Change

Some of the artifacts of the old Bytown with its violent ways.

There was no shortage of pubs, brothels, and the associated troubles.  

In 1900, the Great Fire occurred. Most of Hull on the Quebec side was destroyed by the fire, which jumped the river at the islands around the Chaudiere Falls, thanks to the many lumberyards being established around the area. Those yards caught fire, and the inferno spread into Ottawa, ultimately being brought to heel in Lebreton Flats. Some of the artifacts of the fire are found here, along with photographs. 

As 1854 passed into 1855, the new year brought a new name. Bytown became Ottawa, named after the river. Which in and of itself was a spelling mistake on the part of British surveyors in the 1790s- the proper term would have been the Odawa.

This was the mayor's chair in the 1850s-60s, carved in mahogany.

Here on the third floor, there are three models of the evolution of the city. It starts in 1832, with very little presence after the Canal has been built. Only one building appears in all three models- in this one it is seen at right, fenced in. That is the early version of the church now known as Notre Dame, which was rebuilt after its first incarnation. What is now Parliament Hill was at the time Barrack Hill, still recognizable across the Canal.

By the early 1850s, the city was developing more and more. Notre Dame is more obvious, while Barrack Hill is still its pre-Parliament self.

But by 1918, everything had changed. The reservoir basin of the Canal has shrunk, Parliament Hill is obvious (with Centre Block back under construction after the 1916 fire), and Notre Dame looks much as it does today.

Bytown

In the 1840s, Sister Elisabeth Bruyere and fellow Grey Nuns from Montreal came to Bytown, establishing a hospital, orphanage, school, and other social services. Sister Elisabeth's legacy remains today, with two hospitals in the city under the umbrella of the Bruyere organization, and a convent still active beside one of them.

After the Canal was built, timber was the dominant industry in the Ottawa Valley, and with both sides of the river being involved, the growing urban centers were keys to that industry. This is a remarkable artifact, a table carved by an employee of one of the lumber companies, done in three dimensions, showing the areas of the timber companies around the islands in the river.

The portrait on the wall is that of J.R. Booth, a lumber tycoon and railroad baron who established himself in what was Bytown and later became Ottawa. At one point, his lumber company was the largest in the world.

The actual work of the lumber men was a hard one, for months out of the year, out in the bush. 

This display case features some of their artifacts. 

Joseph Montferrand was one of the lumberjacks, a French-Canadian giant of a man who became a legend in the Ottawa Valley, today still remembered in folklore. It was said he once beat 150 men on the Chaudiere Bridge, members of an Irish street gang looking to make trouble.

Caulk boots, with nails or cleats on the soles, were used by the river drivers to pass over slippery logs. The bible box beside it was carved by Robert Spallin during time off in the camps.

This belt is an example of those worn by French-Canadian lumbermen.

Tools of the trade.

For a time, Bytown had a reputation as the most violent town in British North America, with riots, old-world biases spilling over into fights, and access to alcohol leading to troubles, all with minimal law enforcement in those early years.

The Work

Native peoples were in the Ottawa Valley for millennia before white men first came. The Anishinabe lived here from time immemorial. 

Some of what they left behind- stone tools predating the current era.

In the decades from the founding of Bytown to its change of name, it was a turbulent time.

This is a larger than life bust of Colonel John By. We don't really have a portrait of him- silhouettes in profile of him and his wife are the only works done in his lifetime.

The Rideau Canal was a response to the War of 1812 and the ongoing tensions with the Americans. 

Americans had fired this cannonball at Fort Wellington from Ogdensburg. It was fired back by the British, hitting the Ogdensburg courthouse.

This is the trunk of Colonel By and his wife, taken when they came over for the Canal project.

Some of the tools that were used for the project.

It would be the work of a mix of people- French-Canadian, Scottish, Irish, and military units. Its legacy stands strong today. By would return to Britain following the completion of the Canal, and find himself under a storm of controversy, having had gone over budget, even though he had been cleared to make changes as needed in the field. The scandal stayed with him for his remaining years, but history has entirely vindicated him.

The Canal

 Parks Canada is the government agency that manages the Rideau Canal, along with other places of natural or cultural significance in the country.

In 2007, UNESCO designated the Canal and the Kingston Fortifications a World Heritage Site.

Here at the entrance of the Canal, the Ottawa Locks make the biggest single ascension along the route, a series of several locks lifting up from the Ottawa River.

Here we have a model of these locks.

While it was meant as a military measure, the Canal didn't last long in that regard. The advent of railroads would change things. But the Canal adapted, and instead became what it is today- a recreational boating route.

There were a number of buildings erected here during and after John By's time, some of which are still here.

The vault is an interesting space within the building. The bottom half of a mannequin is seen above in the entrance.

The vault was used to store money and gunpowder. It was solidly built.