Billings Estate Museum

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The Billings Estate Museum
The Billings Estate Museum

The Billings Estate Museum is an Ottawa museum located in the former home of one of the region's earliest settlers. The house was built in 1828 by Massachusetts born Braddish Billings. It is Ottawa's oldest surviving house, though the Bytown Museum building is older. Billings had moved to the area in 1812, and was the first settler in Gloucester Township.

Billings became prosperous in the timber trade, and built the large home that was named Park Hill. Billings later moved into agriculture, and the house became the centre of a large and prosperous farm providing produce for Bytown, with the farm linked to town by the Bytown and Prescott Railway.

The estate remained in the Billings family until 1975. Overtime the property was slowly sold off to developers, and today the estate retains only a relatively small plot of land. In 1975 the house became a museum which is today operated by the city of Ottawa.

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