HAPPY CANADA DAY FROM THE BYTOWN MUSEUM! There is never a wrong time to learn as much as possible about the history of the City of Ottawa and the National Capital Region, even on the day Canada celebrates its 153rd birthday! We’ve come up with 153 questions about our city from the 1820s to 2020, to celebrate 153 years of Canada and its capital city. Have a go at our GIANT Capital-of-Canada Quiz, and see just how much you know about our city! 1820s 1. Ottawa will be celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2026. How many years older is Gatineau? A. 22 B 26 C. 25 D. 30 2. What conflict prompted the construction of the Rideau Canal? A. War of 1812 B. American Revolution C. American Civil War D. 1837-38 Upper/Lower Canada Rebellions 3. Stonemason Thomas Mackay built the Commissariat, which houses the Bytown Museum today, in 1827. What other famous Ottawa structure did he build? A. National War Memorial B. Chateau Laurier C. Peace Tower D. Rideau Hall 4. Before being flooded during construction of the Rideau Canal, what Dow’s Lake formerly known as? A. Dow’s Pond B. Dow’s Pasture C. Dow’s Swamp D. Dow’s Creek 5. What did Parliament Hill used to be known as? A. Barrack Hill B. By’s Hill C. Lebreton Point D. Wellington Lookout 6. True or False: The Corktown Footbridge’s name refers to County Cork in Ireland where many Irish Canal workers were from? 7. The first successful bridge across the Chaudiere Falls linking Bytown and Wrightsville was completed in what year? A. 1826 B. 1827 C. 1828 D. 1829 8. What is the body of water at the beginning of the 8 Ottawa locks called? Canal construction A. Sleigh Bay B. Entrance Bay C. Rideau Opening D. Ottawa Bay 1830s 9. What year was the Rideau Canal completed? A. 1838 B. 1830 C. 1835 D. 1832 10. What was the name of the mostly Irish gang that terrorized Bytown from 1835-1845? A. The Shiners B. The Peacemakers C. The Renegades D. The Corkmen 11. What was the name of the founder of the town that would become present-day Gatineau, who passed away in 1839? A. E.B. Eddy B. Philemon Wright C. J.R. Booth D. Braddish Billings 12. In 1832, the first Roman Catholic church was built in Bytown. Which present-day cathedral now occupies the same spot? A. St. Patrick’s B. St. Andrew’s C. St. Mary’s D. Notre Dame 13. What was the name of the steamboat Colonel By travelled on, for his first full navigation of the Rideau Canal? A. Union B. Rideau C. Victoria D. Ottawa 14. What industry came to define the economy of the Ottawa Valley in the 1830s? A. Farming B. Fishing C. Lumber D. Mining 15. What was Bytown’s first newspaper? A. Bytown Independent B. Bytown Gazette C. Bytown Citizen D. Bytown Herald 16. True or False: Joseph Montferrand (also known as Big Joe Mufferaw) was born in Bytown? 1840s 17. What year did the Sisters of Charity (Grey Nuns) arrive in Bytown to establish social services? A. 1845 B. 1849 C. 1846 D. 1847 18. What was the Ottawa Citizen’s original name? A. The Reader B. The Sun C. The Gazette D. The Packet 19. What was the name of the riot that broke out in response to the invitation of Governor General Lord Elgin to Bytown in 1849? A. Stony Monday Riot B. Rideau Riot C. Byward Riot Dd. York Street Riot 20. What year did John Scott become the first Mayor of Bytown? A. 1840 B. 1848 C. 1847 D. 1844 21. What epidemic ravaged Bytown in 1847? A. Cholera B. Typhus C. Diphtheria D. Malaria 22. During this epidemic, the Grey Nuns cared for the sick day and night with little to no help. How many sisters unfortunately lost their lives after themselves contracting typhus? A. 3 B. 4 C. 5 D. none Elisabeth Bruyère 23. When was the school that would become Lisgar Collegiate Institute, founded? A. 1843 B. 1840 C. 1849 D. 1846 24. In what year did Bytown first send a representative to the legislative assembly of the United Canadas? A. 1840 B. 1842 C. 1841 D. 1845 1850s 25. Bytown was officially renamed The City of Ottawa in what year? A. 1855 B. 1858 C. 1857 D. 1853 26. True or False: Parliament Hill was once used as an agricultural fairground? 