Test your local history knowledge and you could win a book!

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How much do you know about historic sites, cultural attractions and famous people in Ottawa, Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais? In honour of Heritage Week 2022 (February 21 to 25), here are 10 questions about our region’s history. See how many you know!

For each question, I’ve even provided a link that will help you find the answer. You’ll also find all the answers at the bottom of the post.

Ready? Here we go.

mannequin in purple dress in front of display of charlotte whitton memorabilia at mcdougall mill museum in renfrew

1. Maybe you know that Charlotte Whitton was Ottawa’s first female mayor, but where was she born? In this Ottawa Valley town’s McDougall Mill Museum, you’ll find a display related to Whitton’s life and times.

2. What is the name of the new farm on West Hunt Club Road in Ottawa where visitors can learn about Indigenous history and culture?

large log main building at fairmont le chateau montebello

3. What famous hotel on the eastern edge of the Outaouais was built as a private hunting and fishing club in 1930, attracting celebrity guests such as Bing Crosby?

4. In what city on the St. Lawrence River did Canada’s biggest bank heist occur, in 1958? (Hint: The city is also home to Canada’s oldest railway tunnel.)

5. In what town south of Ottawa would you find a church built by Isaac Johnson, a formerly enslaved man who fought in the U.S. Civil War, then moved to Canada and became an architect?

carleton place roy brown mural - Ottawa Road Trips

6. Born and raised in Carleton Place, who was credited with shooting down the Red Baron, the First World War flying ace?

7. What legendary Ottawa Valley lumberman, born in 1802, was immortalized on a Canada Post stamp 190 years later? According to one possibly legendary story, the 6’2″ lumberjack once did a backflip in a Bytown pub, leaving his boot prints on the ceiling. (Note and clue: I’ll accept either his real name or his nickname.)

8. In what Eastern Ontario community would you find Ontario’s oldest jail?

simon fraser gravestone with large church in background in st. andrews west, ontario.

9. What village, just north of Cornwall, is the final resting place of both Ontario’s first premier and explorer Simon Fraser?

10. Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Irene Parlby, Henrietta Muir Edwards and Louise McKinney fought for women’s rights in the 1920s in the famous “Persons Case.” They’re immortalized in a set of statues that now stands in front of the temporary home of Canada’s Senate. By what nickname are they better known?

Answers

1. Renfrew
2. Mādahòkì Farm
3. Fairmont le Château Montebello
4. Brockville
5. Winchester
6. Arthur Roy Brown
7. Big Joe Mufferaw
8. L’Orignal
9. St. Andrew’s West
10. The Famous Five

Looking for ideas for fun things to see and do in our region? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or pick up a copy of my book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your 100-km Getaway Guide.

As the owner of Ottawa Road Trips, I acknowledge that I live on, work in and travel through the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land. Ottawa Road Trips supports Water First, a non-profit organization that helps address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through education, training and meaningful collaboration.