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26-442: The district town was Bytown , later Ottawa . In 1849, the district was replaced by Carleton County . 45°10′N 75°45′W  /  45.167°N 75.750°W  / 45.167; -75.750 This Eastern Ontario geographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Bytown Bytown is the former name of Ottawa , Ontario , Canada. It was founded on September 26, 1826, incorporated as

52-488: A level with them, and on the eastern side of the Bay, is the residence of Colonel By, Command Royal Engineer at that Station. Colonel By laid out the streets of Bytown, a pattern that mostly exists today. Wellington Street , Rideau Street , Sussex and Sparks Street were some of the earliest streets in use. Sappers Bridge actually connected Sparks Street to Rideau Street at that time. Nicholas Sparks owned Bytown's land west of

78-582: A town on January 1, 1850, and superseded by the incorporation of the City of Ottawa on January 1, 1855. The founding was marked by a sod turning , and a letter from Governor General Dalhousie which authorized Lieutenant Colonel John By to divide up the town into lots. Bytown came about as a result of the construction of the Rideau Canal and grew largely due to the Ottawa River timber trade . Bytown's first mayor

104-547: The Union Bridge connecting LeBreton Flats to Hull. Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica was also built early on in the developing town. The University of Ottawa had its 1846 origins as a college, and it received its present location in 1856. Though administration of Bytown had been conducted by civil authorities since 1828, the town did not become incorporated until much later. Various attempts at incorporation had been initiated since 1845. The Ordnance Department had held lands in

130-518: The "Deep Cut" section of the Rideau Canal in Ottawa which existed during its construction and were erected by some of its Irish labourers. Many of the workers came penniless from County Cork in Ireland , giving it its name. The settlement along both sides of the canal was allowed by Colonel By due to their desperate poverty and inability to pay rent. These men, separated from the others, had done some of

156-732: The Commissariat Building, Ottawa's oldest remaining stone building, the museum provides a comprehensive overview of the origins of Bytown and its development and growth into the present city of Ottawa. Founded in 1917 by the Women's Canadian Historical Society of Ottawa (WCHSO), the Bytown Museum was originally located in the former City Registry Office at 70 Nicholas Street, across from the Carleton County Gaol. The museum moved to its current location in 1951, and has since operated from

182-404: The Commissariat Building, with the exception of a brief period from 1982 to 1985, when Parks Canada , the building's landlord, undertook renovations. The museum first opened as the "Bytown Historical Museum" in 1917, in the former City Registry Office at 70 Nicholas Street, Ottawa. The Women's Canadian Historical Society of Ottawa (WCHSO), a group of some 30 women whose objective it was to advance

208-532: The Legislative Assembly and the governor, but eventually this was disallowed by the Queen, possibly due to the perceived threat to Ordnance. An act of the Legislative Assembly further facilitated the incorporation of municipalities, and on January 1, 1850, Bytown was incorporated. Richmond Landing was a small settlement started in 1809 with Jehiel Collins' store, which preceded Bytown in present-day Ottawa . It

234-680: The Ottawa River to Quebec. Bytown had seen some trouble in the early days, first with the Shiners' War in 1835 to 1845, and the Stony Monday Riot in 1849. Some early buildings that still stand had been erected in Bytown. In 1826, Thomas McKay was contracted to build the commissariat building, now the Bytown Museum . McKay also built Rideau Hall (which has since been expanded), and parts of

260-583: The Rideau Canal by the Sappers Bridge , constructed in 1827. The town took its name from John By who, as a lieutenant colonel in the British Royal Engineers , was instrumental in the construction of the canal. The name "Bytown" came about, somewhat as a "jocular reference" during a small dinner party of some officers, and it appears on official correspondence dated 1828. Joseph Bouchette in

286-469: The building to be officially open at four o'clock on October 25, 1917. The building was used for meetings and as "a museum for relics and souvenirs." Many Ottawa figures contributed to refurbishment of the space for the WCHSO: Thomas Ahearn provided appliances, J.R. Booth redid the floors, and the governor of the gaol sent inmates across the street to paint and decorate the interior. The museum

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312-442: The canal, except for the lands north of Wellington, which were considered "Ordnance" lands. The area east of Bank Street to the canal was acquired by the military and not used for houses for around two decades, after which it was returned to him. The Ottawa River timber trade spurred the growth of Bytown, and it saw an influx of immigrants, and later entrepreneurs hoping to profit from the squared timber that would be floated down

338-574: The canal, which was under construction between 1826 and 1832. 45°25′28″N 75°41′41″W  /  45.42451°N 75.694817°W  / 45.42451; -75.694817 Bytown Museum The Bytown Museum (French: Musée Bytown) is a museum in Ottawa located in the Colonel By Valley at the Ottawa Locks of the Rideau Canal on the Ottawa River , just below Parliament Hill . Housed in

