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.

The Museum

 The first Monday in August is the Civic Holiday in Ontario, and it goes by different names regionally. In Ottawa it is Colonel By Day, a very appropriate time to come down to the Bytown Museum, which is on the shore of the Rideau Canal where the Ottawa Locks descend towards the Ottawa River.

It is also called the Commissariat, the oldest stone building in the city, dating to 1827 when it was meant as a storehouse for the building of the Canal.

On the far shore, a statue stands in the gap between trees up at the top. It is Colonel John By himself, the British military engineer who oversaw the building of the Rideau Canal.

For decades, the building has housed the Bytown Museum, which tells the story of the building of the Rideau Canal and the first century of what went from Bytown to Ottawa.

The Rideau Canal runs from Ottawa to Kingston, with a series of locks along the route enabling a full water route in places where the Rideau and Cataraqui Rivers need a bit of help in doing so. It was built between 1826-32.

It was meant as a military route, motivated by the aftermath of the War of 1812.

It was a monumental undertaking by the Colonel, who arrived to take charge, authorized to run things as he needed. Some six thousand men worked on the project. A thousand of them died in those years, some from accidents, others from disease.

Here are some of the tools of the tradesmen, labourers, and surveyors.

As mentioned, disease was a big problem, particularly malaria. The route went through swamps in some areas. Swamps were home to mosquitoes.

Morning Star

 Coming out of the temporary exhibit brings us to one level up from the Grand Hall. Looking up, I took in this view of Morning Star.

This massive mural is by the Dene artist Alex Janvier, full of Indigenous symbolism. It covers one dome high over the hall, and is my favourite work of art in the national capital region. Down below, seats are placed for the visitor to gaze up at the painting.

Here we have Spirit Of Haida Gwaii, the plaster version of the sculpture by Haida artist Bill Reid. Two other versions, in bronze, reside at the Canadian embassy in Washington, and at the airport in Vancouver.

The Grand Hall is filled with totem poles and the facades of Pacific Coast houses. It is a wonderful place to spend time in the Museum of History.

Just outside in the reflecting pool sits this sculpture by Mary Anne Barkhouse. Titled 'namaxsala (To Travel In A Boat Together), it is drawn from a story told by her grandfather of providing a wolf safe passage across treacherous waters.

I spent time among the totems. While I didn't want to attend the permanent galleries on this visit, no trip to this museum is complete without a stop in here.