Richmond, Ontario

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Richmond is a Canadian village south-west of Stittsville, east of Munster and north of North Gower, Ontario. Founded in 1818, it spans the Jock River, a tributary of the Rideau River. Like many villages in eastern Ontario, Richmond houses several unique populations. Some residents have historic and economic roots in the immediate area. To others, the village serves as a bedroom community for the larger urban area of Ottawa.

[edit] History

The village was founded when the Great Iron Duke (Lord Wellington) decided to people the lands contiguous to the Rideau Canal, presumably to protect the nascent waterway. At that time a number of British regiments were in Canada and about to be sent home to England to be paid off and disbanded. Amongst these regiments was the 99th Regiment of Foot (formerly the 100th Regiment of Foot from County Dublin)[1]. In the spring of 1818 the officers and men of this regiment were at Quebec, and, in common with those of other regiments, had their choice of a passage home to Ireland or, if they so elected, to remain here in Canada where they would receive free grants of land in the new country to be settled on the Ottawa and Rideau rivers [2]. Thus, in late 1818 (with the help of nearby French inhabitants assisting in construction) the town of Richmond was born.

The town mascot is a fox, after a local legend relating to a rabid fox who is reported to have been responsible for spreading the disease to the Duke of Richmond's dog, who subsequently bit the Duke, killing him.^{[citation needed]} The town of Richmond has many historical buildings such as St Philip's Church, which is the oldest church in the Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa. Richmond was incorporated as a village in 1850 and was annexed by Goulbourn Township in 1974. It has been within the City of Ottawa since January 1, 2001.

[edit] Today

Popular sports in Richmond include soccer, softball, curling, and ice hockey. The Rideau Trail runs through Richmond. The Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board offers an elementary school named St. Philip and a secondary school in the neighbouring town of Stittsville. The public Ottawa-Carleton District School Board offers an elementary school and a high school named South Carleton High School [3]. The Goulbourn Middle School [4] is located in Stanley Corners, a central location to the old Goulbourn Township. Its population at the 2001 Census was 3,287.