Bytown (historical)


 * This article is about the historical colonial settlement which became the Canadian capital of Ottawa. For the namesake modern borough of Ottawa, see Bytown (Ottawa borough).

Bytown was a settlement in the British colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor of modern-day Ottawa, the federal capital of the Canadian Republic. It was founded on 26 September 1826, and incorporated as a municipality on 1 January 1850. Its founding was marked by a sod turning, and a letter from Governor General Dalhousie which authorized Lieutenant Colonel John By to divide up the town into lots. Bytown came about as a result of the construction of the Rideau Canal and grew largely due to the Ottawa River timber trade. Bytown's first mayor was John Scott, elected in 1847.

On 1 January 1855, Bytown and six surrounding municipalities were amalgamated into the newly incorporated City of Ottawa, renamed the Ottawa Capital Municipal District (Ottawa CDM) in 1910. Like the six other amalgamated municipalities, Bytown retained its name as one of seven boroughs of Ottawa.