Wyoming Park in Ottawa South

Originally published in the February 2013 OSCAR.

In the late 1890s the area of Ottawa South bounded by Bank, Grove, Bronson, Sunnyside, and Woodbine Place was promoted as a new residential neighbourhood under the name “Wyoming Park.”

Wyoming Park was a part of Lot L in Concession C, Range 2, of Nepean Township. It consisted of 200 acres located roughly between what would become Bronson Avenue, the northern tier of Sunnyside, the Rideau River, and Cameron. It was granted to John Stegman in 1801. Stegman had surveyed the outlines of Nepean Township in 1794 and in 1801 he was a resident of Markham.[1] The land passed through several hands before it was acquired, in 1832, by John Redpath, a contractor on the Rideau Canal and, incidentally, the founder of Redpath Sugar. Redpath’s brother in law, Thomas Fairbairn, built a house on the property to the east of Riverdale and in 1859 Thomas’s son, Peter, bought the property from his uncle.[2]

In 1859 Ottawa South was still rural. A bridge had been built over the Rideau River at Billings Bridge in 1830 and a road following the lines of Riverdale and Echo Drive led north to Bytown. An earlier route from Billings Bridge to the Chaudiere Falls was cut off by the construction of the Rideau Canal and there was no direct route from Billings Bridge to what is now Centretown until a bridge was built over the canal at Bank Street in 1859. The choice of Ottawa as the capital in 1857 and the move of the government to Ottawa in 1867 created a speculative land boom in suburban Ottawa. Between 1865 and 1867 the Ottawa and Gloucester Road Company built a macadamized (paved) road along Bank Street from Centretown to Billings Bridge. This opened up Ottawa South as a potential suburb and led to the construction of at least two large villas north of Sunnyside; Thomas McKay’s Elm Bank near Sunnyside and Bank and George Hay’s Echo Bank House which still stands at 700 Echo Drive. The firm of Garland, Mutchmore and Company subdivided 54 acres to the west of Bank Street, south of the canal, and north of Sunnyside with the intention of developing it under the name of Rideauville; however, the collapse of Ottawa’s speculative land boom and the onset of a long depression delayed development for almost 20 years.[3] In 1891 a street car line was completed to Lansdowne Park; this may have sparked a revival of interest in residential development in Ottawa South.

In the years 1859-90 Peter Fairbairn and his wife, Jane Williams, sold off about a third of the property which Peter had bought from his uncle; many of the sales were of land east of Riverdale but in 1872 they sold 7/8 of an acre to the school board. The land was about where Hopewell Public School now stands. Shortly after, in 1874, they sold William Smith of Billings Bridge two acres near the present day intersection of Sunnyside and Bank; in 1887 Smith divided the land into 10 lots on a short street called Lamothe which ran west from Bank Street. Lamothe was eventually extended and renamed Sunnyside. Peter Fairbairn died in 1881 and in 1884 Jane sold a 30 acre strip between Bank and Bronson along the southern side of the Lot L to David Ewart, an architect with the Department of Public Works. In 1891 she agreed to sell the remaining property between Bank and Bronson, to Cassius C. Ray a coal merchant and developer.[4]

The agreement with Ray was subject to a number of conditions and before it was completed, another buyer, Nicholas Garland, was found and Fairbairn and Ray sold him about 55 acres of land to the west of Bank Street for $17,000. At the same time Ray exercised an option and bought the remaining Fairbairn land between Bank, Grove, Riverdale, and the lots on the north side of Sunnyside. By July of 1891 both Ray and Garland had filed subdivision plans for their land.[5] Ray’s land between Bank and Riverdale was developed under the name Oakland Park.

