Historian and documentary filmmaker Allison Margot Smith, winner of the Ontario Historical Society’s President’s Awards for her fascinating documentary films, shares four of her short films reflecting back on the history of the Rideau Canal:

“Taverns and Their Keepers”

During the early settlement of the area that becomes the Township of Rideau Lakes, travel is difficult and people depend on taverns for shelter, as they travel through the wilderness. Taverns are also important gathering places for local community members. But, as sites with significant drinking, taverns often experience violence, giving rise to the Temperance Movement and then Prohibition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT4TJkRSfaY

“The Rideau Canal: The Big Breakthrough”

The construction of the Rideau Canal cost a great deal, not only in terms of money, but also in lives and time. Colonel John By's use of the slackwater design helped reduce these costs and saved lives - the Big Breakthrough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rs4KbKqI2M

“Fettercain: WWI on Indian Lake”

On Indian Lake, just north of Chaffeys Lock, in the Township of Rideau Lakes, is an island that came to have a hospital for returning soldiers from WWI -- The Great War. These soldiers suffered from PTSD, which at the time was called Shell Shock. Called Fettercairn, the hospital was established in the family cottage owned Agnes Etherington (nee Richardson).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si6BFrsusG0

“Vacations in 19th- and 20th-Century Portland and the Rideau Lakes”

During a period of industrialization in the mid-19th century, Canadians began to move off the farm and into larger towns and cities. But this urbanization made city-dwellers long for nature and the wilderness experience. And with spare time, a bit of money and better transportation options, vacations became a possibility for the urban middle class. This film looks at the emergence of the concept of the middle class vacation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the significance to Portland and Big Rideau Lake. Portland made the transition from being a commercial centre to a hopping hub of recreation. This seamless transition, and the popularization of owner-operated motorboats, undoubtedly played a significant role in the continued use and preservation of the Rideau Canal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS8zbYRDREM

Join us for our March 28, 2026 Speaker Series presentation when Allison will share a brand new film on the history of the Rideau Canal, produced specially for the 2026 HSO Bytown200 Bicentennial Storytelling Challenge: https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/activities/events/eventdetail/184/-/the-rideau-canal

Visit Rideaulakes.ca to view more of Allison’s award-winning films.

Rick Henderson is the great-great-great-great-grandson of Philemon Wright & Abigail Wyman and author of "Capital Chronicles".

Rick recounts the history of the region in four parts:

1. The Curious Cast that Created Canada's Capital
2. Bridging the Divide 
3. Canada's Capital - Set in Stone
4. A Capital Route - Canal

Epi(b)logue - The Inglorious End of Two Glorious Men

Ken Watson, a member of the Board of “Friends of the Rideau” since 1997, is a geologist with a deep interest in Rideau heritage and the environment.

Ken recounts the history of the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America: History of the Rideau Canal.

James Powell is the author of the blog Today in Ottawa's History giving  a day-by-day account of local history.

The Anishinabek
For thousands of years before the Rideau Canal and Bytown, the Ottawa Valley was home to the Anishinaabe Algonquin people and remains their unceded land. James Powell explores the story of the Algonquin people and the devastating impact that European settlement had on their lives and livelihoods: The Anishinabek, Time Immemorial, 7 October 1783

The Chaudiere Bridges
One of the most pressing priorities for Lt. Colonel By and his engineering colleagues, was to span a bridge across the Ottawa River in order to transport essential supplies and workers from Wright’s Town urgently needed to begin construction of the Rideau Canal: The Chaudière Bridges, 28 September 1826

The Canal
James  shares the story of one of the most remarkable engineering feats of its era – the construction of the Rideau Canal: The Canal, 29 May 1832

The Shiners’ War
For the better part of a decade, lawlessness reigned as Bytown’s citizens were terrorized by violent gangs of thugs known as the “Shiners”, cunningly manipulated by the ruthless and ambitious Peter Aylen, a man willing to fuel religious and linguistic division in his attempt to solidify his own unassailable Ottawa Valley timber empire: The Shiners’ War, 20 October 1835

Ottawa’s First Newspaper
500 copies of Bytown’s first newspaper hit the streets on February 24, 1836. James Powell flips through the pages of that first four-page edition and takes a peek at what its first subscribers would have been reading: Ottawa’s First Newspaper, 24 February 1836

The ByWard Market
James Powell traces the history of Lowertown’s almost two-century old ByWard Market: The Byward Market, 4 November 1838

Corporation of Bytown
John Scott was elected the first mayor of Bytown – twice. Initially incorporated in 1847, with John Scott elected as Bytown’s first mayor, Bytown’s charter was subsequently disallowed following a dispute with the Ordnance Department, the military administration that had become accustomed to being in charge since the days of Lt. Colonel John By. James Powell shares the story of how matters were eventually resolved and how, upon reinstatement of Bytown’s charter, John Scott was, for a second time, elected as Bytown’s first mayor: The Corporation of Bytown, 28 April 1847

