Historic map of Power Glen and the surrounding area. Photo: [Alun Hughes].

 

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Power Glen, a small community located near the Decew Falls Power Generating Complex, was first settled in the mid 1700s. Lieutenant Duncan Murray of the King’s Royal Regiment of New York, to whom the land was first deeded and who started construction on a saw and grist mill died in the 1780s. The land was next acquired by prominent Queenston merchant Robert Hamilton, who finished building the mills in 1787, supplying the garrison and other surrounding landowners with flour.

 

In 1800 Robert Hamilton sold the two small mills to Jesse Thomas who then passed them to his son Peter. In 1811, Peter built a substantial new grist mill from the pink Grimsby Sandstone later used for many buildings in Niagara. In 1854 the mills were purchased from Peter Thomas by Benjamin Franklin Reynolds. He owned and operated the mills for the next four decades and built a large residence for himself. Very little of the grist mill remains in the valley of the Twelve Mile Creek below Power Glen, for it burned in the mid-1890s and stone was taken for use in other buildings.

 

About 300 metres upstream of the grist mill are the remains of a mill dam, still visible today from the Laura Secord Legacy Trail, which created a pond that extended into Jackson's Flats, west of Power Glen. A raceway conveyed water from the pond and sawmill, which was located near the dam, and then to the grist mill, which was located some distance away.

 

The saw and grist mill are not visible from the road, but are accessible along informal trails which intersect with the Laura Secord Legacy Trail along the Twelve Mile Creek. The house built by Benjamin Reynolds still exists and is occupied by Mr. Clifford Hooper who has a wealth of information about the district. He also has the corner stone from the old mill built by Peter Thomas back in 1811 which may or may not be accessible to the public.

1. Note the QEW exit number by which you enter the highway. The numbers ascend as you get closer to Toronto.

2. Drive along the QEW toward the exit onto the ON-406 S toward Thorold/Welland/Port Colborne

3. After taking the exit drive 3.9 km then take the Regional Road 77 W/Fourth Avenue W exit 

4. Merge onto Fourth Ave/Regional Rd 77 

5. Turn left onto Louth St/Regional Rd 72 (signs for Regional Road 72/Louth Street)

6. Continue to follow Louth St which then becomes Pelham Rd.

7. After 4.5 km turn left onto Power Glen 

Follow the Laura Secord Legacy Trail. The dam is located along the creek, just before the path turns north before the bridge.