Osgood (Ontario)

In the 1780s, the British government acquired fertile land from the Mississauga Indians in Upper Canada to resettle loyalist refugees from the North American United States. In the course of this transaction, land was also acquired, which later became part of Carlton County ^[1] .

In 1822, they were divided into plots of land on the territory of the future town houses Osgood and Russell . Township Osgood got his name in honor of the first Supreme Judge of Upper Canada, William Osgood . The first settlers in this area were the McDonnell and York families. Further settlement was delayed due to rumors that this territory is impassable swamps, and only after these rumors were disproved did good fertile soils and especially rich forest lands ( white ext and Weymouth pine ) begin to attract new settlers. Their arrival was facilitated by the roads that McDonnell and Yorkie began to pave. Archibald McDonnell opened the first shop of the future town-house, built the first sawmill and became the first member of the city council. William York in 1834 participated in the construction of the Methodist Church in Osgood. 15 years after the arrival of the McDonnell and York, 15 more families lived in these places. After the construction of the Rideau Canal was completed in 1832, the population of these places began to grow steadily, and in the 1840s, when two railways crossed the town territory immediately, population growth went even faster. In 1850, Osgood Township received official self-government ^[1] .

In 1891, the building of the city hall was built, which since the beginning of the 1970s also housed the local public library ^[2] . Osgood was incorporated into Ottawa's municipal borders on January 1, 2001 as a result of the merger of a number of settlements in the National Capital Region of Canada . At this point, the following villages and communities were included in the boundaries of the township: Edwards, Greeley, Enniskerry, Kenmore, Osgood, Marionville, Marvelville, Metcalf and Vernon ^[3] .

Currently, the borders of the Osgood constituency (Ottawa’s 20th district) are fully aligned with the borders of the former Osgood village. The area of ​​the district is 461.8 km². Osgood County remains predominantly rural, located at the southern tip of the united Ottawa. Its western border runs along the Rideau River , and the eastern one along Boundary Road. The county’s northernmost point is on Leytrim Road, and the southernmost point on Marionville Road ^[4] .

According to the 2006 census, the population of Osgood County was 22,695. About 21% are children under the age of 15 (an average of 1.2 children per family), about 10% are people aged 65 and over. 10% of the population are immigrants, mainly from European countries. 93% of the population live in their own homes, the average family income is more than 106 thousand dollars , which is higher than the Ottawa average, and the crime rate is lower than the city as a whole. 36% of the district’s residents are bilingual, that is, they know both English and French ^{[4] [5]} .

• A Historical Tour of 1900: Metcalfe, Ontario . - Metcalfe Women's Institute, 1996.

• Osgood Historical Society and Museum
• The Founding of Osgoode Township (Neopr.) . Ontario Heritage Foundation (2001). Date of treatment October 8, 2012. Archived December 13, 2012.