Garland was a Toronto dry-goods merchant, a developer, and a brother-in-law or nephew of Alexander Mutchmore. Mutchomore’s firm, Mutchmore, Gordon and Company were involved in the development of Garland’s land which was called Wyoming Park.[6] In 1891 Garland filed a plan of subdivision for the land bounded by Bank Street on the east, Concession Road (now Bronson) on the west, Grove Avenue on the south, and Woodbine on the north. The subdivision included about 400 lots, most of them 50 by 100 feet. The plans showed four avenues, Sunnyside, Park (Hopewell after 1908), Glen, and Grove, and four streets, Bank, Cayuga (Grosvenor after 1926), Seneca, and Concession Road (now Bronson Avenue). Leonard Street, between Seneca and Cayuga, was not shown on the subdivision plan; it was opened by 1911.[7]

The name, Wyoming Park, and the street names, Seneca and Cayuga, reflect Nicholas Garland’s background. Although born in Ottawa, he started his family in Caledonia, Seneca Township, Haldimand County.[8] North and South Cayuga were nearby townships. The Seneca and the Cayuga tribes were members of the Iroquois Confederacy. During the American Revolution members of both tribes joined Butler’s Rangers and participated in the Battle of Wyoming in 1778; after the revolution they settled in the Grand River area. North and South Cayuga and Seneca townships in Haldimand County recognize the native heritage.

In 1892 Garland sold the land, less a few lots on Sunnyside, to James Lockhart, another Toronto merchant for $1. Lockhart agreed to assume a mortgage on the land. There was apparently some difficulty with this purchase and the transfer was not completed until 1896.[9] By 1896 only a few lots in Wyoming Park had been sold to the public – perhaps a dozen on Sunnyside and a half dozen along Seneca.[10]

Sales picked up after 1896 and by 1901 about 80 lots had been sold in the Wyoming Park development. Fifteen of these were on Glen Avenue; most of them were at the west end of the avenue, beyond Seneca. About 36 lots on Sunnyside in the WyomingPark development and in William Smith’s Lamothe Street development had been sold. Twenty-seven lots had been sold on Park Avenue (now Hopewell); two lots on the north side of Grove had been sold. James Lockhart still owned about 320 lots.[11]

The 320 lots owned by Lockhart in 1901 had an assessed value of $9435.00, about $30.00 per lot. The average assessment for a single lot (excluding those owned by Lockhart) was $448.00; the lowest was $25.00 and the highest was $1500 for each of two lots on the north side of Sunnyside near Bank Street. Both of the more expensive properties were owned by J.R. Reade, a retired lockmaster; he rented them to James Narraway, a civil servant, and Mathew McWilliam, an insurance agent.[12]

Fifty-two individuals had bought one or more lots in the area. Thirty-four had bought one lot; 10 had bought two lots; four had bought three; two had bought four each and one individual, Katherine Fawcett, a widow from Toronto, owned six lots. Fourteen of the owners were non-residents; 16 of the occupants of properties in the development were tenants. The development had attracted a mix of investors; twelve of the owners were described as labourers, two as blacksmiths, five as carpenters, three as painters, three as plasterers, three as printers; most of the working class owners were also residents. One dentist, one civil servant, one merchant, one retired lockmaster, two retired farmers, two spinsters and seven widows had bought lots in the development but only a few of them were residents. Other than the widows and spinsters, no women were listed as property owners although since 1884 married women in Ontario had been able to own property in their own name. Among the 14 tenants there was a similar mix of working class residents with a civil servant, an insurance agent and a commercial manager.[13]

Forty-five resident owners and tenants have been found in the 1901 census of Nepean Township. A total of 208 people were living in about 40 households. Eleven of the households gave the Church of England as their religion; 11 were Methodists, eight were Presbyterian, seven were Roman Catholic, two were Congregationalists, and one was identified as a Free Thinker.[14]

In the decade 1901-1911 conditions favoured development. A swing bridge was built across the canal at Bronson and in 1907 the city annexed Ottawa South. In 1910 a new multiple arched, concrete, bridge was built over the canal at Bank Street and in 1913 the streetcar line was extended into Ottawa South. Nineteen eleven is also a year in which three excellent sources, the 1911 printed assessment roll, the 1911 manuscript census of Ottawa South, and the 1902 (revised 1912) insurance plan of Ottawa provide an unequalled opportunity for describing Wyoming Park.

