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Economy
| Communities |
Politics
| Canadian and World Events |
Local
Events | Personalities |
Religious and Social
Aspects
| Arts/Culture
Economy
Ottawa changed its name from Bytown in 1855 and was incorporated as a
city that year. The city adopted a new coat of arms which was used until
1955.
In 1857,
The Ottawa Board of
Trade was founded.
Ottawa had about 10,000 residents in 1858. The city’s main industry was
lumber found in the Ottawa Valley. In 1859,
J.R. Booth
was starting to set
himself up as a prominent man in the lumber industry.
By 1864, the town had grown to a population of over 14,000 with several
hotels, two hospitals, one daily paper and six weeklies. A total of
eight sawmills hired 300 workers with several hundred woodcutters. The
city had three iron foundries, four breweries, flour mills and a
tannery. There were 11 churches and four banks.
In 1866, the Ottawa Directory proudly proclaimed Ottawa as “… chief city
of Canada and perhaps of British North America.” The directory said the
town was destined to be the Birmingham of Canada with deposits of iron,
lead, and marble. The new Parliament buildings marked Ottawa as an
architectural interest point and a newly-enlarged Russell House now had
space for 300 guests. There were 14 churches, four Fire Companies, and
six banks. There were 10 sawmills hiring 649 men and 70 lumber merchants
as well as various other manufactories. There was even a theatre!
By the end of the 1860s, much of the better agricultural land in the
Ottawa Valley, along the St. Lawrence and in southern Ontario was
occupied. The government undertook the construction of a series of
colonization roads to connect the Ottawa Valley to Georgian Bay. This
also benefited the lumber industry as it was easier and cheaper to
access supplies. The people of Ottawa experienced a general improvement
in transportation and communications. The Valley farmers began to
specialize in cheese and raising livestock.
Communities
An editorial reprinted from The Quebec Tribune described Ottawa as "a
lumbering wilderness." The editorial questioned the notion of copying
the British style and the Imperial revenues for the provincial outback.
In 1857, a building that was to house a great number of politicians and
major players in Ottawa and the government was built.
Earnscliffe, as it was later known, was
built overlooking the Rideau River on Sussex for John Mackinnon. John A.
Macdonald would later live there and give it the name of Earnscliffe.
By 1863, Elgin Street to Wellington Street was lined with shops and
houses, and Bank Street was the same. There were beginnings of buildings
on Sparks Street and on Metcalfe Street as well.
Politics
The process of choosing a new capital was complicated. There were
several cities in the running, including Kingston, Montréal, Québec
City, Toronto, and Ottawa. Kingston was initially chosen to represent
the new Province of Canada. However, because it was primarily English
speaking, it made it difficult for those legislators who spoke only
French. Because of this issue, the capital was moved to Montreal in
1844, but a riot caused the parliament buildings to burn to the ground.
It was decided to move the capital again. Forgetting the problems they
had in Kingston, the government named Toronto the new capital of the
Province of Canada in 1855. Again, language barriers caused major
issues. Finally, the government turned to Queen Victoria for help.
Queen Victoria officially choose Ottawa as the future seat of the
colonial government in 1857, perhaps based on the following
recommendations from Sir Edmund Head, the Governor General:
1. “Ottawa is
situated at the borders of the United Provinces with a bridge
connecting them.
2. Several languages are spoken there, the most prominent being
English and French.
3. It was not likely to be attacked. Seeing as it lied between
Montreal and Kingston, they would have to be taken first.”
John A. Macdonald was named Premier and construction began on the
parliament buildings in 1860.
In 1860, Thomas Darcy McGee described Ottawa as an obscure backwoods
community: “… a place far away in the wilderness.” McGee is seen by many
residents of Canada-West as “… Liberal, Catholic and supported by his
brand of peculiar friends.”
In 1864, Toronto Liberal George Brown joined a coalition government with
his arch adversary, Tory John A. Macdonald. Brown told supporters the
Colonies must unite against the Americans in case of attack during the
Civil War.
Parliament was officially opened in 1866 to the cheery sounds of brass
bands. The streets from the Governor-General’s office on St Anne Street
to the Parliament buildings were lined by detachments of the Militia
Companies. The Union Parliament celebrated its first Dominion day in
Ottawa on July 1, 1867 with fireworks and military displays. The new
nation of Canada had 4 Provinces and 3.5 million people.
