19. The Old Forge

Built in the early 1830s as a blacksmith shop by George Winthrop, the Old Forge is a rare example of a log structure from the early settlement period to survive on its original site, some 8 km from Bytown at the juncture of Richmond and March roads. Today the building operates as the Olde Forge Community Resource Centre and is located inside Ottawa’s city limits at 2730 Carling Avenue (formally March Road).

The forge was constructed as a single storey log structure with square mortises at the corners. Alterations in 1931, 1975 and 1986 added an upper storey sheathed in stucco and rear sections covered with false half-log siding. The large stone chimney appears to be part of the original building.

George Winthrop and his wife Jane are said to have emigrated from England in 1828 and settled in Nepean Township after living for two years in Montreal. The services of a blacksmith would have been essential to the influx of settlers who established large farms along the Richmond Road. It was a thriving business for many decades providing horseshoeing services, wagon repairs, gates and other essential iron implements.

When George died in 1868 his son Robert carried on the business. In addition to operating the blacksmith shop, he sold agricultural implements before the First World War. By 1931 the Olde Forge Tearoom opened in the renovated building to serve the expanding cottage community and day-trippers who enjoyed recreational facilities in the Britannia Bay area nearby; a gas station was added in 1941. The property remained with the Winthrop family until 1958 when it was expropriated by the City of Ottawa for use as the Old Forge tourist information centre, which was opened by Mayor Charlotte Whitton.

The Pinecrest Queensway Citizens Committee established the Olde Forge as a community resource centre in 1974 and in 1978 the Olde Forge Flyer (circulation 10,000) was published from the building.

There exists a strong community connection to the old log building which is a modest landmark at the busy intersection of Carling Avenue and Richmond Road. It was designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act in 1992 in recognition of its role in the development of Ottawa as a logging and agricultural centre.

To mark the 200th anniversary of Bytown, the Olde Forge Rug Hooking group responded to the Historical Society of Ottawa’s call for projects to mark the Bytown200 Bicentennial Storytelling Challenge with a series hooked historic Bytown scenes.

SOURCES

Ottawa: A Guide to Heritage Structures. City of Ottawa, 2000

Waldron, Exploring the Capital: An Architectural Guide to the Ottawa-Gatineau Region. Ottawa, 2017

Olde Forge Community Resource Centre: https://www.oldeforge.ca/