Weekly newsletter: February 21, 2023
Hello, and happy Mond…Tuesday! If you find yourself making this mistake, know that you are not alone!
Today is Heritage Day and the start of Heritage Week in Ontario, an excellent opportunity to celebrate what built the great city we call home.
Barrhaven’s history is shorter and more personal than most. It’s expected, given it’s a relatively newer part of the city, but it doesn’t mean it’s not worth learning about.
For example, do you know about the stone house on Long Gate Court?
It was built in 1904 by James Long with his own two hands nonetheless and became the family farmhouse. His story is deeply rooted in the community as he was a descendant of Nepean pioneers originally from Mountshannon, Ireland. Today, you can see the historic house at 28 Long Gate Court.
James Long married Ida Davidson (another name you may recognize) in 1919. Together, they had one child, Beatrice Lois May Long, who later renamed the farm “Longfields” before selling it to a developer in the 1990s on the condition the farmhouse remains in place.
James Long, Davidson, Mountshannon, Beatrice…. So many familiar names! I also find it wholesome that the names of husband and wife continue to be together through Longfields-Davidson Heights Secondary School.
Have you also noticed that Fallowfield road has several S-bends near its intersections with major north-south roads like Greenbank, Woodroffe, and Merivale?
These were actually the result of surveying errors, as much of Nepean (and Ontario) was surveyed using the “single front” method, where lot divisions were drawn from one concession to the next.
Errors quickly became apparent at junctions where roads would offset one another. As communities develop and roads become busier, the offset is corrected through S-bends.
Whether it's family decisions or employee oversights, each puzzle piece comes together so that our history makes our community what it is. Undoubtedly, our history is still a work in progress, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.
If you know a fun historical story, we’d love to hear it! Send us an email and we’ll dig into the details and share it.