Stony Monday Riot
In 1849, the Stony Monday Riot erupted in Lowertown between the Reformists and the Tories. Dozens of injuries and one death resulted when as the (mostly Protestant) Tories, furious over the impending visit of the Governor General, Lord Elgin, clashed with the (largely working-class Catholic) Reformists: Stony Monday Riot, 17 September 1849

Lord Elgin Visits Bytown:
Remarkably, Lord Elgin’s visit in 1853 -- only four years after the Governor General had been forced to cancel his visit following Bytown’s violent Stony Monday Riot -- resulted in Lord Elgin’s recommendation that Bytown to be chosen as the Province of Canada’s new capital: Lord Elgin Visits Bytown, 27 July 1853

Choosing Canada's Capital 
Toronto, Kingston, Hamilton, Montreal and Quebec City were among Bytown’s rivals in the intensely-fought contest be chosen as the Province of Canada’s new capital. Bytown even went so far as to change its name to “Ottawa” in hopes of distancing itself from its (well-earned) reputation as a violent and uncivilized backwoods lumber town. James Powell retraces Bytown’s surprising journey to becoming Queen Victoria’s unexpected choice as Canada’s new capital: Queen Victoria Chooses Ottawa, 31 December 1857

Ottawa’s Centenary
In celebration of Bytown’s 100th anniversary in 1926, the Ottawa Journal published an article predicting what Ottawa might be like a century later, in 2026. Today, as we mark the 200th anniversary of the founding of Bytown, James Powell takes us back to 1926 for a look at those predictions and at how else our city celebrated our centenary: Ottawa’s Centenary, 16 August 1926

Paul Weber is a bilingual singer-songwriter, guitarist, storyteller and videographer who likes to share Ottawa history in song.

In this 3½ minute video, Paul performs an ode to the workers who toiled on construction of the Rideau Canal, completed in 1832: Three Years on the Rideau Canal.

In this one-minute video, Paul finds remains of a bridge in the Rideau River, and traces that bridge back to first railroad to reach Bytown, the Bytown and Prescott Railway, the first train arriving on Christmas Day, 1854: Rideau River Train Bridge Ruins.

Andrew King is an Ottawa artist and historian and author of the Ottawa Rewind blog.

• Andrew recalls the steamships that once plied the Rideau Canal: The Lost Steamships of The Rideau Canal (May 22, 1832)
• Andrew unearths the Firth Tavern: Ottawa's First Pub (1819)
• Thirsty canal workers? Andrew combs through old maps to track down Bytown’s first brewery: Ottawa First Brewery (1831)

John Morrisson lived in Manotick from 1994 to 2005 where he spent many happy hours paddling the area waterways and viewed the river and the canal as his own little piece of heaven on earth.

The Rideau Canal

A curtain does fall, so majestic and proud
Such a natural wonder, so gracious a shroud
Like a powerful train of glory descends
As a continuous fall at the Outaouais end

A fire alights from the south it did spread
To the north like a plague through the heart it has bled
With a mawkish like cry for freedom and joy
But freedom’s best chance was a fraudulent ploy

From a flicker of flame to a firestorm bred
Death escalates through a life cycle of dread
And taming this shrew with its penchant for blood
Was a foolish man’s bait for poor Madison’s club

Yet a fire would spread in a harrowing scene
From a spark it would roar with a devilish scream
From Niagara, on east, to a Forty Mile Creek
To a nondescript farm and a Chateauguay sneak

From Queenstown to Lundy, Detroit and the Thames
The Boxer and Enterprise, surrender of Maine
Through Ohio and Plattsburg, to a Moravian town
The war it did rage for Miss Liberty’s crown

Cities would fall and the towns they would burn
First Newark then York; it was Washington’s turn
War’s firebrand eyes thrust farther to yield
And finally burn in an Orleans field

What came but a draw in this foolish man’s quest?
For power and glory are such meaningless guests
Whatever the gain from the lives that were lost
For the hawkish bent men who lied at great cost

And the curtain still fell, so majestic and proud
As if sensing the chaos, so soothing its sound
Like the rapturous strains of a torrent, transcends
To emerge as a call at the Outaouais end.

