Mapping Stories

Explore stories of industry, commerce, and technologies on the Ottawa River, 1880-1900.

This map places a few stories in the Ottawa River's industrial, commercial, and technological history. Explore it, and discover more details below.

Moving the riverbed

Newspaper clipping from an 1889 Ottawa Journal, describing the invention of a sand pump.

An 1889 article in the Ottawa Journal describes a local invention. A pump used to draw sand up from the riverbed, and onto a steam barge owned by W.A. McCaffrey of the Ottawa Sand and Gravel Company. This new pump allowed the company to collect “one and two large barge loads per day” to sell in the city for construction projects.

Image: The Ottawa Journal, August 15, 1898.

A black-and-white patent drawing of a sand pump on a barge, depicting how it can be lifted out from the water.

In the late nineteenth century, the Rideau Canal was a busy thoroughfare, with the Canal Basin serving as a base for commerce and industry. The Ottawa Sand and Gravel Company brought dredged sand from the Ottawa riverbed on steam barges, depositing it here for storage. From the Canal Basin, the sand could be sold for such construction projects as the Nepean Point bridge.

Image: Canadian patent no. 34353, "Device for Raising Sand from Water," February 8, 1890. Source: Library and Archives Canada.

A black-and-white patent drawing of a cylindrical attachment to sand pumps with details of turbine inside.

The Chaudière Machine and Foundry Company was created by several machinists and coal merchants in 1895. They had an office at 85 Duke Street, and manufactured an attachment to the sand pump used on the river. It was developed by Herbert K. Lee to suit the specific circumstances of the Ottawa River. This innovative adaptation could dredge the sawdust pollution produced by the lumber industry upstream.

Image: Canadian patent no. 34363, "Attachment to Centrifugal and Other Pumps," March 26, 1890. Source: Library and Archives Canada.

Lumbering on the Ottawa

A black-and-white photograph of two people on a lumber raft down the Chaudière timber slide, with Parliament buildings in the background.

Cut logs were floated down the river in groups, and manipulated by lumbermen on boats or rafts. Sometimes, they jumped and danced from log to log. To make sure none were lost, they used long poles made from wood, with a heavy hook at the end. These are called "pike poles."

Image: Timber slide at the Chaudière Falls, by William J. Topley, 1880-1900. MIKAN 3211182. Source: Library and Archives Canada.

A colour photograph of the wooden ribs and base of a Cockburn Pointer Boat.

As the lumber industry boomed, people realized they would need specialized equipment to transport logs downriver. The pointer boat was designed by John Cockburn to float in shallow water, even when carrying a heavy load. The boats also needed to be sturdy enough to withstand the impact of logs floating on the water. They dotted the Ottawa River, bringing lumber to businesses on its shores.

Image: Artifact no. 1986.0119, Cockburn Pointer Boat in storage at Canada's Museum of Science and Technology. Source: photo by author.

Powering city life

A black-and-white photograph of a lumberyard, with several men at work among piles of lumber in the foreground, and mill buildings in the background.

To use electricity in late-nineteenth century Ottawa, companies needed access to water. They often took advantage of technologies already in place, like waterwheels and turbines used to drive sawmills and converted them to generate power. The powerhouse on the Perley and Pattee lumber yard was used by the Ottawa Electric Light Company to light up the city!

Image: Perley + Pattee Mills, Ottawa, Ont., by William J. Topley, n.d. MIKAN 3372215. Source: Library and Archives Canada.

Cultivating its shores

A colour photograph of an iron pot with handle, in artifact storage.

E.B. Eddy and his company were central in the lumber trade in the nineteenth century. An Eddy Company accounting ledger from 1885 reveals a small shipment of potash kettles up the river. These heavy iron pots were used to refine wood ashes into potash for export, and were a common technology among settlers clearing land.

Image: Artifact no. 2002.0260, Potash kettle in storage at Canada's Museum of Science and Technology. Source: photo by author.

A watercolour map of Kettle Island, depicting property lines and measurements and routes from land to wharves on shore.

From as early as 1843, Kettle Island was home to several farmers who cleared the land for cultivation and grew small crops. Ashes from lumbering activities and from fireplaces was used as fertilizer. While potash – refined ash - was exported overseas in large barrels, people also used small amounts on their farms. The farmers on Kettle Island were no different!

Image: Plan of Kettle Island, by John Rooney, 1873. Image credit: BaNQ.