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Manotick in Ottawa, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)
 

The Mill and Manotick / Le moulin et Manotick

 
 
The Mill and Manotick / Le moulin et Manotick Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., November 10, 2017
1. The Mill and Manotick / Le moulin et Manotick Marker
Inscription.

After the War of 1812 between Britain and the United States, many citizens of Upper and Lower Canada feared Americans had unfinished business with Canada. As a result, the Rideau Canal was constructed as part of a military system to protect against a possible American invasion from the south by providing an inland transportation alternative to the St. Lawrence River.

Of the 126 miles from Kingston to Ottawa, only 16.5 miles of the Rideau Canal is artificial waterway, the remaining is composed of natural lakes and rivers. As everything has to be done by hand, the construction of the Canal was extremely hard work. [1] By its completion in 1832, over 500 men had died of "swamp fever", others had been killed in accidents [2] or had deserted the project. Completed in 6 short years, the final cost of construction was in excess of $800,000 - close to 500% over budget!

The building of the canal attracted hundreds of French Canadians, Irish labourers and Scottish stonemasons into the area. For the next 15 years, most immigrants entering Upper Canada came by way of the Rideau Canal. Many found the new waterway an attractive place to settle with many of their descendants remaining today.

The military priority of the canal was soon overtaken by commercial opportunities. Livestock, grain,

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apples, flour, feed, cheese and logs were transported to towns along the Canal. By 1865, the population of Upper Canada had increased 25 fold, from 57,000 to over one million. By the 1880s, there were more than 45 industries using the Rideau River as a source of water power.

Locally, canal workers and their families settled in the small village of Long Island, [3] located on the mainland of the East side of the river, beside the Long Island Locks. Schools, churches and a hotel were built in the 1830s. A local businessman named Moss Kent Dickinson, [4] had been a strong advocate for commercial use of the Canal. At the young age of 10, Dickinson had witnessed the opening of the Canal and became fascinated with boats and barges. Twelve years later, Dickinson's steamers were forwarding agricultural produce, lumber and passengers in the Montréal-Ottawa-Kingston triangle.

Lock stations were built to circumvent the numerous rapids or low spots in the river system. To support the functioning of those locks, control dams were constructed to raise the level of the river to aid in the navigation. Control dams were usually built near locks but the Long Island control dams [5] proved ineffective.

In 1858, two different types of dams were constructed. First, a "weir" was built at the Long Island Locks. [6] Made of arched key

The Mill and Manotick / Le moulin et Manotick Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., November 10, 2017
2. The Mill and Manotick / Le moulin et Manotick Marker
work without mortar, the design forced the stone together making them watertight. Second, a "bulkhead" or "bywash", was constructed upstream, here beside the Mill. [7] It was originally made of wood fastened to rock with iron pins.

Moss Kent Dickinson was employed by the government to tow the lumber to this site for its construction. [8] The dam created a 24 mile stretch of slow-moving water from Burritts Rapids to Long Island, known as the "Long Reach."

Never one to miss an opportunity, Dickinson, along with his new partner, Joseph Currier, saw the commercial potential of the dam site. The volume of water was plentiful and in their estimations, capable of producing at least 1800 horsepower.

By 1861, Dickinson and Currier had obtained the water rights, built a sawmill and gristmill, and purchased 30 acres of land on both sides of the channel. [9] This newly developed site soon attracted new settlers, including many from Long Island Village who moved their churches to the new settlement. Dickinson registered the site and named the new settlement, Manotick, a native word meaning "Island in the River". [10] In 1863, a small woollen carding mill [11] was added to the "Long Island Mills Complex".

As with many other settlements in Upper Canada, these mills provided the community and surrounding area

The Long Island/Watson's Mill image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., November 10, 2017
3. The Long Island/Watson's Mill
Marker is to right, just beyond edge of photo
with the three basic necessities of life: food, shelter and clothing. Prior to the invention of mill technology, these necessities could only be met using manual labour. Mills were often the first non-domestic buildings erected. Automation of the cutting of wood, milling of grain or carding of wool not only provided village residents with the basic necessities but also boosted the economy of the region.

Located at the junction of the North Gower, Nepean, Osgoode and Gloucester Townships, the village became one of the most flourishing and prosperous villages in the County of Carleton. Today, Dickinson Square continues to be a gathering place and a focal point for many community activities.
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A la suite de la guerre de 1812 entre l'Angleterre et les États-Unis, un grand nombre de citoyens du Haut et du Bas-Canada craignaient que les Américains aient des comptes à rendre au Canada. Ainsi, la construction du canal Rideau faisait partie d'un projet militaire visant la protection contre une invasion américaine venant du sud, en assurant une alternative au transport sur le fleuve Saint-Laurent.

La distance entre Kingston et Ottawa étant de 126 milles, le système du canal Rideau ne couvre que 16,5 milles de voie navigable artificielle, le restant

Dam Backwater at Long Island Mill image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr.
4. Dam Backwater at Long Island Mill
Looking SE along the Rideau River
étant constitué d'un réseau de lacs et rivières naturels. Puisque tout devait être réalisé manuel-lement, la construction du canal s'est avérée une tâche colossale. [1] À son achèvement en 1832, plus de 500 hommes avaient péri de la « fièvre des marécages », d'autres étaient morts des suites d'accidents, [2] ou avaient tout simplement déserté le projet. Achevé en seulement 6 ans, le coût final de la construction s'éleva à 800 000 $, c.-à.-d. près de 500 % au-dessus du budget initial!

