Origin of Ottawa Street Names

[@morthedgebuckle227]

Great video. When I was little my family lived on Heron Road, east of Jefferson Street. Lots of American street names in that neighbourhood.

[@rinalore9416]

Some idiot stole my Truck from the Herongate Mall and the Police found it on fire outside of Pembroke! The Heron Road area was known to us as a tough neighbourhood with alot of crime, I hope your family was spared.

[@GlennSchmelzle]

Thank you for going the distance and making the map. I've been scouring the Internet but until now i hadn't found a repository for there street names!

[@whaler3232]

Excellent video - I appreciated the effort of matching the names with the pictures of the people.

[@dabturnbull]

Great stuff. Thanks for this. Well done!

[@SheldonT.]

Hey Great video. Love the interactive map. Lots of work to do. One thing I learned is that in the area of Fisher and Meadowlands some streets are named after WWII battles such as Normandy, Ortona and Falaise.

[@forgottenottawa5771]

Thanks! I'll be sure to add those streets to my map

[@samanthacote914]

Your viadeos are always the highlight of my day! Please keep making them. Learning about the unique history of Ottawa makes it all the more enjoyable when out on a stroll.

[@forgottenottawa5771]

Thanks! I'm glad to hear you enjoy them

[@silvialogan9226]

A very informative video! My street is called Drouin because Drouin constructed my street and built my house and all the other houses down Drouin Avenue.

[@sabrinafournier1502]

Awesome video! Very informative. The interactive map is very helpful, too!

[@shmule1655]

he’s back

[@ash.lou613]

i love these videos. i live on Laurier ave (west)

[@forgottenottawa5771]

Thanks! I'm glad you like them

[@gord3388]

Your work is amazing!

[@MrMikidude]

Great video!

[@theferryman]

Lancaster Rd was named after my wife's family - her grandfather or gr. grandfather. It was the road that lead to their farms.

[@mattvdh]

fascinating video! I really enjoyed it. How about 'Hunt Club'?

[@drlisp123]

The area is named after the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club, which was first developed in 1876. Hunt Club Road and many local businesses were also named after the golf course. Hunt Club is located just north of the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport and to the east of the Rideau River.

[@ash.lou613]

id love to hear the history along the ottawa river like rue portage. I ask because i discovered an untouched buried smithy place along the bike path, and i imagine it would have been used back in the day for logging and such but i cannot find any information. I sent pics to the museum of the items i found and they confirm its old blacksmith items and debris. I also found chalkboard slate in this area.

[@forgottenottawa5771]

Wow what a discovery! When I get a chance, I'll see if I can dig a little further

[@TJMusicNerd]

Brilliant! Is there a city resource where I could look up a recent street name? There is a street named Finn Court behind St. Patrick's High School and I'm wondering if it's related to my ancestors.

[@forgottenottawa5771]

Thanks! As far as I know, the city doesn't have a specific source for the origin of all street names. The Gloucester Historical Society has a significant list of origins for streets that were once part of the Township of Gloucester www.gloucesterhistory.com/Gloucester%20Street%20Names.pdf. Unfortunately, Finn Court is not in the list.

[@lovehandr]

I researched the Gloucester list. Where did your family live? Nearby? The Finn family name does ring a bell. I think that land was historically subdivided into 'garden lots' of around 5 acres and then expropriated in the late 1940s for a parkway that was never built. There is no comprehensive history of street names in Ottawa. I was shocked when I embarked on my research which started with a question and the rude awakening that the origin of names was going to be lost to time. That is a pretty recent subdivision. There is a list of recent commemorations but it doesn't go back very far. Street names are chosen by the developer. Occasionally, they have historic significance but often not. My own family has streets named for it, but we didn't even know about it. It was a discovery many years after the fact. My research was designed to preserve as much as I could. I came across street names that honour people's first names but who? One person stepped forward, but she didn't know the names relating to neighbouring streets.

[@rinalore9416]

I have been on every street you mentioned, I grew up east of Vanier and west of Beacon Hill (aka East Ottawa). I would like to know why (from east to west) Hwy. 17 turned into➡️St. Joseph Boulevard to➡️Montreal Road to➡️Rideau Street to➡️Wellington Street? They're all the same Street, just lengthened. 💐Thanks for sharing.

