By Bob Grainger – On the morning of November 1, 1871, the residents of the Westboro Beach area awoke to an immense fire consuming James Skead’s brand new steam sawmill on the shore of the Ottawa River. Senator Skead had constructed his mill just two years before, and […]
By Bob Grainger – On the second Tuesday of June 1865, there was a ceremony to lay the cornerstone for the construction of All Saints’ Church on the north side of Richmond Road in the very centre of what was to become the Village of Westboro. The Union […]
By Bob Grainger – Fire was a serious and ever-present fact of life in the Ottawa area in the 19th century, and it took three general forms: house fires in the winter time, bush fires in the dry periods of late spring and summer, and fires in the […]
By Bob Grainger – Last month’s column was about the use of wood as a heating source and the dangers of house fires. The focus of this month’s is the use of coal and later, electricity, and some of the risks associated with its use in the last […]
By Bob Grainger – In the latter part of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, home heating technology was such that it involved some real risks in terms of house fires. In these early days, “home heating” really meant “stove heating.” The stove […]
It is hard to remember what used to exist on the northwest corner of Richmond Road and Berkeley Avenue before the construction of the Westboro Exchange condominium, but only about a decade ago it was the site of a two-story factory, the home of Ketchum Manufacturing, one of […]
This summer the Parkdale Market became a nonagenarian; 90 years old and as lively as ever, continuing to serve the residents of the inner west end of the city with fresh fruits, vegetables and all manner of flowers and plants. The “West End Market” had a rather inauspicious […]
This photo was taken on May 5, 1933 and shows an area bounded by Carleton Avenue (visible in the lower right-hand corner), the Ottawa River across the top of the photo (with the newly completed Champlain Bridge), the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks across the bottom, and the eastern-most […]
By Bob Grainger – For years, residents of McKellar Park have been unearthing golf balls when they dig in their gardens. They are relics from the past, as over 60 years ago the entire neighbourhood was occupied by McKellar Park Golf Club. The golf course opened in 1928. […]
This final column about Banting Avenue focuses on the day-to-day life of the neighbourhood. In conversations with people who grew up on Banting Avenue, it is clear that it was seen as a delightful place to live – a quiet secluded corner of the city, with forest and […]
Last month, in Part I of this examination of the disappearance of Banting Avenue, the focus was on the location of this neighbourhood at the north end of Mansfield Avenue and along the river. The Banting Avenue neighbourhood was not large or heavily populated, but it was a […]
This column is dedicated to the memory of a good friend, Grace (Waterman) Soubliere. For the first half of the 20th century, there was a small community of houses along the Ottawa River at the very end of Mansfield Avenue. The only approach to this community was to […]
The focus of last month’s column was the Trocadero dance hall at Westboro Beach. This month, despite the snow and sub-zero temperatures outside, we’re continuing our look at the development of Westboro Beach and the community’s involvement in regards to its use. It is impossible to date the […]
We’re very happy to introduce a new local history column by Bob Grainger. Bob is a retired federal public servant who discovered an interest in local history. KT readers may already know him through his book, Early days in Westboro Beach – Images and Reflections. He’s also part […]
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