June 29, 2009

STAGE I LOTS 39, 40, 41, ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONCESSION IV ASSESSMENT CITY OF OTTAWA

Prepared for | Adrian Schouten, Richmond ON

Contentworks Inc., 137 Second Avenue, Suite 1, Ottawa, ON K1S 2H4 T: 613 730-4059 E: [email protected]

Stage I Archaeological Assessment

Lots 39, 40, 41, Concession IV City of Ottawa (Former Township of North Gower Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton)

Submitted to Adrian Schouten 6133 Malakoff Road Richmond ON K0A 2Z0

Telephone: (613) 913-0496 Fax: (613) 489-2333

Prepared by Ian Hember 227 Montfort St Ottawa, ON K1L 5P3

Telephone: (613) 369-4351 Mobile: (613) 761-7917 E-mail: [email protected]

Archaeological License: P154 MCL PIF: P154-001-2009

June 2009 Stage I Archaeological Assessment Lots 39, 40, 41, Concession IV, City of Ottawa

1 Introduction Ian Hember and Contentworks were contracted by Adrian Schouten to conduct a Stage I archaeological assessment for the Fairmile Farms proposed subdivision on Lots 39, 40 and 41, Concession IV, near Fourth Line Road and Donnelly Drive in the City of Ottawa (Figure 1, Figure 2). The assessment, including background research and field survey, was carried out by Ian Hember under archaeological licence P154, issued to Mr Hember, in accordance with the Ontario Heritage Act (2005). Permission to access the property in order to carry out the activities necessary to complete the assessment was granted in May 2009. The property was visited by Ian Hember in June 2009. The weather was sunny with light haze. This report presents the results of the Stage I archaeological assessment and makes a number of recommendations. It was prepared by Ian Hember. 2 Physical Description of the Property

2.1 Regional Physiographic History The Ottawa area emerged from the Wisconsin Ice Cap around 12,000BP. The immense weight of the ice had compressed the earth’s crust significantly; almost immediately upon the retreat of the glacier, seawater from the Atlantic Ocean flowed into what is now eastern Ontario, western Quebec and parts of New England and New York State. The resulting body of water was known as the Champlain Sea. (Laliberté, 1998: 5-7) In the first few thousand years following deglaciation, elastic isostatic rebound pushed the earth’s crust rapidly upwards. Estimates place the yearly shift in surface level in the Ottawa Valley at several dozen metres per year. The ground level was effectively rising up out of the sea, pushing the saltwater back into the ocean and exposing new land. (Laliberté, 1998: 6-8) As the glacier retreated, it gave off immense volumes of meltwater which flowed into the lowlands to the south. This torrent of meltwater, combined with the rising ground levels, both shrank and desalinated the Champlain Sea. The sea was transformed from a vast, saline oceanic environment in 12,000BP to a smaller brackish sea by 10,000BP to a much smaller freshwater lake called Lampsilis Lake by around 9,800BP. The rivers in the region – the Ottawa and the Rideau – are the remains of the channels through which the Champlain Sea and the proglacial lakes drained to the Atlantic via the St Lawrence. (Laliberté, 1998: 6ff)

2.2 Physiography, Topography and Soils The subject property and the entire surrounding region bear the tell-tale signs of the Wisconsin Glacier and the Champlain Sea. The region is almost universally flat, with the notable exception of a large field of small drumlins immediately north of the property, known as the North Gower Drumlin Field. The flatness is a direct result of the region having been scraped by the glacier and then submerged by the Champlain Sea; the whole area was once sea-bed. Chapman and Putnam describe the area as the Edwardsburg Sand Plain, a region characterized by low-lying, very flat, poorly drained sand soils. (Chapman and Putman, 1984: 343ff) While the subject property is indeed low-lying, its proximity to the Rideau River has changed its soil profile. The

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Stage I Archaeological Assessment Lots 39, 40, 41, Concession IV, City of Ottawa topsoil over much of the property is a fine dark-brown silt, deposited by centuries of annual flooding of the river. The most significant physiographic feature in the immediate vicinity of the subject property is the Rideau River. South of the property, the river flows to the northeast. East of the property, the river turns northwards. Its course is believed to have been stable since the disappearance of Lampsilis Lake about 9,500BP. (Laliberté, 1998: 7) The property ranges from approximately 300m to approximately 700m from the river, and is almost directly opposite the mouth of the Kemptville Creek. Much of the property was once natural wetland on account of its low elevation, and was subject to seasonal flooding. Marshy areas still exist near the southwest edge and likely elsewhere. The map provided by the developer depicts both the boundaries of the wetlands and the limits of the flood plain. Culverts were installed to the southwest, altering the drainage profile of the property. At present, a small but deep creek flows through the southwestern portions of the subject property, while another extends into the middle of the property to the northeast. Whether these creeks are entirely artificial or entirely natural, or some combination, remains unknown.

