Please Note: There are no fees to visit or take photos outside of the Commissariat Building (Now the Bytown Museum). However, if you wish to visit the Museum, the fee is now $3:00.
The Commissariat Building, also known as the Bytown Museum, is an imposing three-storey, rough-coursed masonry structure that features three bays, a gable roof, supply doors on all three levels of the building, and a regular fenestration pattern. The Commissariat Building is located on the west side of the locks at the Ottawa Lockstation, at the lower end of Colonel By Valley, in the heart of Ottawa. As part of the Rideau Canal National Historic Site of Canada, it is the northernmost station along the Rideau Canal and is the oldest remaining stone building in Ottawa. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.
The Commissariat Building is a Classified Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.
Historical value
The Commissariat Building is one of the best examples of the national theme of the military defence strategy for Upper and Lower Canada in the 1820s and the evolution of that strategy over time. Located adjacent to the northern terminus of the Rideau Canal and near the heart of Ottawa’s commercial district, the building served as a depot for supplying bulk provisions to many of the construction sites along the northern section of the Rideau Canal, housed offices for Commissariat officials, and provided residential accommodation. Colonel By’s decision to commence construction of the canal at this site was the major impetus behind the founding and settlement of Bytown (now called Ottawa). As the only extant structure on the site dating from the period of construction of the Rideau Canal and having served as a depot for supplying the many construction sites along the Rideau Canal, the Commissariat Building is directly associated with the military origin and subsequent development of the Rideau waterway and the City of Ottawa.
Architectural value
The Commissariat Building is a very good example of a commercial or industrial building from the pre-Confederation era, erected in the British military traditions of the day. The building’s balanced proportions and symmetrical elevations lend it a particularly imposing presence, which is strengthened by the visual weight and texture of the masonry walls. The design of the building combines the functional requirements of a commissariat with a finely balanced composition of window and door openings, testifying to the superior design ability of the Corps of Royal Engineers. The high level of craftsmanship displayed in the masonry walls, constructed by the prominent Montreal contractor Thomas MacKay, reflects the importance placed on the construction of this building on the frontier of Upper Canada.
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The following is from a plaque on site:
This structure, the oldest existing stone building in Ottawa, was used as a storehouse, office and treasury during the construction of the Rideau Canal (1826-32) under the direction of Lieutenant-Colonel John By, R.E. Its superb masonry and solid construction are typical of the stonework done by Scottish masons along the Rideau Canal and, at a later date, on private homes in eastern Ontario. In 1854, the building was turned over to the Canadian government and, until 1951, was used successively by various departments concerned with the maintenance of the canal.
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Interesting Historical Facts or Connections:
Relations between French and Irish Canadians have been marked by rivalry since the early days of Bytown. Arriving initially to work on the construction of the Rideau Canal, the Irish settle on the west bank, at the edge of Upper Town. When they are forced to leave that area at the end of the canal project, a number of them move to Lowertown, which by that time is largely Francophone. The Irish, for the most part unemployed day labourers, try to carve out a place in the timber industry, a sector already dominated by French Canadians who have been cutting trees for over twenty years.
The Irish wage a merciless war, spreading a reign of terror in Bytown. They burn shops and residences, not hesitating to lash out physically at those who resist. A French-Canadian counteroffensive is organized, supported by the Scots, the Protestants and the more conservative classes of Bytown who wish to restore order. Jos Montferrand, a larger-than-life lumberjack character, distinguishes himself by thrashing the “Shiners,” as the French Canadians call the Irish.
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