The 1911 assessment roll for Capital Ward provides information on about 385 lots in Wyoming Park. The Lockhart family continued to own about 125 lots, of which 51 were on the north side of Grove Street and 46 were on the south side of Glen. The Ottawa South Property Company had bought land on the north side of Grove as well as land to the south and west of Grove. About 251 lots had been purchased by about 175 individuals. One hundred and twenty-seven individuals owned only a single lot; John Carnochan was the largest single owner with ten lots on Glen and Hopewell. Sunnyside and Hopewell were more developed than Glen and Grove. About 102 lots on Sunnyside had been sold to individuals and about 53 had been assessed for improvements. On Hopewell 91 lots had been sold and 56 had been assessed for improvements. For Glen the comparable figures were 43 and 17; for the north side of Grove they were 11 and one.[15]

The assessment roll does not provide any information on the type of improvements built on the lots but a 1902 insurance plan (revised in 1912) shows that about two-thirds of approximately 240 dwellings (that is street addresses) were brick veneer. The rest were wood frame. The number of street addresses, 240, is almost double the number of lots, 127, which were assessed for improvements. I have no explanation for the difference unless there was a building boom between the time of the 1911 enumeration and the updating (1912) of the insurance plan. The Ottawa South census for 1911 shows 141 households in the bounds of Wyoming Park.[16] The 1911 assessment roll does not indicate whether or not property owners lived on their lots but, by comparing the assessment roll with the 1911 census for the Wyoming Park area of Ottawa South it is possible to get a rough idea of who were resident owners, who were non-resident owners, and who were tenants.[17] Of 175 individual property owners about 75 owners were residents. Fourteen of the resident owners owned two or more lots, often adjacent lots. About 65 residents appear in the census but do not appear in the assessment roll; presumably they were tenants.

The census lists 664 individuals in 141 households in Wyoming Park. Twenty-five percent were Anglican, 25% Methodist, 23% Presbyterian, 14% Roman Catholic, with a few Baptists, Congregationalists and Brethren. In terms of occupation, the area was mixed or perhaps working class with many heads of families employed in the building trades. There were 10 contractors, 17 carpenters, five painters, two bricklayers, two paper hangers, one plasterer, one paper hanger and 22 labourers. There were also three printers, two machinists, one journalist, two brokers, six merchants, two managers, four commercial travellers, six civil servants, one doctor, one druggist, and one clerk. One resident gave his occupation as “gentleman.” For 10 households “Occupation” was given as “Income;” seven of these households were headed by women. It seems likely that most of those whose occupation was listed as ”Income” lived off investments. One of these women had two lodgers who would have provided income but “Lodgers” were not common in households in Wyoming Park although 46% of households in the area were tenants.[18]

The lots owned by the Lockhart family had an average assessed value of $66.00 in 1911, more than double their assessment in 1901. None of the Lockhart lots were assessed for any improvements. The average assessed value of the land alone in a standard 50×100 foot lot was about $130.00. The average assessed value of the improvements was $507.00. Thirteen of the lots had minimal improvements assessed at from $25 to $75; the most valuable improvements were assessed at $3400 on a lot owned by Mrs. E. Webb. About 77% of all improved lots were assessed for amounts ranging from $200 to $800.[19]

During this period, 1902 to 1912, the Lockharts sold lots for an average price of $400; prices ranged from $100 to $675.

In 1911 the Lockhart family still owned about 125 lots in Wyoming Park on the south side of Glen, the north side of Grove and the west end of Wyoming Park. In 1911 Susan Lockhart sold most or all of the remaining land to the Ottawa South Property Company for $110,000.[20] The company re-subdivided the land south of Glen. Lot widths were reduced to 40 or 35 feet and the depth was reduced to 94 feet to allow for a back lane.[21] The lane has almost all disappeared now but it still appears on the electronic map on the city’s website. In 1923 the City of Ottawa had acquired nine lots on the west end of Sunnyside, 15 lots on the west end of Hopewell, 27 lots on the west end of Glen and 19 lots on the north side of Grove. Some of this land would be incorporated into Brewer Park (opened in 1930) while other lots would be used for public buildings.[22] The western end of Glen and Grove were formally closed off by bylaws 323-64, no 486402 and 324-64 no. 486403 in 1964.

A fire insurance plan prepared in 1925 shows that most of the privately owned lots had been built on. With the exception of the area to the west of Seneca, about 90% of the basic structures shown in the 1925 insurance plan are still standing. About 20 buildings have been built on lots which were vacant in 1925. Judging from external appearances, 10 to 20 buildings from 1925 have been replaced since the 1950s or earlier.

[1] Carleton County Registry Office, Ottawa, Nepean Township Register, RO, Concession C Lot letter L, Reel AR2; Bruce S. Elliott, The City Beyond: A History of Nepean, Birthplace of Canada’s Capital, 1792-1990. (City of Nepean, 1991), p.6. 