2.3 Vegetation The subject property lies well within the St Lawrence Forest Region with a natural vegetation cover of southern deciduous hardwoods. (Atlas of Canada, n.d.) Much of the property remains tree-covered and mixed hardwoods predominate, but the trees are young, evidence that the land had been cleared for agriculture during the 19th and 20th centuries. Some sections of the subject property were covered with grasses, goldenrod and associated species. Marshy areas were home to irises, dogwoods and tall reeds.

2.4 Disturbances An extensive section of the property was observed to have been heavily disturbed in the very recent past. Conversations with adjacent landowners revealed that the developers had brought in heavy machinery to remove the trees from large sections of the property. Trees were bulldozed or otherwise pulled out by the roots, resulting in irreparable damage to the integrity of the topmost layers of soil. A brief inspection of one of the disturbed areas revealed that, in places, topsoil had been removed. Topsoil was still wholly or partially intact in other areas within the boundaries of the disturbance. The heavy machinery also crushed a culvert near the entrance to the property, causing the creek to change its course and wash out a considerable section of the laneway and adjacent land. Pedestrian access to the property can currently only be gained by a small footbridge on an adjacent property (permission has been granted by the landowner), and access to portions of the property is entirely prevented by flooding. Vehicular access to the property as a whole is impossible for the same reasons. The disturbance was observed in the southwest portion of the property. The northeastern portions remain undisturbed and covered by trees and grasses, or marshy.

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Stage I Archaeological Assessment Lots 39, 40, 41, Concession IV, City of Ottawa

This recent tree removal and the associated damage to the soil were undertaken prior to approval from the Ministry of Culture. Plates 1 through 5 illustrate the disturbances to the subject property. 3 History of the Property

3.1 Aboriginal History During much of the Palaeo-Indian period, the Ottawa area was covered by the Champlain Sea, making human occupation impossible. The Sea gradually receded and by the Late Palaeo-Indian Period, most of the region was dry land. Human habitation during this time most frequently took the form of small camps on the shores of the Champlain Sea and subsequent bodies of water. As the sea level dropped and more dry land became exposed, humans would move their camps to remain close to the water so as to exploit the marine resources necessary to their survival. (Archaeological Services, Inc and Geomatics International, Inc, 1999: 7ff) Archaeological evidence for Aboriginal presence in the region remains scant. There are no registered archaeological sites related to Aboriginal populations within a 5km radius of the subject property. At the time of the preparation of the archaeological master plan for the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton (now the City of Ottawa), fewer than 50 such sites were known to exist in the entire municipality. The earliest of these dates to the Early Archaic Period, ca 6,000BP. (Archaeological Services, Inc and Geomatics International, Inc, 1999: 7ff) The low density of archaeological sites within the boundaries of the City of Ottawa corresponds well with descriptions of the area written by Samuel de Champlain following his journey through the area in the early 17th century. Champlain noted that, at the time of his visit, the environs of the Rideau River were not, and had not been for as long as anyone could remember, occupied. While considered to be within Iroquois territory by the Algonquins who lived further north, the Rideau was used primarily as a route for raiding parties, with the areas of higher Iroquois population density closer to the St Lawrence River. (Laliberté, 1998: 29)

3.2 Euro-Canadian History The subject property is made up of parts of Lots 39, 40 and 41 in the former Township of North Gower, in Carleton County. Carleton County was part of the 1783 Crawford Purchase and was created a county in 1800. Like much of eastern Ontario, Carleton was first settled in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, largely by United Empire Loyalists. The oldest settlements in the region were along the Ottawa and Rideau rivers. The earliest recorded ownership of any portion of the subject property is 1800. All three lots were subdivided at different times, but all seem to have remained farmland during the 19th century. A brief summary of the ownership of each property during the 19th century is presented below in Table 1. Between 1826 and 1832 the Rideau River was surveyed in detail in order to construct the Rideau Canal. A series of locks, artificial channels, dams and other structures associated with the canal were constructed at various points along the waterway. While none of these are located on or adjacent to the subject property, the canalization of the Rideau River had the effect of stabilizing the water level and reducing seasonal flood levels.

