SELF-GUIDED WALKING TOUR OF HISTORIC Paul McConnell and NEW EDINBURGH name spelled differently in dif- Inge Vander Horst ferent places. Co-Chairs, NE Heritage and One advantage of creat- Development Committee ing your own village is that Rediscover New Edinburgh by you get to name streets after strolling through this historic your own family. So, in addi- neighbourhood. Travel back in tion to MacKay Street, we time 170 years while taking a have streets named after four closer look at some heritage of Thomas McKay’s children gems. Most of these remarkable - John, Charles, Alexander, and buildings are located within Thomas. “Crichton” was the the original settlement of New maiden name of his wife, Ann. Edinburgh, which was founded “Keefer” was the surname of his in 1832 by Scottish stonema- son-in-law. son and entrepreneur, Thomas Other streets have a royal McKay. connection, with (Queen) McKay had been a major con- “Victoria” as well as “Stanley” tractor for the Rideau Canal, and “Dufferin” named after “Hon. Thos. Mackay’s Mills, Distillery, etc. and part of New Governors General. including the entrance locks by Edinburgh, Rideau Falls: Drawn by Captain Thomas Burrowes in Parliament Hill. When construc- 1845. Source: Archives of Ontario The Walking Tour tion was completed in 1832, he encouraged his workers to settle Missing from this walking We have lots of well-maintained of New Edinburgh’s history. It old homes throughout New on the land he had purchased tour are the brewery and dis- has been estimated that the for- around the Rideau Falls. There tillery, the saw mill, the grist Edinburgh, and the whole area mer Village of New Edinburgh that used to form the original was plenty of work to be had mill, the flour mill and bakery, (roughly Sussex to Dufferin, in his numerous mills and fac- the woollen mill and cloth fac- Village has been designated a Stanley to MacKay) still con- Heritage Conservation District. tories. tory - all established by Thomas tains 150 homes dating from the In 1838, McKay completed McKay. He was also instrumen- We also have many award- 19th Century. You’ll see plen- winning infill and renovation construction of his splendid tal in bringing the first railway ty of these on the self-guided new mansion, Rideau Hall, into Ottawa in 1854, with the projects involving historic walking tour described in the buildings. Then there are the which added some prestige to Bytown & Prescott line run- following pages. the neighbourhood. He died in ning along the banks of the lanes, with their own unique 1855, and when Ottawa was Rideau River through to New What’s in a name? story to tell. So much to see chosen in 1857 as the capital of Edinburgh’s mills. in the neighbourhood - so how Canada, the government leased Most signs of New Edinburgh’s The street names of New to decide what to include in a and then purchased Rideau Hall industrial golden age have long Edinburgh’s old village were not walking tour? chosen at random - most have as the official residence of the since disappeared. The factories For this first effort, we’ve Governor General. The Vice- and mills have been demolished a close association to Thomas McKay and his family, or to decided to keep things simple. Regal presence provided a fur- and cleared, to be replaced by We have selected the 17 proper- ther boost to New Edinburgh, the Embassy of France, the old our immediate neighbours, the Governors General of Canada. ties that have been recognized which saw more houses and ser- Ottawa City Hall, and NCC individually by the City and vices being built for the gentry. green space. T h o m a s M c K a y ’ s Province as especially deserv- The Village of New Edinburgh The old rail- ing their heritage status. There was formally incorporated in way bed has name provides something of are 11 residential buildings, 3 1866. Twenty-one years later, become a schools, 2 churches, one bridge. in 1887, it merged with the City recreational a puzzle. Have you noticed These are some of the best of Ottawa. trail through examples in New Edinburgh the parks, that the street named after of buildings from different eras History? What History? although the and they are also some of the last traces of him is spelled The New Edinburgh we see “ M a c K a y ” ? best-documented. They provide today is generally regarded as its old bridge a great introduction to our local can still be And it’s an up-market neighbourhood of “ M a c K a y ” history, but no doubt you’ll fine houses and gardens, quaint seen head- make your own discoveries en ing across to U n i t e d lanes, large areas of parkland, Church. Well, route. and enjoying a pretty setting Lowertown. What we Thomas was On the accompanying pages by the Rideau River. This is a born and died you will find a photograph far cry from New Edinburgh’s still have in some num- as a “McKay” and street address for each of origins as an industrial centre. but for what- the heritage properties so you Many of the early residents ber, however, are homes, ever reason should have no problem iden- were mill workers who lived in following his tifying them. Also included is a modest homes or rooming hous- c h u r c h e s , and schools Courtesy of www.