Photo courtesy of www.chasemarch.com
Dumfries Conservation Area is located at Dunbar Rd, Cambridge, ON which runs between Hespeler Road and King Street E/ Coronation Boulevard as seen on the map below.
Dumfries Conservation Area is a 75-hectare conservation area that provides places for outdoor recreation and nature appreciation in the centre of Cambridge. The area has plantation forests, mature forests, wetlands and trails running throughout it. A parking lot that is located off of Dunbar Road is open from May to October. It is free to enter and to explore this are, that currently has no facilities within it. Dumfries Conservation Area is home of the Dumfries Kite Festival, which usually takes place the first weekend in June. The Groff Mill Creek, named after Andrew Groff who tapped the spring creek in about 1835, runs through the conservation area.
In 1967, P.R. Hilborn donated his land to her Majesty the Queen in right of Ontario. However, soon after the donation, the Ontario government instituted a freeze on the development of provincial parks, and therefore little development and management was conducted. Therefore, after some discussion concerning drainage problems and the lack of funding, on January 8, 1970, Ontario Premier John Robarts advised Mr. Hilborn that they were unable to carry out any development on the property. Premier Robarts asked if Mr. Hilborn would agree to the property being transferred to the GRCA, “with the agreement that development would be started within a year of acceptance.” To sweeten the deal, Premier Robarts said the province would contribute 50% of the costs of the development over the next year, under the Conservation Authorities Act. Due to increasing vandalism and fires across the property, and an increasing need for some sort of development, Mr. Hilborn agreed to the transfer of ownership. In 1970, the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) took ownership of Dumfries Conservation Area. You can read more about the area by going to the GRCA website www.grandriver.ca
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