Ghost Towns of Ontario

On Sunday July 8's CBC's Fresh Air program, Ron Brown, the author of various books on Ontario, including a couple on Ghost Towns, was a guest.  I find the history of Ghost Towns fascinating, especially the reasons why they developed and then disappeared.

The Town of Lincoln has a high profile one - the community of Balls Falls.  We are fortunate that some of the buildings have been preserved in a conservation area.  Many Ghost Towns end up to be just a few foundations and rubble.

Here is the description of the community of Balls Falls from http://www.ghosttowns.com/

There is a reason for the town's unusual name.  It was founded in 1809 by the Balls brothers, George and John.  As for the "Falls", the town was located by a double waterfalls on Twenty Mile Creek and supported a gristmill, a sawmill and a five storey high woolen mill.  During the 1840s, the town was referred to as the industrial heart of the Niagara Peninsula.  But that was not to be as Great Wester Railway laid tracks a considerable distance from the Town during the 1850s. Balls Falls began to fade as an industrial centre as new businesses located next to the new railway and it soon became a ghost town.  However, much to the credit of local officials, the woolen mill has been preserved as a museum. 

Mr. Brown also mentioned Grimsby Beach during the July 8 broadcast as a place to visit in Ontario.

The library carries all of Ron Brown's books.  Check them out!