Stone wall for the ages
Q: How long is the stone wall that runs along the Niagara Gorge and how does that compare to other walls in Canada?
A: Niagara Parks Commission says the historic dry stone wall that runs along the Niagara Parkway between Queenston and Niagara-on-the-Lake is over one kilometre in length.
The commission said the original sections of the wall were constructed around 1910 for the late John D. Larkin, a wealthy buffalo businessman.
The wall was built by the Elliotts of Niagara-on-the-Lake, who were stone masons in the late 1800s and 1900s, the Niagara Advance has reported.
Much of the stone work in the town, such as the Rand Estate on John St., was built by the family. The generations included James Elliott, his father John and his father William, who originally came from Ireland.
Niagara Parks Commission said the wall has been expanded to over one kilometre in total on the east side of the parkway. In some areas, there are also sections located on the west side of the road.
The stone wall is regularly inspected and maintained by the Niagara Parks Commission’s masonry department.
The commission maintains over 1,325 hectares of parkland along the 56 kilometres corridor from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.
The Niagara wall is one of many good examples of dry stone walls in Canada of various lengths and states of condition.
For a good overview — and some inspiration for a road trip — the website Dry Stone Walling Across Canada (dswa.ca) has photos of historic walls across the country.
They include a dry stone wall in Balsam Lake in Ontario that’s over three kilometres long and one in Black Creek in Prince Edward County believed to have been constructed 200 years ago.
Q: Maple Park in Welland has an old tennis court there in great shape and no nets for minimum five years. How come, and can it not be made into a basketball court because there is neither any public basketball or tennis courts in Welland? Even Chaffey Street basketball courts have no basketball nets.
A: A court of a different sort is possible. Peter Boyce, Welland’s manager of parks, planning and maintenance, said he can’t remember the last time the tennis nets were in place, but there hasn’t been a demand to put them back.
He said a lot of kids use the court for street hockey because it’s asphalt and fenced-in. Residents interested in playing tennis tend to go to the Hooker Street Tennis Club.
For Maple park to be used as tennis courts again, Boyce said the courts would likely need to be renovated because of age. The idea of converting the court for basketball hasn’t been requested, but it is something the city could consider if residents wanted one.
The Chaffey Street basketball courts don’t have nets anymore because the parks department received a formal request to remove them. Neighbours near the park complained that the constant bouncing of balls on the asphalt was driving them crazy.
As mentioned in a previous column, a new multi-court at Gaiser Park in Welland will have tennis nets. It also has basketball with a different court material that is supposed to absorb sound better.
Q: How was the numbering system for creeks established? (e.g. 12 Mile Creek, 20 Mile Creek).
A: The names represent the distance of the creek’s outlet into Lake Ontario from the Niagara River.
Search Engine took on a similar question back in 2007 when a reader noted the Toronto side of the lake has some of the same creek names as Niagara.
A watershed planner for Conservation Halton explained that on the north side, the names represent the distance of the creek’s outlet to the head of the lake — today known as Hamilton.
Interestingly, in the 1930s, most of the names on the Toronto side were changed from their mile designations. Twelve Mile Creek became Bronte Creek while Sixteen Mile Creek was renamed Oakville Creek.
Today, Fourteen Mile Creek in Oakville and Sixteen Mile Creek in Halton still use the mile designation on the north side of Lake Ontario.