Darnley Cascade in summer. Photo by Joe Hollick
Click to enlarge
Darnley Cascade in autumn. Photo by Joe Hollick
Click to enlarge
Darnley Cascade in winter. Photo by Joe Hollick
Click to enlarge
Vintage Stutt's Falls postcard. Courtesy of Joe Hollick
Darnley Cascade is a cascade waterfall measuring
4 metres high. Located at Crooks Hollow Conservation Area in
Greensville, its source is Spencer Creek. At 225 metres above
sea level, it's the highest elevation of any Hamilton area waterfall.
History
Darnley Cascade is located in Crooks Hollow, which has a rich
historic past. Many early settlers, namely United Empire Loyalists
fleeing the United States at the end of the American Revolution,
came to the area and settled along Spencer Creek. James Crooks,
a Scotsman by birth, founded Crooks Hollow in 1805. He built
the locality's first grist mill and named it after Lord Darnley,
whom he idolized. The waterfall soon became known locally as
'Darnley's Cascade'.
The grist mill attracted local commerce: by 1829, it was surrounded
by a woolen mill, distillery, tannery, paper mill, clothing
factory, an inn, workers' log cabins, and more. After Crooks
died in 1860, the mill was sold to James Stutt and Robert Sanderson,
who converted it into a papermill. In 1880 Stutt bought out his
partner and added a steam boiler building for heating water for
papermaking and auxiliary power. Unfortunately, the boiler exploded
on July 9, 1885, killing two men and causing extensive damage
to the property. The mill was reconstructed, and in 1902 William
Stutt, son of James, took it over. He leased it out first to
the Adams Cellboard Company, then the Greensville Paper Company.
When the mill was gutted by fire in 1934, it was the end of an
era.
Darnley Cascade was featured on a few vintage postcards dating
back to about 1911. It is interesting to note that these cards
refer to it as "Stutt's Falls", after new owner James Stutt.
Joe Hollick's "Waterfalls of Hamilton- Autumn" poster includes
it under the name of Stutt's Falls, and some local residents
still refer to it thusly.
How to get there
To reach the Darnley Cascade by car, exit from
the 403 onto Highway 6 North, then go left onto Highway 5. Turn
left onto Brock Road and then right onto Harvest Road.
To reach the waterfall by walking trail,
you can take the Dundas section of the Bruce Trail, the Crooks
Hollow Historical Trail, and 'Round the Lake Trail at the
Christie Lake Conservation area.