érudit.org death, his brief description of their special es. They were employed in the family adopt- features and history. Most of heavily industrialized corridors f r o m throughout The Honourable Thomas McKay ed the form the buildings - but not all - will along the Ottawa and Rideau (1792-1855), from photo belonging to “ M a c K a y ” . have a bronze heritage plaque Rivers, where the Rideau Falls the differ- Miss Lily McLeod Clark of Elmwood, ent phases This is why that explains a bit more about supplied power. Ontario. you’ll see the them. ON YOURAn WAY: You Introduction can start wherever you like. We have to listed Old the 17 properties New in a loop, Edinburgh starting at the former Crichton Street Public School at 200 Crichton Street. The length of the walk connecting # 1 through #16 (MacKay United Church) is an easy 2 km; it is a further 0.5km to reach #17, Ecole St Charles, on Springfield Road. A complete circuit will take perhaps 90 minutes - but go at your own pace. It’s worth noting as well that you can repeat the walk in different seasons for a different experience. Or perhaps you’ll want to cycle around the circuit with the kids. One final note. This is an “outside” tour only, so please respect the privacy of the occupants of the heritage homes. Nevertheless, if you do happen to see them, you may wish to thank them for the effort they have invested in looking after these wonderful buildings. They are the custodians of an important part of New Edinburgh’s� history. gem enjoys a wonderful setting. At one time, its 1main entrance2 3 fronted4 5 6 towards the Rideau River. The origi- nal 1 ½ storey western section of the house was built for Dr W.R. Bell as a medical office. The 2 ½ storey � 9 eastern section7 was erected8 in 1880 as10 11 12 an attached residence. The clapboard 1 2 3 4 5 6building is highlighted by its gables, large veranda, peaked-cap dormer, 13 14 15 16 17 #1. 200 Crichton Street (1906) and lots of fine detail. Crichton Street Public School. The school7 in New8 Edinburgh9 10moved 11four 12 times before the first school was built #5. Stanley Avenue at Union (1900) on this site in 1875. The present build- Minto Bridges. Named after the Earl ing took on its main shape in 1906. of Minto, eighth Governor General A 13major new14 wing, which16 forms the17 of Canada, these ornate bridges were front facade, was 15added in 1919-20. originally part of a ceremonial route With its modern design� and facilities, from Government House to Parliament. it was regarded as a great advance in They were built from lightweight school architecture. The school1 was2 3 4 5 6 steel sections and cast iron by the closed in 1999 but still serves New Dominion Bridge Company for the Edinburgh as the home of the Crichton “Ottawa Improvement Commission” Cultural Community Centre. #4. 119 Stanley Avenue (c.1890) (a predecessor of the National Capital Jones House. Built for John Jones, a 7 8 9 10 11 12 Commission) which was established mill worker at the nearby mills, this by Sir Wilfrid Laurier in 1899 “to house is a fine example of the mod- beautify the City”. est local homes occupied by workers 13 14 and15 their families.16 Impressive17 features include the gabled dormers, decora- tive porch, and the Second Empire mansard styled roof (which provided more headroom upstairs but the house � was still taxed only as a 1 ½ storey dwelling). 1 2 3 4 5 6 #2. 139-141 Crichton Street (1874) � 7 Garvock8 House9 . Stonemason10 11 and con12 - tractor Alexander Garvock built this 1 2 3 4 5 6 small 1 ½ storey double house on land purchased from the MacKay Estate. 13 With14 its fine15 masonry,16 it is 17an impres- #6. 92 Stanley Avenue (c.1867) sive reminder of the skills that became 9 MacLeod House. In a fine location, this established in Ottawa following con- 7 8 10 11 picturesque12 1 ½ storey stone house is struction of the Rideau Canal.