A Life That Became A Legend

Picking up where I left off yesterday, this period photograph of lumbermen in the background has artifacts in the foreground, like boots and the voyageur sash.

A display tells of a man whose life became legendary. Joseph Montferrand was a French-Canadian lumberman who became bigger than life throughout the Ottawa Valley, and stories began to be told about him. Stories are still told about him to this day, to the point that just where the real man leaves off and the stories begin is a blurred line.

Some of the tools of the trade- an axe and timber brands.

Another person whose life made a huge mark on Ottawa. Sister Elisabeth Bruyere led a group of nuns in 1845 to Ottawa, where hospitals, schools, and social agencies were quickly established by them.  Her legacy endures today. Speaking as a non-Catholic, if they ever make her a saint, that will be one that's well deserved.

This period was one of tensions in many ways in the growing town. This included the Stony Monday Riots, which added to the reputation Bytown had as the most dangerous place in British North America.

The Great Fire of 1900 was the biggest fire to ever hit here, destroying much of what's now Gatineau and leaping the river into Ottawa.

Fire is the subject of a temporary exhibit here. It includes photos of buildings destroyed by fire in the city over time, such as the original market building in what's today the Byward Market.

On Sparks Street, one building that went up in flames was almost certainly arson, in the aftermath of the D'Arcy McGee assassination.

Things change- the same location, different times.