New Edinburgh

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This article is about New Edinburgh, Ontario. For the New Zealand settlement originally called New Edinburgh, see Dunedin

New Edinburgh is a small neighbourhood in Ottawa, Canada. It is located to the east of the downtown core. It is bordered on the west by the Rideau River, to the north by the Ottawa River, to the south by Beechwood Avenue, to the east the border is less regular but is marked in part by Springfield Drive and Maple Lane. The shape is somewhat irregular, but it can be said to end where the old village of Rockcliffe Park ended.

The area is an older neighbourhood and is fairly affluent, though not to the same degree as neighbouring Rockcliffe. Nonetheless, the Governor General of Canada's large residence and ground are located in New Edinburgh, as is 24 Sussex Drive, official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada.

The neighbourhood is home to several embassies and consulates, including those of Spain, South Africa, France, India, and Slovakia. Civil servants (in particular, employees of the nearby Foreign Affairs Canada and International Trade Canada) compose a fair portion of the population. Like Rockcliffe Park, the neighbourhood is largely English-speaking, in opposition to the less-affluent French-speaking district of Vanier to the south.

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[edit] History

The Frasier Schoolhouse, built in 1837, is one of the few buildings left from the village's early history.
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The Frasier Schoolhouse, built in 1837, is one of the few buildings left from the village's early history.

New Edinburgh was founded by Thomas McKay, one of the builders of the Rideau Canal lock system. He bought the land at the junction of the Ottawa and Rideau Rivers in 1829 and created a village named for Edinburgh in his native Scotland. The streets in the neighbourhood were named after McKay's family. Crichton was his wife's maiden name, Keefer his son in law, while Thomas, John, and Charles were his sons. The area was originally largely industrial, home to a number of mills using the power of the river. Originally part of Gloucester Township, New Edinburgh was incorporated as a separate village in 1866 by a special act of parliament, but was annexed in 1887 by Ottawa.

New Edinburgh has their own local community newspaper, New Edinburgh News, asissted by many of the locals.

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[edit] Parks

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