Stittsville was first built at the intersection of the Hazeldean Road and the Carp Road (which connected Richmond with the village of Carp). Most of the small village was destroyed in a devastating fire, originating west of Ottawa, which swept through the area in 1870. The fire coincided with the opening of a railroad line from Ottawa to Carleton Place. As a result, the community was rebuilt in the area around the railway station (a mile to the south), where a number of businesses had already been set up. Hotels, blacksmiths, a general store, and a post office were built at this time. The village of Stittsville is named after Jackson Stitt, who was the village’s first postmaster. Today, Stittsville is a thriving business and residential community, and is currently experiencing a period of rapid growth. |
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Hazeldean
The early community known as Hazeldean lies in the northeast section of Goulbourn Township. Like much of the township, it was settled in the 1820’s by Irish soldiers who elected to remain in Upper Canada rather than return to Britain in a period of post-Napoleonic recession and high unemployment. A westward road extension from Bell’s Corners, now known as the Hazeldean Road, ran through Eagleson’s Corners and Hazeldean to reach the village of Old Stittsville. Prominent on this road were Eagleson’s store and stopping house (long since gone), and Kemp’s Tavern, which once again is operating as a restaurant.
A disastrous fire originating in Ottawa West in 1870 destroyed many of the log and wood buildings in the area. This, and the opening of the railroad from Ottawa to Carleton Place (the Grand Central, later the Canadian Pacific), removed much of the need for stopping places between Goulbourn Township and Ottawa. Hazeldean saw little growth until the 1980’s, when it developed a large residential and business district.
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Stanley’s Corners
The site of the Goulbourn Township Municipal Building, Goulbourn Middle School and the Goulbourn Museum (housed in the old Township Hall dated 1872), Stanley’s Corners is located in the southern outskirts of Stittsville. The hamlet was first called Rathwell’s Corners when John Rathwell opened a store and hotel on the site. At the beginning of the 20th century, Rathwell’s Corners was renamed Stanley’s Corners after businessman Jonathan Stanley. Mr. Stanley opened a store, sawmill and cement factory.
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