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Stage I Archaeological Assessment Lots 39, 40, 41, Concession IV, City of Ottawa

Table 1

Lot 39

Year Ownership Portion of Lot

1846 Canada Company Whole 200 acres

1873 Jane Lindsay Front Half

1873 JW Valcour Rear Half

1875 John Cole Front Half

1882 Thomas Hart Front Half of Rear Half

1882 John Rothwell NW Half of Rear Half

1890 Alex Crawford NW Half of N Half (50 acres)

1890 John Curry Front Half of Rear Half

1892 W. Crawford South Half of Rear Half

1895 W Crawford North Half of Rear Half

1909 Alex Powell Front Half

Lot 40

Year Ownership Portion of Lot

1800 Thomas Fraser Whole 200 acres

1835 William Knox All

1841 Roderick Matheson R Part, 40 acres

1855 Agar Yielding All, less part

1871 Susannah Cowan Rear part, 40 acres

1874 George Jones 100 acres

1874 John Heney 60 acres

1883 John Wilson W 50 acres of E 160 acres

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Stage I Archaeological Assessment Lots 39, 40, 41, Concession IV, City of Ottawa

1887 Alexander Wilson All, less previously-severed 40 acre and 50 acre parcels

1896 Campbell Wilson 40 acres

1898 Thomas Plunkett 160 acres

Lot 41

Year Ownership Portion of Lot

1800 Thomas Fraser All, with 40, 400 acres

1835 William Knox All

1841 Roderick Matheson Rear 24 acres

1855 Agar Yielding All

1858 James Stevenson All, less 24 acre part

1870 William Heney All, less 24 acre part

1877 Thomas Smith N Ely. 30A. of S Wly. 54A.

1893 William smith All

4 Archaeological Potential

4.1 Previous Archaeological Research There are only two archaeological sites registered with the Ministry of Culture’s Ontario Archaeological Sites Database within a radius of 5km: the Lewis/Bennett Site (BgFv-1) and the Salamander Ranch Site (BgFv-2). Both are scatters of 19th century artifacts including pottery and glass, likely corresponding to former farmsteads. There are no registered First Nations archaeological sites anywhere in the area. In 1999, the Archaeological Resource Potential Mapping Study of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton (typically referred to as the archaeological master plan) was prepared on behalf of the municipality. It presents at a scale of 1:10,000, a detailed map of areas of known archaeological potential. This information has been incorporated into the City of Ottawa’s geographic information system (GIS), and is presented in Figure 3. Areas of archaeological potential are shaded green. Approximately 20% of the subject property has been identified in the master plan as having high archaeological potential. The model uses the following criteria to determine archaeological potential:

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Stage I Archaeological Assessment Lots 39, 40, 41, Concession IV, City of Ottawa

 Known historic features (eg. inns, roads, bridges, mills) are surrounded by a 100m buffer of high archaeological potential  Major river banks are buffered by a zone of high archaeological potential 300m wide  Wetlands are considered to be low potential  The margins of wetlands are considered to be high potential  Stream banks are considered to be high potential  Ancient waterways, eskers and drumlins are buffered with a 300m zone of high potential However, the authors of the study excluded early farmsteads during the design phase of the potential model, since the precise locations of such farmsteads are difficult to establish. The authors also acknowledge that “…some sites will occur in areas where the model predicts they are not likely to occur; this and any such model must remain open to revision in light of new data.” (Archaeological Services, Inc and Geomatics International, Inc, 1999: 35)

4.2 Archaeological Potential of the Subject Property The subject property has certain characteristics unknown to the authors of the master plan which have considerable bearing on archaeological potential. The subject property is immediately adjacent to and partly overlapping a Provincially Significant Wetland to the north (depicted in light blue in Figure 3). As wetland margins are known to have high archaeological potential, the potential of much of the property should accordingly be higher than the model has predicted. Furthermore, conversations with local landowners familiar with the property reveal that at least one and possibly a small number of ruinous foundations are known to exist, presumably remnants of early farmhouses or barns. The landowners were unable to pinpoint the locations of these former buildings, but indicated that they were in the rough centre of the property. One building is depicted in the approximate centre of the subject property in the 1879 Map of Carleton County. The building is on Lot 40 and is immediately adjacent to a road allowance between lots 40 and 41, suggesting that a laneway existed in this location. Two more buildings are depicted near the west and south edges of the subject property. The precision of building locations in the late 19th century county maps is known to be low; nevertheless there is documented evidence that one or more buildings stood on and/or very near the property during the 1870s. (Figure 4) Given the presence of one or more building foundations on the property in both historic maps and eyewitness accounts, and the proximity of the wetland, archaeological potential for the undisturbed areas of the subject property should be classed as high. 5 Conclusions and Recommendations A Stage I archaeological assessment was conducted for Adrian Schouten and the Fairmile Farms development. A review of 19th century land use and local and regional physiography suggest that the subject property exhibits archaeological potential. A field survey indicated that some portions of the property have been recently disturbed, but the extent and depth of these disturbances are unknown given that access was prevented by a flooded creek. The field survey also indicated that significant portions of the property appear to be undisturbed other than by agricultural clearance in the 19th century.

