Glen Elgin Design “back story”

My home is in the beautiful Jordan area of the Niagara Region.

Glen Elgin, the street on which we live and also the namesake for my handcrafted endeavours, is the original name of the settlement that developed around Balls Falls in the very early1800’s.

Balls Falls became known as such in 1809 when the Ball brothers built a wooden gristmill on Twenty Mile Creek in the heart of the Niagara Peninsula. Known as Glen Elgin, it had by the 1840s grown into one of the area’s busiest industrial towns. The flourishing village boasted a barrel maker, a blacksmith and two lime kilns, as well as a store and several houses. But during the 1850s, the Great Western Railway laid its rails well below the escarpment some distance north of Glen Elgin. New industries located by the railway, and Glen Elgin gradually became a ghost town. Remnants of this village remain in the “Balls Falls” Conservation Area.

We are fortunate to have the Bruce Trail literally steps away from our back yard, and this takes us along the escarpment to the old settlement, a stunning 20 minute hike away. There are also about 9 or 10 wineries within a short walk or cycle from home, with vineyards, farms, greenhouses and a quaint little retail village rounding out the landscape.

If you have not yet visited this part of the Niagara region, it’s time to put it on your list of things to do!

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Dragonfly Symbolism