"Billings Estate Museum …National Historic Site" Top 5 Page for this destination Ottawa Off The Beaten Path Tip by Greggor58

This well hidden complex is tucked away on a hillside that once upon a time, before trees grew up high, must have had a great view of the Rideau River, a few kilometres above the falls that drain the river into the Ottawa River.

The Billings Mansion is thought to be the oldest surviving wooden framed structure in the city of Ottawa. All of the original structure that dates to about 1827 has been left intact during renovations to the house made after the original construction.

Today, this once thriving farm house and lovely grounds provide a setting for a collection of historic artifacts relating to the early days of Ottawa and items that were used in every day life by the many generations of the Billings family. The setting is amidst manicured lawns and outbuildings and gardens, old and quite large Maple trees and you can see an old ice house and a garage like structure that contains salvaged tombstones from the family cemetery that also still occupies the site.

I didn’t investigate the cemetery too closely but I’m assuming that new ones have replaced the originals that over time were damaged through vandalism and wear and tear.

The city of Ottawa purchased the Estate from Charles Billings, a grandson (fourth or fifth generation) of one of the original settlers Braddish Billings, in the Township of Gloucester, which eventually became annexed by the City of Ottawa.

Braddish Billings was the son of a Doctor that immigrated to Canada from Massachusetts in about 1792; he eventually ventured to the forested area along the Rideau River in about 1812 and by 1813 built the original log cabin at a location not far from this Estate and closer to the shore of the river.

Braddish was about to become a key player in the early development of the region and this little museum and the grounds of the Estate are the Testament to this man and his subsequent generations.He originally worked in the forestry industry here and moved on to further his financial stability, opening up a ferry crossing of the Rideau River close to the original cabin beside the river, he was instrumental in the first bridge on the river that still today bears his name, and he eventually developed land to farm vegetables and fruit that he sold at the Byward Market. I live close by to a neighborhood called Applewood Acres where he once had an apple orchard. His name and the Billings name are synonymous with the early days of Ottawa.

The Estate is the site of various activities throughout the year and deserves a visit if you have any interest in history. The presentation and flow of the museum is well done and the grounds are quite nice. There are maps from the early 1800’s; there is even a signed Oath to the British King that reigned that Braddish himself signed. This was a required formality required of immigrants of the time arriving in Upper Canada from the United States.

Afternoon tea is presented in the gardens during the summer months under a canopied tent and there are special events at Christmas and Halloween.

Access to the Estate museum is from late May until the end of October and as I mentioned there are special events at other times of the year. Consult the website or contact them directly if you might be visiting off season.

http://historytothepeople.ca/2010/10/billing-estate-national-historic-site-ottawa-ontario/

othercontact: 2100 Cabot Street, Ottawa,Ontari
Phone: 613-247-4830
Website: http://museums@ottawa.ca