27. Who chose Ottawa as the capital of the Canadas in 1857? A. Queen Mary B. King George VI C. Queen Victoria D. Queen Anne 28. Which two other Canada West cities competed with Ottawa to be named capital? A. Toronto & Windsor B. Kingston & Toronto C. Guelph & Niagara Falls D. Peterborough and Cornwall 29. Who was the first Mayor of the City of Ottawa? A. Friel B. Dickinson C. Martineau D. Bower Lewis 30. The Bytown & ________ Railway first connected Bytown the surrounding areas by rail in 1854. A. Prescott B. Glengarry C. Montreal D. Renfrew 31. True or False: J.B. Turgeon was the first French-Canadian Mayor of Bytown? J.B. Turgeon 32. True or False: Before being renamed as Ottawa, Bytown was known as the most violent town in all of British North America? 33. Which member of the Billings family became the Geological Survey of Canada’s first paleontologist in 1856? A. Braddish B. Elkanah C. Sabra D. Lamira 1860s 34. Built in 1862, the Ottawa Youth Hostel on Nicholas Street originally served what purpose? A. Hopsital B. Gaol (Jail) C. Church D. Apartments 35. What political figure, and Father of Confederation, was assassinated on Sparks Street in 1868? A. John A. Macdonald B. George Etienne Cartier C. Thomas D’Arcy McGee D. George Brown 36. In what year did the newly-renamed University of Ottawa, formerly the College of Ottawa, receive its university status? A. 1861 B. 1860 C. 1865 D. 1866 37. What Ottawa landmark, known popularly by its address, and official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada, was originally built as a family home by lumberman Joseph Merrill Currier? A. 67 Wellington B. 26 Rideau C. 50 Sparks D. 24 Sussex 38. In 1860, the Prince of Wales laid the cornerstone of the new centre block of Parliament. What title would he go on to hold? A. King Edward VII B. King George V C. Duke of Canada D. Prime Minister of Britain 39. How many Members of Parliament would form the first Canadian House of Commons after the election of 1867? A. 200 B. 181 C. 197 D. 150 40. When did the Ottawa General Hospital first admit patients? A. 1865 B. 1867 C. 1866 D. 1869 41. True or False: The last public execution in Ottawa’s history, viewed by 5000 spectators, was in 1869? First Canadian Parliament 1870s 41. True or False: The last public execution in Ottawa’s history, viewed by 5000 spectators, was in 1869? 42. Now run by Parks Canada, Laurier House, the former home of Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier, was built in what year? A. 1877 B. 1878 C. 1872 D. 1871 43. The building that today houses the office of Ottawa’s Mayor was built in 1875 and originally housed which institution? A. The Ottawa Hospital B. Ottawa Normal School C. A hotel D. Corporate Offices 45. What name was 44. What year was Ottawa’s eventually given to the first proper sewer system grounds that hosted the Great installed? Dominion Exhibition in 1879? A. 1877 A. Lansdowne B. 1871 B. Grey C. 1876 C. Somerset D. 1879 D. Norfolk Mayor’s Office 46. Major’s Hill Park was designated as the first city park in 1874. What was the original name of this land? A. Sargeant’s Hill B. General’s Hill C. Captain’s Hill D. Colonel’s Hill 47. In what year was the Supreme Court of Canada established? A. 1875 B. 1872 C. 1879 D. 1870 48. In 1877, a bell was installed in the tower on Parliament Hill. After which Monarch was the bell, and tower, named? A. Queen Anne B. King George III C. King Edward VI D. Queen Victoria 1880s 49. In what year was the National Gallery of Canada established? A. 1888 B. 1883 C. 1880 D. 1889 50. What population milestone did the City of Ottawa pass in 1881 A. 10,000 B. 15,000 C. 20,000 D. 25,000 51. A major modern technology made it to Ottawa in 1885. What was this new development? A. Electricity arrived B. the first horseless buggy was driven C. the telegraph is installed D. the first radio broadcast is made from Ottawa 52. After a small tornado stripped the Library of Parliament’s roof of its shingles, what material was used to better protect the building? A. Bronze B. Iron C. Copper D. Marble 53. In what year was the Experimental Farm founded? A. 1868 B. 1886 C. 1889 D. 1880 54. Which Mayor was one of only 3 francophone doctors in Ottawa in the 1880s, and remained a staff member at the Ottawa General Hospital after leaving office? A. Turgeon B. Lewis C. Hervey D. St. Jean 55. What town did Ottawa annex in 1887? A. New Edinburgh B. Rockcliffe Park C. Vanier D. Osgoode 56. Acquired by Paper products manufacturer Domtar in 1998, what year was the E.B. Eddy Manufacturing Company incorporated? A. 1880 B. 1885 C. 1886 D. 1888 1890s Ottawa-Hull Fire 57. Founded in 1891, what did the Ottawa Car 58.