La construction du canal attira des centaines de Canadiens français, de manœuvres irlandais, et de maçons écossais. Pendant les 15 années suivantes, la plupart des immigrants au Haut-Canada y arrivèrent en utilisant le canal Rideau. Un grand nombre y trouvèrent la région tellement attrayante qu'ils décidèrent de s'y installer, et plusieurs de leurs descendants y résident encore aujourd'hui.

La priorité militaire du canal fut rapidement remplacée par les possibilités de commerce. On y transportait du bétail, du grain, des pommes, de la farine, de la nourriture pour les animaux, du fromage, et des billots, pour approvisionner les villages le long du canal. En 1865, la population du Haut-Canada avait augmenté de 25 fois, c.-à-d. de 57 000 personnes à plus d'un million! En 1880, plus de 45 industries utilisaient la rivière Rideau comme source d'énergie.

Dans la région,

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les ouvriers du canal et leurs familles s'installèrent dans le petit village de Long Island [3] sur la terre ferme à l'est de la rivière, près des écluses de Long Island. On y construisit des écoles, des églises et un hôtel pendant les années 1830. Un homme d'affaires, Moss Kent Dickinson, [4] était un grand adepte de l'utilisation commerciale du canal. À l'âge de 10 ans, il avait été témoin de l'ouverture du canal, et avait été fasciné par les bateaux et les chalands. Douze ans plus tard, ses navires à vapeur transportaient des produits de la ferme, du bois, ainsi que des passages dans le triangle Montréal-Ottawa-Kingston.

Des postes d'écluses furent érigés pour contourner les nombreux rapides et les passages peu profonds de la rivière. Pour appuyer le fonctionnement de ces écluses, on dut construire des barrages de contrôle, qui permettaient d'élever le niveau de la rivière, et ainsi, d'y permettre la navigation. Ces barrages étaient généralement situés près des écluses, quoique ceux de Long Island [5] se soient avérés inefficaces.

En 1858, deux différents types de barrages furent construits. Un premier type fut érigé près des écluses de Long Island. [6] De conception en arches, sans mortier, les pierres étaient pressées les unes contre les autres, les rendant ainsi étanches. Le deuxième type de barrage, de conception en cloisons, fut construit en amont, ici même, près du moulin. [7] À l'origine, il était fait de bois et fixé à la pierre à l'aide de chevilles de métal.

C'est Moss Kent Dickinson qui fut embauché par le gouvernement pour faire acheminer le bois à cet emplacement pour la construction du barrage. [8] Grâce à celui-ci, une étendue d'eau fut créée sur une distance de 24 milles, à partir des rapides Burritts jusqu'à Long Island, mieux connu sous le mon de « Long Reach ».

Dickinson, reconnu pour son opportunisme, et son nouveau partenaire, Joseph Currier, reconnurent rapidement le potentiel commercial du site de ce barrage, son volume d'eau considérble pouvant produire au moins 1 800 chevaux-vapeur.

En 1861, Dickinson et Currier ayant obtenu les droits sur l'eau et acheté 30 acres de terrain sur les deux côtés du chenal, y construisirent un moulin à scie et un moulin à grain. [9] Ce nouveau site attira rapidement l'attention de nouveaux colons dont plusieurs du village de Long Island, qui y déménagèrent même leurs églises. Dickinson enregistra le site et le nomma Manotick, un mot indien signifiant « l'île dans la rivière ». [10] En 1863, un petit moulin à cardage [11] vint s'ajourter au « complexe des moulins de Long Island ».

Tout comme plusieurs autres villages du Haut-Canada, ces moulins fournissaient les trois éléments essentials à la vie de la communauté et de la région, c.à-d. nourriture, abri et vêtements. Avant l'invention de la technologie des moulins, ces éléments ne pouvaient être produits que manuellement. Ainsi, les moulins étaient souvent les premiers édifices non domestiques à être érigés. L'automatisation du sciage du bois, du moulin à grain, et du cardage de la laine fournit non seulement des éléments essentials aux villageois, mais aussi, régéréra l'économie de la région.

Situé à la jonction des cantons de North Gower, Nepean, Osgoode et Gloucester, le village est vite devenu l'un des plus florissants et prospères du comté de Carleton. Aujourd'hui, le Carré Dickinson demeure un endroit de rencontre et un lieu de rassemblement pour de nombreuses activités communautaires.
 
Erected by Watson's Mill Manotick, Inc. and City of Ottawa.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & CommerceMan-Made FeaturesSettlements & SettlersWaterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1812.
 
Location. 45° 13.612′ N, 75° 40.963′ W. Marker is in Ottawa, Ontario. It is in Manotick. Marker is on Dickinson Street just east of Mill Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5525 Dickinson Street, Ottawa ON K4M 1A2, Canada. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. A Safety Valve and Power Source (here, next to this marker); The Long Island Mill (within shouting distance of this marker); Carriage Shed / Hangar à chariots (within shouting distance of this marker); Dickinson Square and Manotick / La Place Dickinson et Manotick (within shouting distance of this marker); Dickinson House / Maison Dickinson (within shouting distance of this marker); A Square for All Time / Un place en permanence (within shouting distance of this marker); Family Life / la vie familiale (within shouting distance of this marker); The Perpetual Challenge / Le defi perpétuel (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ottawa.
 
Also see . . .  Watson's Mill, Manotick on YouTube. (Submitted on November 20, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)

 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on October 12, 2021. It was originally submitted on November 19, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 187 times since then and 6 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on November 20, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.   4. submitted on November 19, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

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Apr. 24, 2024