Balaclava, nestled on Constant Creek in Bonnechere Valley, is a compelling case of how natural resources and infrastructure converge to shape settlement—and cadastral legacy. Established in the mid‑1850s around a timber dam and sawmill built by Duncan Ferguson and Donald Cameron, it quickly became a modest but lively lumber town.

By the 1860s, Balaclava sustained several dozen residents and supported amenities such as a blacksmith, hotel, general store, and gristmill downstream—evidence of an integrated community. The sawmill’s output peaked at about one million board feet weekly and transitioned from water to steam power, underlining its industrial significance.

A pivotal event in 1903 saw the mill’s owner, the Richards family, face one of Ontario’s first environmental lawsuits. The downstream gristmill claimed sawdust pollution in Constant Creek, prompting the installation of the province’s first millsaw dust burner to comply with the court order.

Despite a rebuild in 1939 after a fire, the mill closed around 1959–67 when timber supplies dwindled—marking the decline of the settlement. Although once a “ghost” town, a few residents and restored structures—like the former general store and sawmill—remain as reminders of its past .

From a land surveyor’s standpoint, Balaclava offers a layered cadastral story: Crown‑granted river‑aligned lots; industrial parcel delineation around the mill and dam; adjusted easements after the legal suit; and modern cottage lot severances along Constant Lake. Many of today’s property boundaries and field survey notes still reflect those historic alignments, infrastructure footprints, and water‑power dependencies—making Balaclava a rich reference for tracing legal and physical land‑use evolution in Ontario.