Osgoode Township Commemorative Plaque in Victoria Park, Metcalfe

Victoria Park lies at the northeast corner of 8th Line Road and Victoria Street in Metcalfe, which is now part of Ottawa. The park has a gazebo and a unique foot bridge and a plaque commemoration the founding of Osgoode Township.

THE FOUNDING OF OSGOODE TOWNSHIP

Named for William Osgoode, the first Chief Justice of Upper Canada, Osgoode Township was established on lands the British acquired from the Mississaugas in the 1780s. Land for farming and a plentiful supply of white pine and white oak attracted the first non-native settlers, the families of Archibald and Catherine McDonell and William and Ann York, who arrived in 1827. They founded the new community's first industries and institution, and they built the first two roads in the Township, converging here at what was Baker's Corners. These roads, the Rideau Canal and railway lines between Osgoode and Bytown (now Ottawa) encouraged further settlement, and the Township was incorporated in 1850. On January 1, 2001, Osgoode Township became part of the City of Ottawa.

Ontario Heritage Foundation, an agency of the Government of Ontario