History of Ottawa

The word refers to the indigenous peoples who used the river to trade, hunt, fish, camp, harvest plants, ceremonies, and for other traditional uses.

No permanent settlement occurred in the area until 1800 when Philemon Wright founded his village near the falls, on the north shore of the Ottawa River.

The construction of the Rideau Canal, spurred by concerns for defense following the War of 1812 and plans made by Lieutenant Colonel John By and Governor General Dalhousie began shortly after September 26, 1826 when Ottawa's predecessor, Bytown was founded.

[3] The town developed into a site for the timber, and later sawed lumber trade, causing growth so that in 1854, Bytown was created a city and its present name, Ottawa was conferred.

[8] Samuel de Champlain created a map in 1632 showing a portion of the Ottawa River route he took in 1616, with numbers used to indicate sites he visited, significant rapids and aboriginal encampments.

[14][15][16] Chaudière was, and still is impassable by any water traffic, so there were portage paths around it on trips from the mouth of the Ottawa River to the lands of the interior and Great Lakes.

After defeating the French and their Native allies in the Maritimes, at Quebec City on the Plains of Abraham, and later Montreal, Great Britain controlled all of Canada.

Many United Empire Loyalists migrated to Canada, assisted by Britain, which granted them 200 acres (81 ha) of land and other items with which to rebuild their lives.

Its capital was settled by 1796 in York (present-day Toronto), a choice which was influenced by the threat of attack by the Americans, which also was a factor initiating the construction of the Rideau Canal.

[23] The first major European settlement near Ottawa was founded by Philemon Wright, a New Englander from Woburn, Massachusetts who, on March 7, 1800,[24] arrived with his own and four other families along with twenty-five labourers.

[6] They started an agricultural community called Wright's Town (now Gatineau, Quebec) on the north bank of the Ottawa River at the Chaudière Falls.

[24] After six years, farm exports were not sufficient to sustain the community and Wright began harvesting trees as a cash crop when he determined that he could transport timber by river from the Ottawa Valley to the Montreal and Quebec City markets, and onward to Europe.

[29] Families of the English soldiers who came to create the settlement of Richmond stayed for months at this location which had had a store since 1809 erected by Jehiel Collins, who is credited as the first settler of what would become Bytown.

Dalhousie's letter stated in part: "I take this opportunity of meeting you here to place in your hands a Sketch Plan of several Lots of Lands, which I thought advantageous to purchase for the use of Government, when this Canal was spoken of, as likely to be carried into effect, this not only contains the site for the Head Locks, but they offer a valuable locality for a considerable Village or Town, for the lodging of Artificers and other necessary Essentials, in so great a Work.

[39] A steady stream of Irish immigration to Eastern Ontario (already well underway) in the next few decades,[40] along with French Canadians who crossed over from Quebec, provided the bulk of workers involved in the Rideau Canal project and the timber trade.

Former Bytown mayor and cabinet minister, Richard William Scott recalled that in early 1850, Neither Wellington, nor the streets south of it, between Elgin and Bank, had been laid out.

The Le Breton Flats, extending north-westerly from Pooley's Bridge (in the vicinity of the Water Works building) contained a number of scattered houses.

Magdalen Asylum, run by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd was established as a religious and charitable society in 1866 on Ottawa street between Gloucester and Chapel.

[38] On April 7, 1868, Thomas D'Arcy McGee, a Father of Confederation and Member of Parliament, was assassinated outside Mrs. Trotter's boarding house on Sparks Street between Metcalfe and O'Connor.

A vast public transportation network was started when Thomas Ahearn founded the Ottawa Electric Railway Company in 1893, replacing a horsecar system which began in 1870.

[51] This private enterprise eventually provided heated streetcar service covering areas such as Brittania, Westboro, The Glebe, Rockcliffe Park and Old Ottawa South.

The site was later used for Union Station, which opened in June 1912 to little fanfare, since Grand Trunk Railway general manager Charles Hays perished in the Titanic disaster two months previously.

[54] Though removed in 1966, the tracks had led along the east side of the canal towards downtown to Union Station, then alongside Chateau Laurier running to the Alexandra (Interprovincial) Bridge.

Later powers were given by an act of Parliament to the newly formed National Capital Commission (NCC) to attain ownership of lands, and effect vast changes.

Collaboration between the city and NCC's predecessor, the Federal District Commission also led to major water and sewer projects, the construction of the Queensway which had been the old GTR/CNR right of way, several bridges, expansion of Carling Avenue, and the offer of F.D.C.

On October 15, 2001, a light rail transit (LRT) was introduced, the O-Train, which connected downtown Ottawa to the southern suburbs via Carleton University.

The vote to extend the O-Train Trillium Line, and to replace it with an electric tram system was a major issue in the 2006 municipal elections where Chiarelli was defeated by businessman Larry O'Brien.

On December 19, 2012, municipal council unanimously approved the construction of the Confederation Line, the east-west route of which extends from Blair Station to Tunney's Pasture.

Truck traffic problems created much debate about a future east end bridge ("interprovincial crossing") linking Ottawa to Gatineau and an ongoing study was started in 2006.

In 2014, the city was awarded a Can-AM Baseball franchise and the Ottawa Champions began play on May 22, 2015 at the Ottawa Stadium (now named the Raymond Chabot Grant Thorton or RCGT Park) Starting on January 29, 2022, a movement called “Freedom Convoy” occupies Parliament Hill in protest against the anti-Covid-19 vaccination requirement to enter into the Canada by land.

Samuel de Champlain 's depiction of settlements near the Ottawa River in 1632. [ 13 ] The present location of the City of Ottawa is number 77 on the map.
The Canadas in 1791, after the passage of the Constitutional Act 1791 .
The first military camp set up on the south side of the Ottawa River in 1826. The camp was a waystation for soldiers and labourers of the Rideau Canal until a larger housing plan was created.
Entrance of the Rideau Canal in 1839. In 1826, eight locks were constructed by the Royal Engineers with labour from Irish and French settlers. The building in the foreground is today called the Bytown Museum . On the right is Parliament Hill at the time named "Barrack Hill".
Lower Bytown from Barracks Hill, in 1845. The Bridge connecting Lower Bytown with the rest of the settlement was erected in 1827.
Bytown Plan, 1842 1. Barracks Hill 2. Wellington Street 3. Victoria St.(now Lyon) 4. Kent St. 6. Sparks Street. Rideau Canal is on the top right. Wellington St. was incomplete, and a path formed a bulge instead leading to Sappers Bridge over the canal.
View of Parliament Hill and Chaudière Falls, Ottawa, ca. 1859. The hill is the second high landmass jutting into the Ottawa River on the right. Barracks were located at the hill prior to the construction of the parliament. The Union Bridge is in the foreground, but its main span has been replaced, after many years of ferry service only, with a steel suspension bridge.
Old Ottawa Post Office. Sappers Bridge (left), Dufferin Bridge(right) over the Rideau Canal , 1890s. Today the War Memorial stands where the post office stood, with a new post office (now also old) on Sparks Street. The two bridges were replaced by the Plaza Bridge (Ottawa) , and filled in. The centre block of the parliament buildings was replaced after a 1916 fire.
Map of the City of Ottawa Insurance Plan, 1888–1901 with business names and locations indicated
The Queensway looking west, overlooking the half completed Carling Avenue interchange in 1961. Construction of the Queensway was driven by the Greber Plan .
Annexation history of Ottawa to 2001.