Ottawa University-Ottawa

Varsity Sports

History & Fun Facts

• •European exploration and early development In 1610, Étienne Brûlé became the first documented European to navigate the Ottawa River, passing what would become Ottawa on his way to the Great Lakes.
• •The first non-Indigenous settlement in the area was created by Philemon Wright, a New Englander.
• •Wright founded a lumber town in the area on 7 March 1800 on the north side of the river, across from the present-day city of Ottawa in Hull.
• •In 1827, the town that had developed around canal construction was named after the British military engineer Colonel, John By, who was responsible for the entire Rideau Waterway construction project.
• •Lawrence River bordering the state of New York that had left re-supply ships bound for southwestern Ontario easily exposed to enemy fire during the War of 1812.