***

The years fell away, and the anger did wane
Rush-Baggot had calmed such a petulant strain
An American age brought prosperity’s peace
As a confidant pace of change was unleashed

But the land to the north so upright and proud
Was paranoid still to the south’s freedom sound
A country that cried for security’s calm
Yet stands all alone ‘against a threatening psalm

But this land full of lakes and rivers and streams
Was a natural course for a military dream
For fear set in stride a magnificent quest
To build a canal that was strategically blessed

While the mighty St Laurence was a natural draw
It was fraught with real danger from its rapid rock falls
And upstream it ran with a thunderous roar
Too close to the south with its threatening core

The Ottawa ran to St Laurence’s call
To strike from the north and a western landfall
An historical route that opened the west
Where the traders would meet at the curtain for rest

Two rivers did run from a common high ground
To the south and the north from Lake Rideau their sound
From the shallows and falls through the marshes and swamps
From King’s town to Wright’s town, two rivers as one

To build a canal through this wilderness screams
Of a madness and curse of the military’s dream
A task so immense, so daunting and brash
That only the British could fathom this task

But the British did find a man of the Corp
A Wellington man from the Peninsular War
A man who had held the Canadian Shield
So right for this task with indefatigable zeal

John By was a Colonel and a leader of men
Ahead of his time and a genius, well bred
An engineer’s man with a passionate streak
For simplicity’s beauty with its functional tweaks

With orders to build a navigable path
From the Outaouais south to Ontario’s wrath
To rise from a bay named the Entrance - way crept
Up flight after flight, like some nautical steps

A plan was developed and contracts were signed
Engineering so simple with symmetrical lines
Pure genius at work with a heavenly hand
To guide and instruct a magnanimous man

With Drummond and Redpath, Phillips, MacKay
Canadian contractors, strong men of their day
These artists of stone were men of their word
So forthright and loyal to the Colonel’s accord

The sappers and miners and mason’s stones lay
Stonecutters and woodmen, all of the trades
For comfort, their spirit; their love of the crown
Romantic and colourful, these men of the realm

But the marvelous work that was soon to unfold
Was dependent upon the poor labourer’s code
The back wrenching work to clear out the land
And dig such a ditch with just spades in their hands

Such men from hard times, forever were cursed
To fight for survival and work through their thirst
Through backbreaking strains as their calloused hands scream
As they toiled and they toiled for this military dream

The Frenchmen held sway with their skill and savvy
So noble these men and their role as navvies
Independence of mind with a will to succeed
Just pride in their work and their songs and their deeds

But an Irishman’s fate to arrive at this place
To rescue one’s life from some wretched like fate
The scourge of the earth in the Englishman’s eye
Forgotten at home, they severed all ties

For a pestilence spread to drive them afar
From an emerald isle to this devil’s back yard
Though beauty may rest on the eye from beyond
A hellish nightmare was reality’s song

Just rags on their backs with their wives by their side
With children so weak from starvation and pride
A thousand would fall from a dengue-ish like hue
And die from this work’s laborious flu

Poor brothers would cry as their graves had been marked
So blind to the danger and the peril from sparks
As the powder was set with a magical link
Their lives were extinguished from the death blast’s cruel drink

Yet the lakes and the streams, swift water, rock falls
Were captured and tamed by this engineer’s call
Magnificent feats what By had achieved
In this harsh, hellish wilderness, was hard to conceive

The entrance way blessed by a protestant prayer
The first stone was set by John Franklin with care
Not mindful as yet that his greatness was cast
To die in the Arctic from an arctic cold blast

The curse of Hog’s Back; an Isthmus scourge
The tranquility of Chaffey’s; Long Island was purged
At Burritt’s and Black, these rapids were tamed
And Merrickville’s beauty, a religious refrain

With names like Poonamalie, with its cedar incense
An Indian aura in a wilderness sense
Opinicon’s names and a Cranberry fog
The curse of the labourer to die in this bog

The dam at the falls known locally as Jones
Is a testament still to its magnificent stone
Block upon block in a crescent like stance
Like a rampart of genius or an engineer’s dance

The work underway, six years to progress
The locks were completed, and the dams were well dressed
Through steamy hot summers, through sweat and death’s fear
Through winter’s ice jams; hell’s nightmare those years

The locks and the dams, wastewater and weirs
The cut at the entrance, eight steps to the piers
The breadth of this work remains unfathomable, sealed
As a masterpiece set in the Canadian Shield.

