One of three

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

s that surround the city of

Owen Sound Owen Sound (2021 Canadian Census, 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat, seat of government of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi River, Pottawatomi and Sydenham River ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, Inglis Falls is the largest and most impressive. It is also the most visited. Situated in the heart of the 200-hectare Inglis Falls Conservation Area, Inglis Falls is an cascade, created by the

Sydenham River The Sydenham River is a river in Chatham-Kent, Lambton County and Middlesex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, flowing southwest from its source west of London, Ontario and emptying into Lake Saint Clair. The length of the river is and it ...

meeting the edge of the

Niagara Escarpment The Niagara Escarpment is an approximately discontinuous, arc-shaped but generally northward-facing escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States. The escarpment begins south of Lake Ontario and circumscribes the top of the Great Lake ...

. Swimming is prohibited in the entire area. The Conservation Area includes 7.42 km of hiking and mountain bike trails. The Area has 20 species of ferns, a variety of birds and geological potholes. In the late fall, salmon arrive at the river to spawn. The property has been owned by the North Grey Region Conservation Authority, now the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority, since 1960.

History

At one time, the water over the falls was partially diverted for

hydro electric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also ...

power generation,

grain mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separate ...

ing, woolen milling and as drinking water for

. Scottish immigrant Peter Inglis built a four-storey grist mill at the top of the falls in 1862, replacing a partially-completed gristmill that had been built in 1842 by millwright Mr. Elliot. The Inglis mill was torn down in the 1870s and replaced with a woolen mill on the east side of the river. That mill burned down in 1885 and was rebuilt but burned down again in 1901. It was not rebuilt; instead, a sawmill was built a quarter mile downstream of the falls. A plant to filter water for Owen Sound residents was built in 1910; its ruins are still on site. The Inglis family owned a mill at or near the falls until 1932 when the city obtained the property. Another individual, Emil Henkel, operated the mill until 1945 when it was extensively damaged by fire. The Conservation Area still contains a stone family home, a ruined mill below the falls and millstones.

Sources

Inglis Falls Conservation Area

References

{{coord, 44, 31, 35, N, 80, 56, 03, W, display=title, region:CA-ON_type:landmark Waterfalls of Ontario Owen Sound Landforms of Grey County Tourist attractions in Grey County

History

See also

Sources

References