Ball's Falls, also known as Balls Mills, Louthe Mills and Glen Elgin, is a historical ghost town located in what is now a part of Jordan in the Niagara region, Ontario, Canada, which dates back to the early 19th century. It is now preserved as a conservation area operated by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority.
thumb|The namesake waterfall of Ball's Falls, Ontario
History
The town was established in the early 19th century by John and George Ball, United Empire Loyalists.
The Ball or Bahl family had a long association with the English Crown, and had originally emigrated to the County of Norfolk in England from lands in what is now Germany. In 1690, the family purchased lands in New York's Mohawk Valley, paying one shilling per acre to the Crown. Subsequently, they emigrated and settled there.
During the American Revolution, the Ball family maintained their allegiance to the Crown. In 1782, Jacob moved to what is now Canada with most of his sons and fought with the Loyalist Butler's Rangers and Queen's Rangers militias for the remainder of the Revolutionary War. Jacob, a Captain in the Rangers, brought much of his company with him. The family received a land grant from the Crown in 1783, and the remainder of the family emigrated to Canada in the following year, 1784. Twenty Mile Creek, which runs through the area, has two waterfalls. The Ball brothers built a grist mill, a saw mill at the lower falls and a woollen mill at the upper falls. There are two waterfalls on Twenty Mile Creek. The upper falls are 35 feet (10.7 m) high, and the lower falls are 90 feet (27.4 m) high. Ball's Falls is made up of hardwoods mixed with coniferous trees, lying within the deciduous forest zone. Tree species include Eastern cottonwood, butternut, black walnut, shagbark hickory, white oak, tulip tree and slippery elm.