Webster's Falls - Ownership

Ownership

Ownership of the land has changed several times. Originally the waterfall was known as Dr. Hamilton's falls, after Dr. James Hamilton purchased the land in 1818. The waterfall, and 78 acres (320,000 m2) of the surrounding land, were purchased shortly after by Joseph Webster when his family arrived from England in 1820. The Webster family manor still stands on Webster's Falls Road, and their gravestones have been preserved in a small section just off the Bruce Trail, on the way to Tews Falls. In the will of former Dundas Mayor, Colonel W.E.S. Knowles, a request to the town was issued asking for the area around Webster's Falls be made into a public park. A foundation was established to channel revenue into park improvements. In 1933, the grounds were landscaped, a stone bridge constructed across the creek above the falls, and an iron fence installed to make the viewing at the ledge safer. The current owner of the land is now the Hamilton Conservation Authority.

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