Clark Hill Islands

Handbill advertising Clark Hill Islands, presently known as Dufferin Islands, ca. 1877

Clark Hill Islands was a group of small islands located off the Niagara River rapids above the Horseshoe Falls, near the Canadian shore.  The area is currently known as the Dufferin Islands.  Clark Hill was the high ground located just north-west of the islands where Oak Hall is found today.  The land was once home to Colonel John Clark, commander of the 2nd Lincoln Militia during the War of 1812.  He lived here until his death in 1857. 

Thomas Clark Street took ownership of the property around 1857 and renamed the area Cynthia Islands.     Around 1877, Sutherland Macklem inherited the property from Thomas Clark Street and opened it to the public.  He constructed suspension bridges to connect the islands to the mainland and charged tolls for their use.  In 1887, the Niagara Parks Commission took ownership of the land and renamed it the Dufferin Islands in honour of Canadian Governor-General Lord Dufferin.

The area was originally a fast flowing watercourse that was an off-shoot of the Niagara River.  As water was diverted for hydroelectric power generation and smaller islands were built in the channel, the water calmed and became a series of pools and ponds.   Dufferin Islands was carefully designed and built to resemble a natural environment. 

Suspension Bridge to Clark Hill Islands and the Burning Spring, 1880s.  Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program.