Effingham is a hamlet on the Twelve Mile Creek in the northern part of Town of Pelham in Ontario, Canada. Located close to the Niagara Escarpment, it has few roads wound through the Escarpment's forests. A hamlet is (usually — see below) a small settlement, too small or unimportant to be considered a village. ... Location of Pelham in the Niagara Region Nestled between two of the Great Lakes, Erie and Ontario; Pelham is the heart of the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario, Canada on the Welland River. ... Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Official languages English, French (in some areas) 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 4th... Rattlesnake Point near Milton, Ontario. ...

Like the community of St. Johns in bordering Thorold, it is located close to the Short Hills Provincial Park. The St. Johns Conservation Area, maintained by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, is also located in the area. Categories: Canada geography stubs | Cities in Ontario ...

Effingham began as a little Loyalist settlement in Niagara's early history. Situated in the Short Hills of Pelham it owed its beginnings to United Empire Loyalist David Secord, a brother-in-law to the indomitable Laura Secord, who had arrived shortly after 1783. As a Butler's Ranger he was entitled to a land grant of 400 acres, patent dated 8 July, 1799.Lovely wooded hills divided by many spring fed streams comprised most of this grant. He developed the water power of the fast flowing streams to run his grist mill,only the second to be built in Upper Canada.

Ten acres had been cleared and apple trees were already bearing fruit when Samuel Beckett, a Loyalist and a Quaker, arrived on the scene. David Secord sold the entire grant to Samuel Beckett, the forerunner of many Quakers who settled in Pelham, on 13 October 1809 for 687 Ponds 10 Shillings. Samuel proceeded to build a saw mill. Besides the grist mill a woollen factory and fulling mill are recorded and eventually the bustling milling centre became known as "Beckett's Mills".

The fast running streams of Twelve Mile Creek were a source of power and the soil was excellent for farming and growing wheat. The grist mills of Beckett's Mills and St. Johns served the farmers throughout the region.In 1850 it was renamed "Effingham" and a post office was established. Effingham boasted a general store, post office, a Quaker church, a blacksmith shop and a carriage shop.In spite of exterior forces such as the first Welland canal and the railways by-passing St. Johns, Effingham was still able to be a busy milling community. By 1854 the effects of the second Welland canal, more railways and American imported wheat from Ohio forced the community to change to cash crops of fruit, vegtable and dairying. Effingham slowly declined as a regional centre.

Now the mills are gone. The storms of 1935 washed out the upper dams and sent a flood of water through the valley washing out many bridges. Only broken-down mill races are still to be found where once ducks and geese paddled on the tranquil waters of millponds. This poem by Brown in 1912 captures the spirt of this idyllic hamlet;

"Effingham"

Low nestled in the Pelham Hills Where angrily the Twelve Mile spills, Her crystal flood o'er earth confine Then rushes on as if on time: And not unlike the sportive steed It races down through vale and mead Impatient in its onward flow To swell Ontario's tide below.

Here let me rest, 'neath maple shade Of charming bowers of nature made, And whether I gaze on vine-clad hill Or two-fold pond and rustic mill In all around I find a scene For artist's brush and poet's theme.

No crowded walk or busy street But you stop and talk to whom you meet On grass finged path up to the store, Or to the church with welcome door- A spot where simple joys abound And peace and plenty abound Where life is real and not a sham, Believe me, this is Effingham.