Canadian and World Events
While Ottawa was growing into a city, the provinces of Lower and Upper
Canada were growing too. They had joined together to form the United
Province of Canada.
In 1861, The Tribune reprinted an article in New York’s The Herald
attempting to incite bad feelings towards the Provinces for the
abolitionist ideas of its citizens. The article commended slavery and
said that underground railway of runaway slaves through Canada is a sign
of bad faith towards their neighbours in the Southern Republic. The
article said it was the kind of behaviour Americans have come to expect.
It describes all Britons as selfish and Canadians are only provincial
Britons.
Civil War erupted in 1861 in the U.S. as Confederate forces opened fire
on federal military installations at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. As the
war raged, Canadian authorities promised U.S. War Secretary Stanton that
all means would be taken to protect Canadian neutrality. There were
concerns that the war will spread to Canada or that Americans might
invade. The war continued until March of 1865 when Confederate General
Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomotox, Virginia. In 1865, the columns
of newspapers around the world were lined in black in respect for
American president Abraham Lincoln, shot dead in Washington City.
In 1865, The Great Eastern began laying underwater cable under the
Atlantic in a project to join America to Britain by telegraph. The
distance from Heart’s Content, Newfoundland to Valentia Harbour,
Ireland, is about 2,500 miles.
In 1870, The Hudson’s Bay Company sells Rupert’s Land and the Province
of Manitoba and the Northwest Territory are officially added to the
Dominion of Canada.
Local Events
New Years Eve, 1855, was a time of change and progress. Rideau and
Sussex streets were lit by a new form of illumination, gas lamps, for
the first time. Lamplighters lit the lights every night with their
ladders.
Fires were very common in Ottawa in this time period, with many
individuals losing their homes and businesses.
In 1862 there was a renewed prominence of political extremists such as a
group of Irishmen terrorists calling themselves Fenians. In 1865, about
1,000 members of the Ottawa Volunteer Companies left for Prescott where
they assumed guard duty. The latest troop movements came in the wake of
Fenian threats of a Canadian invasion. The city had two Militia groups:
the 4th Battalion Carleton Militia and the 7th Battalion, along with a
respectable field battery of artillery guns. In 1866, Ottawa called for
10,000 volunteers in the wake of invasion rumours. Fourteen thousand men
showed up. Fenians were arrested during several invasion attempts in
1866.
In 1867, the Ottawa Citizen reported, “A tree stump located at the
corner of Gloucester St. and Rideau St. has caused another smashup. At
about 6pm yesterday evening, a man named Nash was driving by in a cart
load of pickles. He didn’t see the stump and one of the wheels passing
over it upset the cart. A general smashup was the result and the street
was strewn with pickles.”
Personalities
City founder Nicholas Sparks died at age 68 in 1862.
In 1867, John A. Macdonald was raised to the degree of a Knight
Companion of the Bath and had the right to prefix his name with the
title “Sir”.
On April 10, 1868, the news columns of The Ottawa Citizen were bordered
with black lines in commemoration of Thomas Darcy McGee, assassinated
the previous night outside The Toronto House, where he lived when in
Ottawa. The city was in a state of excitement and nervousness over rumours that the assassination was a signal of a Fenian rising. Militia,
soldiers, and police were much in evidence in the city and are at the
Parliament Buildings. James Whelan was subsequently arrested, tried, and
hanged for McGee's murder.
Religion/Social
In 1867, the average life expectancy for Canadians varied between 33
years for clerks and 65 years for farmers. Clergymen, hatters, and
ropemakers were about the average at 55 years of life.
In 1867, The Ottawa Citizen told its readers that maybe smoking was not
so bad after all. The paper reprinted an article from the prestigious
British journal The Lancet claiming that “…the outcry sometimes raised
against the use of tobacco is not justifiable. It is one of the least
hurtful luxuries.”
In February 1870, angry Métis arrested a group of Canadians and
imprisoned them at Fort Garry on the Red River district. The men, mostly
from Ontario, had been gathering armed volunteers from the nearby
Scottish parishes. The Métis formed a provisional government under a man
named Louis Riel.
Arts/Culture
The Ottawa Citizen became a daily newspaper in 1865.
In 1869, Ottawa joined the latest craze when the Dominion Bowling Alley
opened.
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