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Moving House with Horses (location/date unknown) In the early days the term “moving house” once had a more literal meaning than it usually does today. Probably for economic reasons, many…

Note: This article was originally published (we believe) in 1980. References to current circumstances do not necessarily reflect present realities.

Most visitors to the RTHS Facebook page or this website are familiar with the townships of North Gower and Marlborough, which were merged to create Rideau Township in 1975. You…

When we first moved to the Ottawa Valley in 1985, we joined a church community in Fitzroy Harbour. When the time came around for our first church supper experience, it…

The Ottawa Journal – November 20, 1942 Article continues below image

A Preview of the Forthcoming (and now available for purchase) RTHS Publication On Thursday evening, October 19th , members and friends of the Rideau Township Historical Society attended (both in-person…

Owen Cooke, Maureen McPhee and Andrew Ryerson Over the years, the Rideau Township Historical Society has researched and presented many exhibits in honour of Remembrance Day. Many of these were…

Rod Brazier photo This article, authored by Georgina and William Tupper first appeared in the RTHS Newsletter in September, 2014 The first recorded local plowing match was held in Bytown…

This brief history of Kars Village appeared in the June 9, 1928 edition of the Ottawa Citizen, in the “Old Time Stuff” feature. For a more comprehensive history of Kars…

Upper Canada Village photo by r.brazier Text material adapted from the Tweedsmuir History of Kars, Vol. 3; published by the Kars Women’s Institute; Courtesy of the Rideau Branch, City of…

  Presented by  Coral Lindsay, Georgie Tupper, Barbara Ann (Hannaford) Smith, Joan (Taylor) Melancon, Barbara Dillon, Ruth (Irvine) Shurtliff, David Hayes, and Bill Buchanan. May, 2011. Article by Lucy Martin…

  Report by Robin Craig Alastair based his presentation around many wonderful old photos and paintings, elaborate sketches and drawings, maps, and even some cartoons. As Thomas Mackay left no…

  Article by Lucy Martin Who settled Canada? Of course the answer involves countless individual stories from many countries – and continues to this day. Until the May (2011) meeting…

  This article was originally published in 1999.

  A Presentation by Doug Matheson to RTHS March, 2023 A transplanted westerner, since 1974 Doug Matheson has lived with his wife Barbara on River Rd. in Osgoode Township. A…

Trail-blazing athlete, youth ambassador, and positive role model Report by Rod Brazier On February 15, 2023, and in keeping with Black History Month, we were joined via ZOOM by Mr.…

In the history of Rideau Township, the name of Theodore De Pencier (1750-1824) is best known as the man who first surveyed Marlborough Township in 1791. Less well known is…

The items below are drawn from the Tweedsmuir history North Gower, Volume 1, and from the collections of the Rideau Branch, City of Ottawa Archives, North Gower. Used with permission.…

The items below are drawn from the Tweedsmuir histories of Kars, North Gower and Manotick, and used here courtesy of the Rideau Branch, City of Ottawa Archives, North Gower. This…

Early Days On the evening of October 9, 1876, on the premises of the Walworth Manufacturing Company in Boston, Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Watson conducted the first conversation ever…

This article is extracted from the Tweedsmuir History of Kars, Volume 7; published by the Kars Women’s Institute. Courtesy of the Rideau Branch, City of Ottawa Archives, North Gower

This material is from the Tweedsmuir History of Kars, Volume 3; published by the Kars Women’s Institute. Courtesy of the Rideau Branch of the City of Ottawa Archives, North Gower…

The event we celebrate on July 1st each year, which officially became Canada Day in 1982, was originally known as Dominion Day. Even some “official” sources get it wrong. For…

As settlers and settlements increased in the late 1700s and throughout the 1800s, Township Councils were formed to provide organization and oversight. And as the daily living of individual settlers…

School Garden – S.S.#6 North Gower c.1909 In the years leading up to Word War I, an undertaking emerged to address what was viewed as an emerging and undesirable tendency…