place

Fonthill Kame

KamesLandforms of the Regional Municipality of NiagaraMoraines of Ontario

The Fonthill Kame is a geological feature in the Niagara Peninsula in Pelham, Ontario, Canada. A kame is a moraine in the form of a large, isolated hill. It is composed of sand and gravel deposited by the retreating glaciers of the last ice age. The Fonthill Kame rises about 75 m (246 ft) above the surrounding land (290 m above sea level) and is the highest elevation in the region. Some sources say that the kame is no longer the highest point owing to the removal of sand and gravel. Despite what some sources may say, the kame is simply the highest natural geographic feature in Niagara and the highest point would remain on the kame. There is some debate about the actual highest point though because locals seem to remember a plaque in a farmers field, south of Tice Road and East on Effingham Road, on un-excavated land that marked the highest point. The kame is 6 km (4 mi) east to west and 3 km (2 mi) north to south. It slopes gradually on the west side, more steeply on the south and east and merges with the Short Hills Provincial Park area of the Niagara Escarpment on the north. The Fonthill Kame has considerable influence on the climate of Pelham by sheltering it from the winds from the southwest. This provides good growing conditions for fruit crops, including the vines that supply the local wine industry. It is also mined for sand and gravel. Research on the kame centres on its hydrogeological features, which are important to the Niagara Peninsula. The Government of Ontario Ministry of the Environment has committed $85,000 toward the study of groundwater flow, discharge, and baseflow measurements.The original town of Fonthill is perched on the moraine, although it has spread beyond the hill. Lookout Point on the north side of the kame commands a view of about one-quarter of the circle of the horizon. Taking advantage of the views, the Lookout Point Country Club, a private golf course, occupies much of the viewing area. For more about the golf club, see Pelham, Ontario.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Fonthill Kame (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Fonthill Kame
Tice Road,

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Fonthill KameContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 43.0523 ° E -79.3095 °
placeShow on map

Address

Tice Road 284
L0S 1E5
Ontario, Canada
mapOpen on Google Maps

Share experience

Nearby Places

Regional Municipality of Niagara
Regional Municipality of Niagara

The Regional Municipality of Niagara, also colloquially known as the Niagara Region or Region of Niagara, is a regional municipality comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario, Canada. The regional seat is in Thorold. It is the southern end of the Golden Horseshoe, the largest megalopolis in Canada. The region occupies most of the Niagara Peninsula. Its eastern boundary is the Niagara River, which is also the border with the US state of New York. It is bounded on the north by Lake Ontario and on the south by Lake Erie. Unique natural landscapes make the Niagara Region an important centre for agriculture and tourism in Canada. The most important agricultural enterprise in Niagara is viticulture, or winemaking. The Niagara Wine Route, which connects visitors to dozens of wineries, is a growing tourism draw while the internationally renowned Niagara Falls is one of Canada's major tourist attractions. Along with Shaw Festival, held annually in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and the Welland Canal, the Regional Municipality of Niagara receives up to 12 million visitors each year. Niagara Region is situated on treaty land. This land has a rich history of First Nations such as the Neutral, the Haudenosaunee, and the Anishinaabe, including the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. There are many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people from across Turtle Island that continue to live and work in Niagara today.

Effingham, Ontario
Effingham, Ontario

Effingham is a hamlet on 12 Mile Creek, in the northern part of the Town of Pelham in Ontario, Canada. Located on the Niagara Escarpment, it has few roads which wind through the Escarpment's forests. Like the neighbouring community of St. Johns in Thorold, Effingham sits on the edge of Short Hills Provincial Park. The St. Johns Conservation Area, maintained by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, is located nearby. Effingham began as a small Quaker settlement early in Niagara's history. Situated in the Short Hills of Pelham, it owed its beginnings to David Secord, brother-in-law to Laura Secord, who had arrived shortly after 1783. As a Butler's Ranger, Secord was entitled to a land grant of 400 acres (1.6 km2). The patent issued on 8 July 1799. The tract was composed mainly of wooded hills divided by spring-fed streams. Secord harnessed the water power of the fast flowing streams to run a grist mill at what has since become the neighbouring hamlet of St. Johns, only the second mill to be built in Upper Canada. Secord had cleared 10 acres (4 ha) and planted apple trees, which were already bearing fruit, when the Loyalist and Quaker Samuel Beckett arrived on the scene. Beckett was to be the forerunner of many Quakers who would settle in Pelham. Secord sold his entire grant to Beckett on 13 October 1809 for GBP£687/10s. Beckett proceeded to build a saw mill. Besides the grist mill, a woollen factory and fulling mill are recorded, and eventually the bustling milling centre became known as "Beckett's Mills". The original Beckett home is still in good condition, and its present owner is only its fourth since 1795. The fast running streams of the Twelve Mile Creek system were a source of power and the soil was excellent for farming and growing wheat. The grist mills of Beckett's Mills and St. Johns served the farmers throughout the region. In 1850, Beckett's Mills was renamed "Effingham" and a post office was established. Effingham boasted a general store, post office, a Quaker church, a blacksmith shop and a carriage shop. In spite of exterior forces, such as the first Welland Canal and the railways by-passing St. Johns, Effingham was still able to be a busy milling community. By 1854, however, the effects of the second Welland canal, more railways and American imported wheat from Ohio forced the community to change to cash crops of fruit, vegetables and dairy products. Effingham slowly declined as a regional centre. Today, the mills are gone. Fierce storms in 1935 washed out the mill dams and sent a flood of water through the valley, destroying many bridges. Of the many millponds where ducks and geese once paddled, only broken-down mill races are still to be found. The poem "Effingham" by Brown from 1912 captures the spirit of the hamlet:

Raid on Short Hills

The Raid on Short Hills (June 21–23, 1838) was an incursion and attack by the Hunter Patriots on the Niagara Peninsula during the Upper Canada Rebellion. On June 11, 1838, Irish American James Morreau led a rebel raiding party of 26 Hunter Patriots across the Niagara River into Upper Canada. Morreau was aided by Samuel Chandler, a wagon maker from the village of St Johns in Thorold Township, Upper Canada. The party soon reached Pelham Township where they camped in the woods. Their intention was to get the locals to rise up in rebellion. The night of June 21/22 the Patriots, in three groups, attacked a detachment of Queen's Lancers lodged at John Osterhout's (Inn and) tavern in St Johns. After a brief fire fight, the raiders attempted to set fire to the building - persuading the Lancers to surrender. Realizing the threat of imminent capture, the Patriots then fled westward towards Hamilton. At dawn, the Lincoln Cavalry, Gore District militia volunteers sent by MC Nab (3rd Gore Regiment, 11th Gore (Township of Beverley) Regiment, Queen's Own Regiment Incorporated Militia and the Queen's Rangers), Queen's Lancers, and Natives from the Grand River were deployed to hunt down the Patriots. In short order, 31 Patriots were captured, bringing an end to the invasion. The leaders were gaoled at Niagara, and the rest at Drummondville (Niagara Falls, Ontario). Among the Patriots arrested were Chandler and Morreau. Chandler was later tried and sentenced to banishment to Tasmania for life, while Morreau was executed on July 30 in Niagara. Chandler escaped back to the United States, settled in Michigan and Iowa where he lived out his life.James Morreau's grave is in the Catholic cemetery (Saint Vincent de Paul) at present day Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. The scene of the action at St Johns on Holland Road is unmarked. The Inn has been demolished along with many buildings in St Johns.