Rock Glen Conservation Area
More Information can be found here by Clicking Here
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| ROCK GLEN CONSERVATION |
| Phone 1 - 519 - 828 - 3071 |
| Picnic areas and hiking trails that are
also wheel chair accessible. Indian artifacts and Fossil
Museum, which is operated with Arkona Lion's Club. Open from
May to October - pavilions available for picnics and Family
Reunions, be sure to book early at the number above or call
1-519-235-2610. |
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Owned and Managed by
THE AUSABLE BAYFIELD CONSERVATION
Exeter, Ontario.
When pioneers arrived in the Rock Glen area in the mid 1800s,
they built a grist mill and establised a settlement there. Henry
Utter built the first mill in 1837 and the last mill was built
in 1870 by Mr. Mitchell in the south bank of the stream. Some years
later, the mill was shut down due to low water, which ran the turbine
wheel. The old foundation can still be seen on the south side just
West of the Rock Glen Water Falls.
In 1907, the Rock Glen Power Company constructed a dam on the Ausable
River at Rock Glen. Following the formation of Ontario Hydro the
Rock Glen Power Co. ceased producing electricity and the dam was
blown out later. Remnants of the dam are still evident.
The Ausable River Gorge and the Rock Glen section is famous for
its exposed beds of fossils, dating back to the Devonian period
in Ontario's history, about 350 million years ago. We have many
visitors that come to this area to find fossils that are scientifically
named - crinoids, brachiopods and trilobites. These ancient treasures
were once strange types of shellfish that swam, crawled or drifted
about in the tropical waters of Ontario. Surprisingly, these creatures
survived 400 million years of change and remained trapped in their
'rock tomb' until the glacier retreated. The melting waters from
this glacier formed the Rock Glen Falls and the Ausable River Gorge
about 13,000 years ago. The Falls have actually moved about 400
meters upstream to its present location.
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