364-781: The construction of the Parliament and the Departmental Buildings. The second exhibition, held in 1906 at the National Art Gallery (today the National Gallery of Canada ), then located on the second floor of the Victoria Hall on O'Connor Street, exhibited what was then believed to have been Samuel de Champlain 's very own astrolabe (today in the collection of the Canadian Museum of History ). Mayor Harold Fisher declared

390-471: The creation of Richmond Road, Ottawa's first thoroughfare, a road which contained tree stumps, whose origin likely began at a portage trail bypassing the Chaudière Falls. Richmond Landing was an area where those heading to and from Richmond could dock and receive correspondence and supplies from the outside world. A tavern constructed in 1819, whose existence had been shown since Bytown's earliest maps,

416-507: The hard labour required of the canal's construction. They built turf or log shanties along the muddy bank, and possibly without sanction extended the settlement as far as through the Lower Town swamp and the banks of the Rideau River . Eventually women and children moved to the area living among the approximately 150 houses built by 1829. Corktown disappeared shortly after the completion of

442-498: The origins of European settlement in the area to the incorporation of Ottawa in 1855. The third floor continues the narrative by examining the development of the city of Ottawa, the social and cultural life of Victorian times, the assassination of Thomas D'Arcy McGee and the burning of the Parliament Buildings, as well as Canada's involvement in international conflicts. The Temporary Gallery and Community Gallery are located on

468-503: The store. Collins is credited as the first settler of what would become Bytown. And by 1819, the little settlement at the landing got its first tavern operated by the Firths. The settlement was named Bellows Landing until the fall of 1818, when a group of settlers responsible for the creation of a new road to Richmond, Ontario stayed there. The road became Richmond Road and Richmond Landing acquired its name. Sergeant Hill, had directed

494-532: The study of Canadian history and literature, had amassed a collection of artifacts, and were in need of a more permanent home. Founded in 1898, the WCHSO had presented and prepared papers on the history of Ottawa, and organized two Loan Exhibitions . The first exhibition, held in 1899 at 116 Sparks Street, included the tinted stone lithograph City of Ottawa, Canada West (c. 1859) by Stent and Laver Architects, and three photo-based engravings (1862) by Elihu Spencer depicting

520-594: The summer of 1828 wrote: The streets are laid out with much regularity, and of a liberal width that will hereafter contribute to the convenience, salubrity and elegance of the place. The number of houses now built is about 150, most of which are constructed of wood; frequently in a style of neatness and taste that reflects great credit upon the Inhabitants. On the elevated banks of the Bay, the Hospital, an extensive stone building, and three Barracks stand conspicuous; nearly on

546-489: The town's core (dividing Upper Town from Lower Town), lands which had been the property of Nicholas Sparks. These lands were considered by many to be blocking economic progress as well as being held for speculative reasons only. When Ordnance eventually returned the lands to Sparks through the Vesting Act, the major obstacle to incorporation was removed. Bytown was initially incorporated on July 28, 1847, and sanctioned by both

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572-476: Was John Scott , elected in 1847. Bytown was located where the Rideau Canal meets the Ottawa River and consisted of two parts centered around the canal, Upper Town and Lower Town. Upper Town, situated to the west of the canal, was situated in the area of the current downtown and Parliament Hill . Lower Town was on the east side of the canal where today's Byward Market and general area of Lower Town still exists. The two areas of town were connected over

598-483: Was excavated prior to the construction of the Canadian War Museum whose east side currently covers it. Early maps also show the locations of buildings, and a Governmental store, constructed later. A buildings had been requested by early settlers to hold items that had previously been left near or on the dock by boats providing items for the settlements. Corktown, not a town at all, was a series of shanties along

624-504: Was housed in the Registry Building from 1917 to 1954. In 1951, the women secured a lease to the Commissariat Building, and began the long process of preparing the building for the collection and the move itself. By 1954, the move was complete. When the Commissariat Building was closed from 1982 to 1985 by Parks Canada for restoration work, the museum was temporarily relocated to Wellington Street. The Historical Society of Ottawa (HSO)

650-493: Was located just south of Victoria Island east of the present-day Portage Bridge in present-day Lebreton Flats . Wright's Town ( Hull, Quebec ), just across the Ottawa River , also near the Chaudiere Falls , had already been founded by this time. Collins built a log cabin and store on the south shore of the Ottawa River, near the Chaudière Falls area. Later the property was acquired by Caleb T. Bellows, an assistant in

676-465: Was responsible for the management of the museum until 2003, when a board of directors was established and the museum was registered as a not-for-profit charitable organization. The museum's permanent exhibition, Where Ottawa Begins , is spread over the second and third floors of the Commissariat Building. The second floor of the museum explores the history of the National Capital Region from

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