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PO Box 523, Station B,
Ottawa, ON, K1P 5P6

PO Box 523, Station B, Ottawa, ON, K1P 5P6
In 1793, a young Black woman named Choe Clooey, against her loud protests, was forced into a boat and across the Niagara River to be sold in the United States. Several witnesses, horrified by Cooley’s plaintive cries for help, resolved to petition the Executive Council of Upper Canada for her immediate return and the arrest of the perpetrators. Lord Simcoe, Lieutenant Governor of the newly founded jurisdiction of Upper Canada, had for many years been a strong opponent of slavery and was outraged but powerless to intervene once Cooley had…
Wednesday, 22 February 2023 20:30

Heritage Day 2023

In celebration of our 125th anniversary, the Historical Society of Ottawa was recognized and honoured by being invited to contribute this year’s special Heritage Day “2023 Great Ottawa History Challenge”. How well do you know Ottawa history? Take the challenge! https://ottawacitizen.com/news/heritage-day-try-the-2023-great-ottawa-history-challenge
Our in-person speaker session of February 8, 2023, hosted by the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library, featured two speakers – double the pleasure, double the fun! One of our speakers related fascinating stories of places, many of which we can no longer see, while the other encouraged us all to get out and look at what we still can, at least for now. We welcomed Hagit Hadaya as our first speaker of the afternoon. Hagit holds a Master of Canadian Heritage Conservation and a High Honours BA in…
Saturday, 11 February 2023 16:39

The Great Debate: Whitton or Dewar?

The Historical Society of Ottawa’s first speaker series of 2023 was an exciting debate on who was Ottawa’s most remarkable mayor: Charlotte Whitton or Marion Dewar? In one corner we had Dave Mullington, a former journalist, author, and long time member of the HSO defending Whitton. In the other corner, defending Dewar, we had a last-minute substitution of Robert Fox. Fox was Dewar’s chief of staff, Oxfam Canada’s representative in Central America, Communications Manager for CUPE, National Director of the NDP, and is presently co-chair of the Ottawa People’s Commission…
As most of our older members, but few of our newer members know, the Historical Society of Ottawa is in strong financial shape because of former president George Neville’s prudent leadership. And now the next generation of directors are having fun finding meaningful projects to support around town that showcase local history. On September 30, 2022, on only the second ever National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Ottawa Historical Society partnered with the Ottawa-based First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and Beechwood Cemetery for its annual educational activities. Our…
Over the years, the Historical Society of Ottawa has had many presentations about people who have had a significant impact on the history of Ottawa and the Ottawa Valley, and we’ve always been able to count on guest speakers who have researched their subject well, but its quite rare to have a presentation from a speaker who personally knows the subject of the presentation and has had that historic person as a guest at his Kingston home. In fact, for our Oct 26, 2022 Zoom presentation we had two speakers…
REGISTER at http://tinyurl.com/HSO-30-Nov-2022 for our free online presentation scheduled for Wednesday, November 30th at 7pm. The Ottawa Valley has been home to the proud Algonquin people for as many as 8,000 years. Long before the arrival of Europeans, the Algonquins lived, hunted trapped, fished, socialized and traded on both sides of the Ottawa River and along its tributaries. Councillor Merv Sarazin, band councillor Pikwakanagan First Nation and direct descendant of the Grand Chief Constant Pinesi, explores the Algonquin people's vital connection to this history. Here is the Zoom registration link: …
Rod MacIvor enthralled us on November 16, 2022, with tales from his four decades as an award-winning Ottawa-based photojournalist, while sharing images of some the most remarkable photographs he has captured over the years. His seemingly endless portfolio of iconic photos included those taken of Pierre Trudeau and family (including the former PM's ground-breaking trip to Cuba in 1976), the Royal family, Wayne Gretzky, Jean Chrétien and more. Rod shared some fascinating inside stories including dust-ups with Cuban security and providing Margaret Trudeau with photography lessons. Rod shared many humourous…
Thursday, 27 October 2022 18:32

Philemon Wright & His Town

We returned to our in-person Speaker Series on September 14, 2022, after a two and half year hiatus, with a fascinating presentation by Rick Henderson, great-great-great-great-grandson of Philemon Wright. Rick's presentation included not only thoroughly researched detail and a great selection of images, but also an excerpt from his recently completed "A Walk in Wright's Town in 1830" virtual tour of the Ottawa Valley's first permanent settlement. In his talk, Rick traced how, arriving over two centuries ago, Philemon Wright and his family carved out a thriving community, launched the…
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