Hidden in Suburbia

96 Southern Drive, Ottawa

   I was trying to firm up some construction dates for the Rideau Gardens section of Old Ottawa South when I found an unexpected gem — a 1970 article about what could well be the oldest house in the neighbourhood. Indeed, some sources conclude that it's the second oldest homestead in the city.

   The article, written by Gladys Blair, appeared in the Saturday, January 17 edition of the Ottawa Journal.  I reproduce "The Williams House" here in full.

     "When Lewis Williams (who had been a country squire in Cardiff, Wales) set sail for the beckoning wonders of America in 1817, he and his family were bound for Philadelphia. His wife was the daughter of the Earl of Phillips and there were five children, three boys and two girls.
     They were 90 days at sea and the ship. badly battered by Atlantic storms, limped into Quebec City for repairs.
     Here he was persuaded to change his plans. The fertile lands of the newly discovered Ottawa country appealed to him and he decided to establish his new home in Canada instead of the United States.
     With his brother Henry, and William Thomas (Richmond Road). the family arrived in the wilderness of our present Capital in August, 1817.

     At first they attempted to settle near the corner of Lyon and Wellington but found the land too rocky for farming.
     They explored the possibilities of the Sandy Hill district but found it too sandy. By the same token, Lower Town was too swampy. So they ventured southward and finally made a decision.
     Their “chosen land” was Lot K Concession C and included the present Lansdowne Park.
     At this time they were one of the first 10 families in the whole township of Nepean.
     Ten years later, when the Rideau Canal was planned, the Williams were required to give up 100 acres of their land, exactly half of the original grant.
     Lewis Williams the fourth, the remaining descendant, has the deed signed by George IV regarding the expropriation of the land for canal building. It reads:
“At such time as this property fails to be used for canal purposes, it shall revert to the original owner or his heirs.”

     Mr. Williams says his grandfather was just a “growing boy” when he arrived in Canada and that the property was pine and oak forest.
     As the land was cleared, the oak trees were cut and sent out to Montreal and Quebec City and on to England for use by the British Navy in shipbuilding. Mr. Williams, who is now 82 years old, remembers oak stumps in the fields as the land was further developed.
     It eventually became the well-known “Rideau Gardens.”

     The first Williams household was of log and burned about three years after their arrival. The present house, Mrs. Williams says, was built in 1821, a year or so after Braddish Billings had started on his New England-type home on the opposite side of the river [in then Gloucester Township — the Williams property was in Nepean Township, a handful of years before Bytown was established.]
     Built of squared timber and of “barn construction,” the house is little changed since its beginnings. New clapboard covers the old, the front porch is new and the sunporch was added by Lewis Williams the third. The den was also extended to the east about the same time.
     However, the old log walls still remain in the basement and the interior of the house is unchanged.
     A very beautiful staircase ascends to the upper floor where there are five bedrooms.

     As the farm prospered, more and more workers were hired to operate it and the Williams family eventually became wholesale florists.
     When the Second World War began, they were asked by the government to food produce and the farm was converted into a market garden. Many Ottawans will remember the “victory gardens,” which flourished during the war years.
     As many as 110 men were required and, in the summertime, schoolboys were also employed for odd jobs. All the plants were started in greenhouses and Mr. Williams says 50,000 tomato plants were grown yearly, among other vegetables.
     It is interesting to note that there is still a part of Lansdowne Park which belongs to the Williams family. Mr. Williams is not sure of its exact location, but it could be [that] the Rough Riders playing field was former Williams farmland.

     The district where the Williams house still sits, solidly tranquil and beautifully preserved, was finally made into a housing development. It is still called Rideau Gardens, however, in honor of the enterprising Williams family.
     Professor Emmet O’Grady bought the house nine years ago this month [i.e. January 1961] from Mrs. Charles T. Williams, whose husband was the business administrator for the market garden. His brother, Lewis Williams, the only surviving member of the family in Ottawa, handled the farm operation.
     This fascinating family were not only pioneers but have contributed a romantic chapter to the history of Ottawa."

    Rick Wallace has written an account of Lewis Williams and the house at 96 Southern Drive which complements and largely agrees with Ms Blair's. You can read it at the History of Ottawa East website. In a separate discussion, he places the Williams' holdings in the context of historical land ownership and development of the Ottawa East / Ottawa South neighbourhoods.

   Wallace makes reference to an 1828 map drawn up by Col. John By. At times ambiguous (though labeled in a beautifully flourished hand) the map seems to indicate that the Williams land holdings may have well-exceeded 100 acres (possibly closer to 400 at some point in time) and that yes, a good portion of the old Frank Clair Stadium, now TD Place sits on former(?) Williams property.