Mill Pond Falls (Gasport)

Location: On the north side of the hamlet of Gasport; Town of Royalton; Niagara County; New York.

Maps: Google Map; Topographic; Interactive map.

GPS Coordinates:

• Lower Mill Pond Dam:(N 43.20815 / W 78.56495
• Royalton Mill ruins: N 43.20886 / W 78.56564

Directions: From the east: Take NY-31A west to NY-31 west. Just past Middleport, turn right onto Telegraph Rd. Make a right onto Root Rd at the canal and cross over the single lane steel bridge. After the bridge, make an immediate left onto Slayton Settlement Rd (CR-7). You will pass a farm on your right and then some houses. Look for Quaker Rd on your right. Park on the side of Quaker Rd.

From the west: Take NY-31 east to Gasport. Make a left onto State St (before the gas station) and follow State St into the hamlet. When you reach Main St, make a left onto the bridge over the canal. Once over the canal, this becomes Hartland Rd. Continue down this road to Slayton Settlement Rd (CR-7) and make a right. After a half-mile, look for Quaker Rd on your left. Park on the side of Quaker Rd.

Parking: There’s room on the shoulder at the intersection of Quaker Rd and Slayton Settlement Rd for a car or two, but be mindful of traffic. The shoulder is enlarged at the mill ruins, north of the intersection.

Number of falls: 1 that you can visit.

Size/Types: An 18 ft high man-made dam. The dam itself is 250 ft long, but most of that is hidden by overgrowth. Water only flows over the northernmost 5-15 ft of it.  Downstream from here is another dam and mill pond, but it is on private property and not accessible.

Best time to visit: Early spring; fall when the leaves are off the trees.

Flow: Low to moderate.

Waterway: The East Branch of Eighteenmile Creek, which starts out to the southeast at Gilberts Corner. From there it heads west about 4.5 miles and then turns northeast at Terrys Corners. At Royalton Ravine at Gasport it cuts through the Niagara Escarpment, the very same that formed Niagara Falls, and led to the massive set of canal locks being constructed at the Lockport Flight of Five. It flows under the Erie Canal at Gasport and continues north to the two mill ponds here. Here the waters are considered a Great Lakes AOC (Area of Concern) due to high levels of PCBs, DDT, mercury, and other contaminants. In 2006 Eighteenmile Creek was included in the NYS List of Impaired Waters. That said, you should probably avoid spending time in the water and certainly avoid eating any fish you may catch here. North of Gasport, the creek turns left, joining (the main branch of) Eighteenmile Creek, just north of Lockport. It then passes through Newfane, eventually emptying into Lake Ontario near Olcott Beach.

Time: A few minutes.

Seasons/Hours: Year-round.

Admission: Free.

Handicap Accessibility: You can view the dam from the roadside.

Pets: Pets should be on a leash.

Accommodations: None. There are shops and eateries nearby in Gasport.

The two mill ponds constructed just north of Gasport on Eighteenmile Creek formed a reliable waterway to power several mills for over a century. One of the first mills built here was a grist mill, by Col. Jonathan Mabee, around 1812. He then built a sawmill nearby. The Mabee family continued to open mills along this creek (4 total), including the large stone “Mabee Mills,” a gristmill built in 1872 (to replace the former, which they had sold). This four-story mill lasted until 1880, when it was destroyed by fire. The remains of the brick exterior are what you will see on the site today.