The earliest settlers to the area arrived between 1803-1811, most of whom were of English or Irish descent, along with a few French and Scottish.
In the early 1800’s the area was called “Green’s Creek” after Robert Green who operated a sawmill on the creek. As the timber was exhausted the government lands were sold to farmers who began to settle in the area. These people had to clear their own land and build their own roads and schools.
The area was subsequently called “Daggsville” after three families that settled here in the 1850’s.Richard Dagg donated the land for the first school in Blackburn.
John Kemp and his family were one of the early settlers and four generations farmed the homestead. When the first school burned down, a second school was built on the Kemp property where Blackburn Public School was located.
Agnes Purdy and her husband William settled on Lot 9 across from St Mary the Virgin Anglican Church on Navan Road. Four generations of Purdys farmed the land until the NCC expropriated the farm for the Greenbelt. Agnes was significant as a major fundraiser for the church and as school board secretary for 20 years.
Isaiah Scharfe settled on a lot near Emily Carr School, four generations lived in Blackburn on what is now Innes Road.
Some of the hamlet streets are named after these, and other early settlers, Kemp, Cleroux, Tauvette.
In 1858 Joshua Bradley settled in Blackburn. It was through the efforts of his son William Bradley and Robert Blackburn (Reeve in 1864, then MP) that a post office was secured and it was then that the area became known as “Blackburn”.
The settlement during these times was divided in two, the area of “Blackburn Corners”, located around the existing intersection of Navan and Innes Rds; and “Blackburn Station”, the area around the existing intersection of Anderson and Innes Rds.
- Blackburn Hamlet heritage properties
The Heritage Inventory Project, a city-wide heritage study, began in January 2016 and was completed in December 2019. City staff studied Ottawa’s urban, suburban and rural areas and evaluated buildings for design and context. The project resulted in the inclusion of 3,402 properties on the Heritage Register as non-designated listings, which includes two properties in - Key Dates in Blackburn Hamlet History
The following is a summary of some milestone dates in Blackburn Hamlet History. This is not a comprehensive list, so if anyone has more details on other memorable events, such as when key buildings, parks and facilities were opened, please contact secretary@blackburnhamlet.ca. 1803-1811 – First residents arrive in area of Blackburn Hamlet most of whom - FunFair – The early years
Published in The BANAR June 2021 by Kendra Brett I recently had the privilege of looking at some photos of FunFair from a few of the older issues of the BANAR, and although many aspects of FunFair have changed since 1971, the community involvement and dedication to putting on FunFair has not changed! In both - Blackburn – A brief history of the area
Published in The BANAR June 2021 By Francis Kenny. North of Blackburn runs Old Montreal Road, known today as St. Joseph Boulevard. The actual concession where the road should have run is about a quarter mile south and runs approximately parallel to the quarry on the east-west section of what is now Bearbrook Road. As - Blackburn Hamlet Parks
Published in The BANAR September 2020. In the fall of 2000 Lois Kemp spearheaded the renaming of parks that would help pass the history of Blackburn onto future generations. A recommendation was sent to the City of Gloucester by the BCA to rename some of the parks in Blackburn Hamlet. The new names highlighted the - Blackburn Schools in the early years
Published in The BANAR September 2019 by Don and Evelyn Budd Blackburn’s original school was built in 1865-66 and was made of logs. Later the logs were covered with wide wood boards put on the perpendicular and then painted with dark red barn paint. The boards were put on by William Bradley and a hired