[2] Ottawa- Carleton Land Registry Office, Ottawa, Nepean Township Register, RO, Concession C Lot letter L, Reel AR2. The register shows Redpath acquiring an interest in the property from R.D. Fraser in 1832 and selling it to Peter Fairbairn in 1859. “Another Epic South End History About Period When Belmont Avenue was Lane of a Farm,” Ottawa Citizen, 7 March 1931, states that Thomas Fairbairn settled on the Rideau River in 1816 and eventually passed the land on to his son Peter Fairbairn. An online genealogy of the Fairbairn family states that Thomas Lewis Fairbairn and his family emigrated from Scotland about 1826. He was married to Elspeth Redpath, sister of John. They had seven children, including Peter, before arriving in Montreal. http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~maryc/carl91.htm. Thomas was involved in building the Rideau Canal. Elspeth died in Ottawa in 1839; Thomas died in Montreal in 1854 but was buried in Beechwood Cemetery. I suspect that Thomas and then his son, Peter, lived on John Redpath’s land before buying it in 1859.

[3] Elliott, The City Beyond:, pp.111-14, 176; Library and Archives Canada, NMC-11412, Map of the City of Ottawa, 1887.

[4] Carleton County Registry Office, Ottawa, Nepean Township, Instrument No.1409, Reel 5-361; ibid., Instrument No. NP 10033, 16 September 1884, Reel 5-376; ibid., Plan 96, 23 July 1887; ibid., Instrument No. NP 15136, 10 May 1891, Reel 5-382.

[5] Carleton County Registry Office, Ottawa, Nepean Township, Instrument No. NP 15315; ibid., Instrument No. NP 18340.5, 2 June 1891.

[6] Elliott, The City Beyond:, p.177; Descendents of John and Hannah Muchmore genealogy, http://www.muchmore.org/mfa1g/pafg15.htm.

[7] Carleton County Registry Office, Ottawa, Nepean Township, Plan 115, “Wyoming Park, Plan of subdivision of Part of Lot L, ConC, RF, Township of Nepean. 

[8] http://www.muchmore.org/mfa1g/pafg29.htm#8911. Descendents of John and Hannah Muchmore, sixth generation.

[9] Carleton County Registry Office, Ottawa, Nepean Township, NP Instrument No. 15643, 2 March 1892, Reel 5-383, Reel; ibid., NP Instrument No. 17297, 5 October 1896, Reel 5-0389.

[10] Library and Archives Canada, MG9, D8-44, Vol.42, Nepean Assessment Roll, 1896.

[11] LAC, MG9, D8-44, Vol.47, Nepean Assessment Roll, 1901.

[12] LAC, MG9, D8-44, Vol.47, Nepean Assessment Roll, 1901; Canada Census 1901, Ontario, Carleton County, Nepean, E8, page 14, lines 34 and 50, Microfilm T-6462.

[13] LAC, MG9, D8-44, Vol.47, Nepean Assessment Roll, 1901; Canada Census 1901, Ontario, Carleton County, Nepean, E8, page 14, lines 34 and 50, Microfilm T-6462.

[14] Canada Census 1901, Ontario, Carleton County, Nepean, E8, Microfilm T-6462

[15] City of Ottawa Archives. Ottawa. Assessment Roll. 1911. LAC, Canada Census 1911, Ontario, Carleton, Ottawa South. The 1911 assessment roll gives the names of property owners, street names, and lot numbers but not street addresses; the 1911 census gives names and street addresses.

[16] LAC, Insurance plan of the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Volume II, December 1902, revised June 1912. MIKAN no. 3816060.

[17] City of Ottawa Archives. Ottawa. Assessment Roll. 1911.

[18] LAC, Canada Census 1911, Ontario, Carleton, Ottawa South.

[19] City of Ottawa Archives. Ottawa. Assessment Roll. 1911.

[20] Ottawa-Carleton Land Registry, Plan 115, Block D, Lot 9.

[21] Ottawa-Carleton Land Registry, Plan 115269, Plan showing subdivision; ibid., Plan 109930.

[22] City of Ottawa. Archives. A2008-0435, RG4-035, Assessment Roll, Capital Ward, 1930.