows the start of the escarpment on the American side of the river and the site of the original Niagara Falls.

The building below is the one that housed The Colonial Advocate, a paper published by William Lyon McKenzie which called for government reform.  The seeds of the rebellion of 1837 were planted from this newspaper.  In front of the house stand two honey locust trees that are part of 5 he planted on April 18, 1824, when he started his paper.  One of them can be seen just behind the chimney in the picture below.

A blue marked trail leads away from York Street in Queenston and heads toward the river.  As you follow it you will see old pavement indicating that you are on the road that led to the old Queenston-Lewiston Bridge.

This archive photo from 1915 shows the Queenston-Lewiston suspension bridge.  Notice how exposed Brock’s Monument is compared to the forest it now stands in.  The bridge stands at the foot of the escarpment and the 90-degree turn in the river can be seen upstream.  This is the site of the Whirlpool Rapids.  When the erosion of the gorge reached this point, about 5,500 years ago, it encountered an old riverbed that had been buried in the previous ice age and creating the bend in the river.  The water racing downstream from the falls is forced under the surface here creating the whirlpool effect can be seen on the surface.

The Quennston-Lewiston Bridge was replaced in 1962 with the current bridge.  The suspension bridge was removed the same year but abutments remain on the Canadian side of the river.

An observation deck has been built above the remaining bridge abutments on the American side of the river.

The water in the Niagara River has an interesting shade of green due to dissolved minerals in the water.  Every minute over 60 tonnes of minerals are carried over the falls, mostly limestone but some shale and sandstone as well.

This part of the province has some of our earliest history and there is plenty to explore on future trips.

Google Maps Link: Niagara Falls

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