[@lovehandr]

This happened because of either old municipal boundaries or rivers. It is even worse than you present. East of Trim Road, we start with Old Montreal Road (before amalgamation it was Queen Street). This was in old Cumberland Township When it got into Gloucester, it is named St. Joseph Boulevard, named for the original village name of St. Joseph or St. Joseph d'Orléans but within the village, it was originally named Ottawa Street. It was renamed by Gloucester in 1957 to St. Joseph. It was generally called Montreal Road before 1957 though, which then ran as far as the Rideau River. Back in the old days this was the boundary between Ottawa and Gloucester and it did not really align with Rideau Street so a different name. Rideau ran as far as the canal at the Chateau Laurier. In the early days, Wellington did not reach east to the canal, there was a curved road that connected to Sapper's Bridge over the Canal (which no longer exists). That is why the name changes at the canal. Wellington ran to about Island Park Drive which was the old boundary between Ottawa and Nepean. This boundary caused the name change to Richmond Road but originally Richmond Road went to Richmond Landing below the Archives Building. That route disappeared when the railyards went into Lebreton Flats. The railyards were removed in the 1960s. So, that portion of Richmond Road disappeared and was replaced with an extension of Wellington Street, part of which disappeared when the Wellington Street viaduct was taken down also back in the 1960s. So now we have a disconnected Wellington Street. Then Richmond Road went from Island Park all the way to the Village of Richmond. Although this route remains almost entirely intact, it got severed in Bells Corners. At the 'corners' Richmond Road veered southwest, while Robertson Road went straight west which then became Hazeldean Road at Eagleson, again at the old municipal boundary between Nepean and March townships (now known as Kanata). Because the 'corners' at Bells Corners became obscured by modern development, Richmond Road east of the 'corners' within Bells Corners was renamed Robertson Road. This was to reduce confusion when it all appeared to be the same road. So, Richmond Road became split at Bells Corners and the southwest branch to 'Richmond' was renamed Old Richmond Road as a result of that split. When you reach the village of Richmond, it becomes Perth Street, and beyond Richmond, it becomes Franktown Road . Confused? Ten street names, for what appears to be the same road but of course, Wellington got split into two and is no longer connected together. So, what appears to be two streets has the same name, and all the rest appears to be the same roadway but has several names.

[@rinalore9416]

@ Holy moses, are you an Engineer and work in the field or have you lived in Ottawa for 100 years. lol jk Thanks for the history lesson, I just learned more from you than any High School class I attended. 🇨🇦🎓🛣📜❤️🌎

[@lovehandr]

@rinalore9416 I am a lifelong Ottawa resident, and involved with a local historical society. I have seen some of these changes over my lifetime and then I have done further research. The latter is why I know the 1957 date regarding St. Joseph Boulevard.

[@rinalore9416]

@@lovehandr They should be teaching these things to us in High School and they didn't when I went to Sir Wilfrid Laurier on Carson's Road. 💐Thanks for your kind reply.

[@seangagnon7833]

I like the two named after the famous researchers in Orleans, Mulder and Scully

[@debbielb2325]

When Churchill Ave was named was it part of Ottawa yet or Westboro? the police village of westboro did not become part of Ottawa until 1949.

[@lovehandr]

Alta Vista Drive was originally named Churchill Drive. The 1950 annexation created a duplication and the renaming.

[@lawrencetaylor5407]

Thank you for your work! Any idea where the "Bay" street name came from?

[@forgottenottawa5771]

Thanks! According to this source archive.org/details/localhistory_2IS/page/190/mode/2up, Bay Street was named "because it runs southward from a small bay in the Ottawa River."

[@lawrencetaylor5407]

Thanks!!!

[@JackDertee]

I've always been curious about how the name Huntclub.

[@lovehandr]

Named for the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club, originally the Ottawa Hunt Club before there was a golf course.

[@Maxwell1901]

The one that I know is Lenester Avenue, which was named after Lena and Esther Achbar, sisters and philanthropists. We used to joke that Linden Terrace was named after Hal Linden, but I suspect that was a case of wishful thinking.

[@annoyed707]

Musicians: Paul Anka Drive

[@wizardsuth]

Comedians: Rich Little Drive

[@lovehandr]

I believe that Albert Street was named for Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria and not her son.

[@donkealey40]

What is the origin of the street named Jeremiah Kealey?

[@forgottenottawa5771]

It seems Jeremiah Kealey was one of the earliest settlers in Bytown and later came to Old Ottawa East in the 1850s. www.mainstreeter.ca/index.php/2020/02/29/jeremiah-kealey-telmon-and-de-mazenod-new-streets-new-street-names-in-greystone-village/

[@AlphawolfKing]

Don't forget to add Richardson side road! If you need any help send me a message I am a descendant of the Richardson family.

[@forgottenottawa5771]

I'll definitely be adding Richardson Side Road to the map. I'd like to hear about the Richardson family. Please feel free to contact me at [e-mail]

[@JulieAnn-sl1nw]

Lennox .. ville Why??

[@pipe2devnull]

Mulder Avenue and Scully Way are named after X-Files characters.

[@jimlelacott6259]

I LIVE ON NEWTON ST. 11 kids o IN THE GLEB 1940s 1950s Ellacotts

[@damdama2001]

No Algonquin names😮