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Stage I Archaeological Assessment Lots 39, 40, 41, Concession IV, City of Ottawa

The archival materials associated with the preparation of this report will be curated by Ian Hember until such time as arrangements for their transfer to Her Majesty the Queen in right of Ontario or a suitable designate are made to the satisfaction of the property owner, the Ministry of Culture of Ontario and any other legitimate stakeholders. The following recommendations are made:

1. Prior to any activities that will involve further disturbance of the soil, a Stage II archaeological assessment should be made of the property as a whole, including the disturbed areas unless the disturbance is found to have destroyed archaeological potential; 2. If any deeply buried archaeological material is discovered during construction activity, the Heritage Operations Unit of the Ministry of Culture should be immediately notified and construction activities should temporarily cease; 3. Should human remains be encountered during construction, all construction activities should immediately cease and the proponent should immediately contact the local Coroner as well as the Ministry of Culture and, if appropriate, the Registrar or Deputy Registrar of the Cemeteries Regulation Unit of the Ministry of Consumer and Business Services.

These recommendations are subject to approval by the Ministry of Culture, and no further activities that could alter the ground surface are to be undertaken without the written concurrence of the Ministry of Culture.

It is an offence to alter any archaeological site without the concurrence of the Ministry of Culture. No activities such as excavation or grading that could result in the disturbance or destruction of archaeological resources are permitted without the written consent of the Ministry of Culture. 6 Works Cited Archaeological Services, Inc. and Geomatics International Inc. 1999 Archaeological Resource Potential Mapping Study of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton Planning Report. Archaeological Services Inc, Toronto.

Atlas of Canada n.d. Forest Regions (map). Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa.

Chapman, L.J. and F. Putnam 1984 The Physiography of Southern Ontario. Ontario Geological Survey, Special Volume 2. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Toronto. Laliberté, M. 1998 Archaeological Resource Potential – Federal Lands in the National Capital Region, Volume I. National Capital Commission, Ottawa.

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Stage I Archaeological Assessment Lots 39, 40, 41, Concession IV, City of Ottawa

Figure 1: Location of Subject Property. After NTS Sheet 31 G/4 Kemptville, 1996.

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Stage I Archaeological Assessment Lots 39, 40, 41, Concession IV, City of Ottawa

Figure 2: Preliminary diagram of proposed construction. After H.A. Ken Surveying, Ltd. Draft Plan of Subdivision. 2009. This is the map provided by the proponent to the archaeologist.

Oversized – Please See Overleaf

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Stage I Archaeological Assessment Lots 39, 40, 41, Concession IV, City of Ottawa

Figure 3: City of Ottawa GIS data for Subject Property. After http://apps104.ottawa.ca/emap/, accessed June 2009. Note that the archaeological potential here is from the 1999 resource mapping study, and does not reflect the current understanding of the property discussed in the present report.

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Stage I Archaeological Assessment Lots 39, 40, 41, Concession IV, City of Ottawa

Figure 4: The Subject Property in 1879. After Illustrated historical atlas of the county of Carleton (including city of Ottawa), Ont. Toronto : H. Belden & Co., 1879. The available copy had been resized such that its original scale had been too distorted to be useable.

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Stage I Archaeological Assessment Lots 39, 40, 41, Concession IV, City of Ottawa

Plate 1: Southwest Entrance into Subject Property Plate 2: The Flooded Creek at Southwest of Property

Plate 3: Flooded Creek and Erosion at Southerwast of Plate 4: Subsoil Exposed by Heavy Machine Disturbance Property and Erosion from Flooded Creek

Plate 5: Region of Disturbance, with Undisturbed Forest Cover in Background, in Centre of Property

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