***

The threat from the south was all but contained
For the status quo boundary was all that was gained
From the firestorm set in those years long ago
Extinguished for good as a friendship would grow

Poor tragedy’s mark on this cornerstone lay
On the heart of a man who held the Rideau at bay
Called back by a King who questioned his deed
A question of funds from some zealot to heed

An inquiry would set the tone through the years
To diminish By’s feats; he was ignored by his peers
His spirit would die from his countrymen’s chill
And not from the bog or the Isthmus ills

Yet his legacy flows for our nation to see
Wonderment still, a magnificent deed
To balance such beauty with a functional stream
Through a Canadian wilderness with just minimal means

But the jewel in the crown of this engineer’s quest
Was not the canal or a technical best
For a town that was born on the Outaouais scene
In this land full of lakes and rivers and streams

By the Barracks Hill shanty near the Sapper’s stone bend
A magnificent tower of peace would ascend
From a lower town swamp to an upper town’s view
A great city would grow with great values imbued

For this capital’s crown of achievement remains
From the peaceful green flow of the Rideau, contained
The seeds of a city and a national theme
To build a great country with the freedom to dream

And the curtain still falls, so majestic and proud
Like a sentinel’s call or a passionate bow
For the genius who toiled on the Outaouais scene
And left such a mark with this beautiful stream.

© 2007 John Morrison, Mill Bay BC

Curtis Wolfe researches local history and heritage and his writings have been featured in Lowertown’s Community Newspaper The Echo.

Curtis uncovers the history of a local street: What’s in a name? Uncovering the namesake of Tormey Street.

Let’s hear your stories about Bytown and the Rideau Canal as we begin to mark 2026, the 200th anniversary of the beginning of both!

All contributions are welcome. Selected submissions will be shared on a special webpage on the HSO website for all to access, including educators. Eligible contributions can be submitted in a variety of formats, including written or audio/video.

We request that submissions be received by November 30, 2025.

We hope to also incorporate selected contributions into the HSO’s many other platforms – such as the HSO blog, the HSO’s Capital Chronicle newsletter, our website’s articles and Ottawa Stories sections and potentially the HSO pamphlet series.  All will be shared through our social media platforms well.

We welcome stories that pertain to the Rideau Canal or Bytown (1826-1855) or the Ottawa area’s history beforehand, as well as stories exploring the impact that the establishment of both had on the lives and livelihoods of Indigenous people.

We welcome new as well as updated or previously-published materials for submission. Contributors will allow the HSO the right to publish their materials while also retaining the right to do so themselves.

Contact us to learn more: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We will also be happy to discuss any proposals for submissions you may have.

Have a look at our collection of stories: https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/resources/bytown-200

The third Museum Club outing took place on Thursday, July 18, 2024, when a dozen registered participants, and two “foundlings” received a guided tour of the Merrickville Blockhouse Museum from our host, Jane Graham, who is the President of the Merrickville & District Historical Society (MDHS).  Jane explained that the Blockhouse was built in 1832 to defend the Rideau Canal but never served in its original role. Instead, it became the home of the first lockmaster, Sgt. Johnston, his wife and children. Over the years the Blockhouse has had many other uses including as a storage facility and a church. Eventually it fell into disrepair and was scheduled to be demolished in the early 1960s. It was saved by the community of Merrickville who raised funds and created the Merrickville & District Historical Society to restore and operate the Blockhouse.  The work has since become more than the volunteers of the MDHS can realistically handle, so the Town of Merrickville has now assumed responsibility for the Blockhouse Museum.

After about an hour in the Blockhouse Museum, Jane led ten of us on a guided walking tour along the main street of Merrickville pointing out many of the historic buildings and telling us the stories behind each.  Jane told us some of the details of the history of Merrickville itself, from its origin as a thriving industrial and commercial hub, through its decline into the mid twentieth century and its renaissance in the past few decades as a vibrant community and a haven for artists and artisans of all kinds. She also told us some colourful stories of a number of its more prominent early residents and of the plans of the MDHS to honour one of these, Harry McLean, with a statue.  The weather was perfect for the walking tour and there was much to see and yet more that could be explored independently based on a walking tour guide that is available through their web site.

Following our walking tour, which lasted just over an hour, we said good bye to Jane and retreated to the Mainstreet Restaurant, across the street from the Blockhouse, where the ten of us were warmly greeted.  The large menu offered many tasty choices and their own lager was enjoyed by a number of our party.  After lunch, the group dispersed, some browsing, and buying, in Merrickville’s fascinating array of shops.

Museum Club provides an opportunity for its participants to make new connections or in some cases discover existing connections they did not know they already had.  The latter occurred on our Merrickville trip when a casual lunchtime discussion revealed that one of the participants knew the grandparents of another, even though the two participants had never met and the grandparents live in south-western Ontario.  As they both agreed, it is a small world.

One of the goals of the Museum Club is to strengthen the relationships between the Historical Society of Ottawa and other organisations involved in the exploration of our local history or in preservation and conservancy.  To this end, a partnership is now being established between the HSO and the MDHS whereby the MDHS will send the HSO electronic copies of their newsletters and invitations to their speaker series presentations and the HSO will reciprocate, providing more opportunities for the members of both organizations.