Monday, July 06, 2020

Kilns at the Limehouse Conservation Area

As Ontario starts to open from the Covid-19 precautions one of the safer things you can do is explore the great outdoors and conservation areas are a great place to start. In the GTA you can find the Toronto and Region with places like Black Creek Pioneer Village and Heart Lake Conservation Area, Halton with Crawford Lake and Hilton Falls Conservation Area and Credit Valley with the Elora Cataract Railway and Limehouse Conservation Area.
One of the old kilns is in pretty good shape

Located at 12169 Fifth Line in Limehouse, the Limehouse Conservation Area has a great dose of nature plus bonus features of lime kilns, and a cute rock arch bridge over a babbling brook. Entrance is free and the facilities include a parking lot and at this time, no port-o-potties. The main Bruce Trail cuts through the park (white blazed section) and a Bruce side trail called the Black Creek Trail (blue blazed section).
The main trail takes you past an old mill with the arch bridge, near a restored powder magazine (photo at top), by several old kilns, through a wooden path over a small swampy area and up a broken limestone hill to the 'Hole in the Wall' area. Part of the trail is on the old Toronto Suburban Radial Railway with the long abandoned rails removed.

Industrial activity from the 1800's form the historic appeal of the conservation area. Lime kilns line a section of a limestone hill. Arched caverns, some in perfect condition, were used to fire limestone into quicklime which was used in steel making and also to produce concrete blocks. Limestone and waterfalls helped build the economy along the Niagara Escarpment.
The hill leading to the 'Hole in the Wall'

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