Cooks Mills is a small community in the easternmost part of the city of Welland in Ontario, Canada. It has been established, and is still centred, on a Welland River tributary called Lyons Creek. It's almost entirely a bedroom community, as there are no companies located in the area. Welland (formally The Corporation of City of Welland; 2001 population 48,402) is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Ontario, Canada. ... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Official languages English (French has some legal status) Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 106 24 Area Total  â€¢ Land  â€¢ Water    (% of total)  Ranked... The Welland River is a river in the Niagara Region of southern Ontario which flows from its headwaters south of Hamilton, Ontario to empty into the Niagara River near the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario. ... Commuters waiting for the morning train in Maplewood, New Jersey A bedroom community, dormitory town, or commuter town is a community that is primarily residential in character, with most of its residents commuting to a nearby town or city to earn their livelihood. ...

History

The community actually predates the establishment of what is now downtown Welland. In 1799, when present-day Welland was but a couple of farms, Yokom family came from Pennsylvania and built a grist mill on Lyon's Creek. (Today, one of the roads in Cooks Mills is called Yokom Road after them.) Just before the War of 1812, an Englishman called Calvin Cook purchased the mill and added a tannery, a sawmill and a distillery. The place known as Cook's Mills became a prominent community of the Crowland Township; some early maps call the location Crowland Village. Official language(s) None Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 33rd 119,283 km² 255 km 455 km 2. ... Gristmill with water wheel, Skyline Drive, VA, 1938 A gristmill is a building where grain is ground into flour. ... The War of 1812 (in Britain, the American War of 1812), was fought between the United States and British Empire from 1812 to 1815, on land in North America and at sea around the world. ... The English are a northern European ethnic group generally associated with England and the English language. ... Tanning is the process of making leather from skin. ... This article or section should include material from Saw mill A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards. ... Strathisla whisky distillery in Keith, Scotland Distillation is a method of separation of substances based on differences in their vapor pressures. ...

The monument commemorating the Battle of Cook's Mills.

The last engagement of the War of 1812 on Canadian soil, Battle of Cook's Mills, took place in the area, with the British and American forces pushing each other back and forth across Lyon's Creek. The American forces took Cook's Mill and burned about 200 bushels of wheat before retreating. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (960x1280, 582 KB) Summary A monument commemorating the w:Battle of Cooks Mills. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (960x1280, 582 KB) Summary A monument commemorating the w:Battle of Cooks Mills. ... The War of 1812 (in Britain, the American War of 1812), was fought between the United States and British Empire from 1812 to 1815, on land in North America and at sea around the world. ... The Battle of Cooks Mills was the last engagement between U.S. and British/Canadian armies fought on Canadian soil during the War of 1812. ...

Originally, Lyon's Creek headwaters were in the Wainfleet Marsh. However, they were cut off by the construction of the Feeder Canal for the Welland Canal. The creek was carried under the canal through a stone culvert. Due to the construction, the water level in the marsh slowly receded. All the while, the culvert was being clogged up by debris. Eventually, the flow in Lyons Creek decreased to the extent when it was no longer able to turn the water wheels at Cook's Mills. The industries were closed and abandoned. Thus, the Canal, which contributed greatly to development of Welland, became an indirect cause of an economic recession for Cook's Mills. Later on, Welland beat out neighbouring communities in the running for the county seat. Cook's Mills found itself becoming a farming area as opposed to Welland's developing industry. Categories: Canada geography stubs | Ontario communities ... Lock 3 of the Welland Canal, with the Garden City Skyway bridge in background. ... A culvert is a flowing body of water which passes underneath a road, railway, or embankment, or the part thereof that does so. ...

Over time, the apostrophes indicating the possessive in both Lyon's Creek and Cook's Mills were dropped following a trend in the region exemplified by St. Catharines and St. Johns. Template:Hide = Motto: Template:Unhide = Industry and Liberality Established: 1808 Area: 97. ... St. ...

On January 1, 1961, the Crowland Township, including Cooks Mills, was incorporated into the City of Welland. January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ...

By the time of construction of the Welland By-Pass in 1967-1973, the original headwaters in the Wainfleet Marsh have all but disappeared, and most of what flow there was in the creek was coming from an earlier tributary called Indian Creek by some maps. This made Lyons Creek somewhat U-shaped, as Indian Creek flowed west before joining the original Lyons Creek. During the By-Pass construction, the creek was cut into three parts, and now what was once Indian Creek flows into the canal (photo). A couple kilometres north, Lyons Creek is fed directly from the canal (photo). The middle part of the creek dried up and much of its bed was torn up during the construction of approaches to the Townline Tunnel.

In a recent development, a study on the pollutants in the Niagara River done in 2000 found the organic pollutants polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to be present in the Lyons Creek. The Ontario Ministry of the Environment is presently investigating the source of PCBs and possible remedial actions to deal with contaminated sediment. View from near Horseshoe Falls looking across the Niagara River toward Rainbow Bridge in winter Niagara Glens features many treacherous rapids downstream of Niagara Falls The Niagara River flows to the north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. ... Labelling transformers containing PCBs. ...

Geography

A typical Cooks Mills landscape in the winter.

As noted previously, the Welland By-Pass channel separates Cooks Mills from the main urbanized area of City of Welland. The most direct ways of crossing the channel are the Main Street and Townline Tunnels. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x320, 96 KB) Summary Cooks Mills as viewed from the East Main St. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x320, 96 KB) Summary Cooks Mills as viewed from the East Main St. ... The Welland By-Passs straight and unobstructed channel outside Welland. ... West approach to the tunnel, just outside Welland. ... The Townline Tunnel, as seen from the west. ...

Built-up areas in Cooks Mills are located close to the roads; the rest of the area is comprised mainly of wooded lots and fields. The Niagara Road 27, linking Welland and Niagara Falls, runs to the north of the centre of the community, and Highway 140 runs to the west. Niagara Falls, Ontario from Niagara Falls State Park in winter Location of Niagara Falls in the Niagara Region Niagara Falls, Ontario (2001 population 78,815) is a city on the Niagara River, in the Golden Horseshoe region. ... Ontario Provincial Highway 140 is a provincially maintained highway in the Niagara region in Ontario. ...

The main area of Welland is located to the west. To the east is Niagara Falls, to the north is Thorold, and to the south is Port Colborne. Welland (formally The Corporation of City of Welland; 2001 population 48,402) is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Ontario, Canada. ... Niagara Falls, Ontario from Niagara Falls State Park in winter Location of Niagara Falls in the Niagara Region Niagara Falls, Ontario (2001 population 78,815) is a city on the Niagara River, in the Golden Horseshoe region. ... Categories: Canada geography stubs | Cities in Ontario ... Location of Port Colborne in the Niagara Region Port Colborne (2004 population 24,797) is a city on Lake Erie, at the southern end of the Welland Canal, in southern Ontario, Canada in Niagara Region. ...

External links

• Cooks Mills in Google Satellite Maps. Lyons Creek is visible flowing from west to east just south of Lyons Creek Road
• Niagara Rails' Railway Maps has maps outlining the By-Pass project, including the Cooks Mills section
• The Ontario Ministry of the Environment study of Niagara River (PDF format)

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References

• Lewis, William H. Aqueduct Merrittsville and Welland : a history of the city of Welland : the beginning years, A.M.W Publications, 1997. ISBN 0968274307.