Smokey Hollow

Today the Grindstone Creek swiftly flows into Smokey Hollow and over the Great Falls. Little evidence remains to suggest that this stream was once so large and powerful that it supplied numerous mills with the power needed to operate heavy machinery. As late as 1890 Smokey Hollow was the site of two large mills, fourteen buildings, three houses and nine outbuildings.

The valley was filled with so much industrial activity that it indeed was a Smokey Hollow. By the late 1880s when the water power of the Grindstone Creek began to decrease the use of steam power in the mills became necessary because it required much less water. Unfortunately, it was also more hazardous and the explosion of the steam boilers often resulted in disastrous fires. By 1912, all of the mills in the valley had ceased production. A large scale transformation of Smokey Hollow was completed in 1994. An area once the heartland of Waterdown’s industrial prosperity is now a public park where people may enjoy both the beauty and history of the area.