PO Box 523, Station B, Ottawa, ON, K1P 5P6
On Saturday June 3, 2023, members of the Historical Society of Ottawa accompanied the Gatineau Valley Historical Society on a bus trip to the Kitigan Zibi Pow Wow. Departing from Chelsea, Quebec, the bus trip stopped at the Centre Wakefield La Pêche for more pick-ups and proceeded to make its way through the vast Quebec wilderness along the Gatineau River. Upon our arrival at the Pow Wow, we were delighted to see a very large turn out. Vehicles parked along the roads and in yards and parking lots. It was a…
Monday, 09 March 2020 23:05

HSO 2020 Luncheon

Reception & Lunch, Plus Music by Paul Weber The Historical Socidety of Ottawa was blessed with exceptionally good weather for this event as the Society Members and other attendees arrived, registered and chose their seats in “Borden Hall” (in its previous incarnation, the church’s “nave” or main area). The dining area, its pews long since repurposed elsewhere and replaced by tables and chairs, was copiously illuminated by the sunlight shining through the hall’s many tall stained glass windows. A sumptuous buffet of sandwiches and soup, accompanied by a beverage service,…
On Sunday, Sept. 15th, 2019, forty-two HSO members and their guests boarded a coach and headed out to Vankleek Hill, where they visited the local museum — housed in a recently restored 19th-century general store. Participants were then split into three groups for a leisurely walking tour of Ontario’s “Gingerbread Capital” guided by Denis Séguin, the architect responsible for the restoration, the town’s ex-mayor and a well-informed resident whose family has lived in Vankleek Hill for five generations. In 1797, Simeon Van Kleeck, an United Empire Loyalist, received a land…
On Friday, June 14, 2019, eighteen society members took part in the society’s spring excursion to Tucker House, a well-preserved historic estate in rural Clarence-Rockland, just beyond the eastern boundary of the City of Ottawa. The trip was a great success, including a delightful tea and lunch, and an informative presentation from local historian Gilles Chartrand. Tucker HouseHSO member, Mary Edwards, at Tucker HouseThe HSO gang having lunch at Tucker House after a fascinating presentation by local historian Gilles Chartrand (far left)
Not rain or snow or windy cold kept nine intrepid members of the Historical Society of Ottawa — and two people who had seen it advertised on our Facebook page — from enjoying a special walking tour of Beechwood Cemetery on November 10th 2018, Nick McCarthy, the cemetery’s director of marketing, communications and community, led us to the main historical sites and told stories of those buried in this well-tended National Cemetery of Canada. We began at the tomb of Robert Borden (1834-1937), notable because Sir Robert did not want…
A brisk wind greeted us as we stepped onto the roof of the Chats Falls Hydro Power Generating Station situated on the Ottawa River at Fitzroy Harbour, across from Quyon, Que. Twelve HSO members and friends braved the November damp and chill to explore this fascinating and crucial component of our community. Our host was Gary Kowaluk and two of his associates. From the rooftop we could see this long rectangular building stretch across the Ottawa River, straddling the two provinces. The view of the Lac des Chats reservoir was…