How less rich would be our understanding of our past if not for the long ago artists who preserved those stunning images of early Bytown with the stroke of their brush?

Kevin Ballantyne, producer of the excellent “Forgotten Ottawa” short video series on Ottawa history and recent winner of the City of Ottawa’s David Flemming Community Heritage Award, shares their legacy in his latest video, “Bytown Artists”, submitted for the HSO Bytown200 challenge : www.youtube.com/watch?v=LguPHj8oRS0 

Of interest on this topic, as well, is this link to “Ottawa Art & Artists” by Jim Burant: www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/ottawa-art-and-artists

Beginning on November 26, 2025, subscribers to Rogers TV will be able to enjoy a brand new season of our series, “Time Travelling with the Historical Society of Ottawa”, a collaboration between Rogers TV and the Historical Society of Ottawa.

Each week's new episode will air Wednesday @ 7:30 p.m. and then be rebroadcast Friday at 5:30 p.m. and the following Tuesday @ 10:00 a.m. on Rogers TV Channel 22.

Here is the schedule of episodes and our featured presenters:

Wednesday, November 26, 2025 @ 7:30 p.m. - Call To Arms: The Fenian Threat with Phil Gurski

Wednesday, December 3 @ 7:30 p.m. - Canada’s Historic Beechwood Cemetery with Nick McCarthy

Wednesday, December 10 @ 7:30 p.m. - John Egan: Pine, Politics & the Ottawa Valley with Michael McBane

Wednesday, December 17 @ 7:30 p.m. - The History of Ottawa’s 2SLGBTQ+ Community with Glenn Crawford

Wednesday, January 7, 2026 @ 7:30 p.m. - Play Ball! The History of Baseball in Early Ottawa with Steve Rennie

Wednesday, January 14 @ 7:30 p.m. - The Château Laurier (If These Walls Could Talk!) with Dominique Lajoie

Wednesday, January 21 @ 7:30 p.m. -  Under the Archway: A History of Ottawa’s Chinese Community with Jeff Wang

All episodes were recorded at the Beechwood Cemetery pavilion. After initial exclusive broadcast on Rogers TV, the series will be made accessible on the HSO website, where you will also find our great episodes from Season #1.

Jo-Anne McCutcheon, Archivist and Associate Professor of History at UOttawa, reveals and demonstrates how historical research is being facilitated for both academics and the general public through several publicly accessible databases like Zotero and OMEKA.

Stephen Jarrett, lead archeologist on the Parliament Hill Renovation project, shares the history of this historic site as revealed through artifacts and previously unknown structural elements discovered during preparations for the 10 year long renovation.

Artist, cartoonist, columnist and author of the Ottawa Rewind books and blog, Andrew King shares his discoveries of what’s hidden beneath the surface of our nation’s capital.

The late Jamie Bramburger shares the tragic story of a horrific Christmastime Ottawa Valley train crash that took 38 lives and injured over 150 when a wartime troop train lost control on a snowy, icy evening – ramming at high speed into the rear end of a civilian train still in the process of loading passengers.

Phil Emberley shares his father Dieter's experience as one of the 10,000 Jewish children evacuated by the British government before the start of WWII from his home in Germany.

Produced especially for the “HSO 2026 Bytown200 Bicentennial Storytelling Challenge” this new film “Two Wars, Three Watersheds, A Slew of Surveys & A Canal”, by historian and documentary filmmaker Allison Margot Smith, traces the extensive surveys and planning, in response to the threat of American attack, that ultimately led to the construction of the historic Rideau Canal:

Follow this link to learn more about the film maker and to view some of Allison Margot Smith's previous films on the Rideau Canal:

https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/resources/bytown-200/allison-margot-smith-the-rideau-canal-films

Join us for our March 28, 2026 Speaker Series presentation when Allison discusses the history of the Rideau Canal, including a screening of her new film:

https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/activities/events/eventdetail/184/-/the-rideau-canal

Initial surveys of the Rideau corridor had been carried out as early as 1783, in the wake of the American Revolution.

It wasn’t until after the War of 1812, however, that increased concern over the possibility of renewed American attacks led to further surveys of the land between the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers, with a view to building a canal that would bypass the exposed American border along the St. Lawrence.

In this fascinating new film, produced especially for the “HSO 2026 Bytown200 Bicentennial Storytelling Challenge” by film maker Allison Margot Smith, we travel back to those years of crucial planning and exploration that led ultimately to the construction of the historic Rideau Canal: 

Would you like to contribute to the HSO 2026 Bytown200 Bicentennial Storytelling Challenge? Follow this link to learn more:

www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/hso-news/the-hso-2026-bytown200-bicentennial-storytelling-challenge