Working to preserve Ottawa's past
for future generations.
HSO 2026 Bytown200 Bicentennial Storytelling Collection
The Historical Society of Ottawa is proud to share stories about Bytown and the Rideau Canal to highlight the 200th anniversary of both in 2026.
Have a story to share as part of our Bytown200 Challenge? Follow this link to learn more: www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/hso-news/the-hso-2026-bytown200-bicentennial-storytelling-challenge
The HSO Bytown200 initiative has been made possible, in part, thanks to the generous legacy bequeathed to the Historical Society of Ottawa by the late Ms. Vivian Lawrence.
Brendan Ray – The Ottawa History Hub
23 March 2026
HSO
If you like podcasts – and you like learning about Ottawa’s past – you’re going to enjoy Brendan Ray’s new Ottawa History Hub podcast series. Going back to the very…
Louise Charbonneau SCO – The Venerable Élisabeth Bruyère
23 March 2026
HSO
Did early Bytown bear witness to the work of a Saint? April 5, 2026, marks the 150th anniversary of Mother Élisabeth Bruyère’s death, yet her selfless spirit lives on and…
Andrew King – In Search of Ottawa’s First House
12 March 2026
HSO
To mark Ottawa's 200th Anniversary, Andrew King, curious as always, decides to determine which settler may have been the first to build a permanent family home in Ottawa, and if…
Ottawa South History Project – Williams House
21 February 2026
HSO
Learn of “Williams House” located in present-day Old Ottawa South, the frame structure which dates back to 1827 (the first full year of construction of the Rideau Canal) and of…
Ashley Newall – Nicholas Sparks’ House
20 February 2026
HSO
Imagine spending £95 sterling to purchase 200 acres of what would one day constitute the heart of downtown Ottawa – a swath extending from Wellington Street to present-day Laurier Avenue,…
The City of Ottawa Archives – Bytown 200th: Ottawa's history
19 February 2026
HSO
The City of Ottawa Archives joins in marking 200 years since the founding of Bytown, by presenting a serialized look at the community’s early development. “Bytown: Construction Camp to Fledgling…
Jack Hanna – Centretown BUZZ Ottawa 200 series
16 February 2026
HSO
To mark Ottawa’s 200th anniversary, the Centretown BUZZ community newspaper has commissioned Jack Hanna to pen an eight-part series reflecting back on the history of our city. Jack Hanna is…
Ben Weiss – 1926 Centenary Flashback
15 February 2026
HSO
Join us as we (carefully) flip through the withering pages of a (barely) surviving copy of the August 16, 1926 edition of the Ottawa Evening Citizen -- and travel back…
André Pinard – Colonel By and the Founding of Bytown
14 February 2026
HSO
Who better to share the story of the Bytown’s beginnings than Lt. Colonel John By himself? Who more reliable to recount the construction of the Rideau Canal than the Royal…
Sonja McKay – Zéphérine Brunet, a French Canadian in Bytown
13 February 2026
HSO
Among the settlers who populated Bytown, many were francophones. By examining the stories of her own francophone ancestors, Sonja McKay reveals a window through which we obtain a glimpse of what…
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