Village Politicians:

The election for 1899 was held in late December of 1888. Voters selected one Reeve, four councilors and three School Trustees. The results, recorded by Walter N. Barry, the Village Clerk (an upholsterer living at 6 7th St.) were as follows:

Overview of the Year:

Comparing this year to subsequent years of Village activity, as seen through the detail of the Council minutes, there were no major events. Highlights included: an ongoing debate with the Canal and Railway Commission which controlled some of the village land along the canal; cleaning up past accounts; a major push to collect dog taxes; rumblings from the southern part of the village concerning electoral boundaries; and attempts to retrieve missing records.

The entire council came from the northern part of the village. It is not possible to compare previous councils given that the records for the period from 1888 to 1897 have been lost (See Missing Records). It appears that much of the "old guard", people such as the Ballantynes, had left council and it was now run by a popular Reeve Henry Roche. The vast majority of council activities involved the minutiae of operating a small community within the restrictions imposed by provincial legislation on an incorporated Village.

No item was too small. From authorizing the purchase of stamps to investigating petitions for drains, each council meeting resembled the activities of a community association with a budget. Even though the village had been in existence for 10 years, amenities such as electric lighting for streets (although the Town Hall had electricity by that time), a village water system, fire protection or sewage drains. Sidewalks were made from thick cedar planks and only a few roads were "macadamized". Petitions from residents for items such as drains were received on a regular basis and mulled over by council with most given some support. With no roads department, ad hoc committees of council members supervised all the actual work. It appears that there were two previous debentures authorized by previous councils as the year mill rate included provision for repayment.

The total amount expended through Council meetings was $815.36 for the year. It should be noted that the payments to the Bank of Ottawa for the earlier debentures did not go through the council as the treasurer automatically paid these each month. From the detail of the accounts shown below it is apparent that not even the smallest item was overlooked ($0.68 for nails!). The bulk of expenditures was for materials and labour for sidewalks, drains and roads followed by expenses for administration duties ranging from tax collection to printing.

One important change was a bylaw appointing a constable for the village. The main activities of the post involved: the collection of dog taxes (for which the constable received 10% of the taxes collected); the impounding of cattle and horses running at large (as per Bylaw #7) for which he received half of the fine; and other duties such as removing dead dogs, posting notices and sanitary and yard inspections. Remuneration was to be based on a "reasonable" rate for "every hour he is actually employed". Charles Rhomheld, a painter living on Bronson St. (now Glenora) was appointed to the position.

Rhomheld must have been a formidable enforcer. In subsequent years he made a living breaking tons of stone for the roads by hand – an activity that does wonders for upper body development. He also must have made use of cells in the basement of the Town Hall. This writer remembers seeing two cells in the basement during the 1950’s – complete with old locks and barred doors – just like in the movies! Sadly these doors and locks were scrapped when the building was renovated.

The details of the council activities listed below have been extracted from the microfilm copy of the actual records held at the Ottawa City Archives. Given that the original records were written using pen and ink by a clerk who did not excel at penmanship, some of the detail is not decipherable. Therefore, regarding items such as names and addresses, other sources such as the municipal directories and the census have been consulted for clarification. Items that cannot be deciphered include dashes ( - ) and/or question marks (?). And the brief 10 year history of the Council remaining is replete with many incidents of various people failing to turn in records after their job was finished.

Council Activities:

(CAR = Can. Atlantic Railway, CPR = Can. Pacific Railway, DRC = Dept. of Railways and Canals)

i – Communications:

Letters Sent:

• CAR and Ottawa Arnprior Parry Sound Railway – Re: fencing Cedar St. and crossing at Main St.
• Superintendent of DRC – nuisance on Canal Rd.
• - fencing on Cedar St. at Canal Rd.
• D. Charron – request prices of cedar planks – rate per 1000 – 3 ft. long – 3 in. thick
• ? – poles on Cedar St.
• Mr. Cluff? – corner of Main and 2^nd St. – fence dangerous property
• County Council – placing gutters on Main St.
• Charles Robinson
• A. W. Fleck? – re: assessment and Ballantyne resignation
• CAR and CPR asked to open William St. across the tracks – letter sent to solicitor of CAR
• Clerk write to County Council – request repair of Main St. from William to Victoria and at
• corner of Centre – impassable in spring

Letters Received:

• James Su---? – meetings at town hall to continue on Sunday night
• A.W. Fleck? – regarding assessment and resignation of T. Ballantyne
• Robinson – drain on Cedar St.
• William Potter – porter – 16 Gordon St. – surface water concern
• C. Blanchet? – draining Drummond St.
• Dougal and Lyons – re: sidewalks on Parry St. and 2^nd St.
• County request for 1900 is $266.09
• School Board " " " $1,200.00

Petitions:

• T. Ballantyne et al – change name of Canal Rd. – next meeting
• A.G. Greenfield et al – sidewalk request for Parry St. – accepted
• Trowbridge, Reeve and Biggars to oversee the work
• Main St. residents for sidewalk
• A. Greenfield for relief of nuisance at coal shed and round house – to ask City for action
• Charles Winges – millwright – 141 Main St. – et al – sidewalk for Main St. – referred to Barrett
• T. Ballantyne et al – change name of Canal Rd. to East Ave.
• S. Lalonde – carpenter – s s Herridge – sidewalk on Drummond
• William Davies – florist – 44 Main St. – request of William St. drain
• W. T. Beaudry? – et al – divide village into two districts – tabled for 6 months

ii – Local Improvements:

Tenders (T)/Applications (A):

iii – Policies, Motions and Bylaws and Appointments:

Appointments:

• Charles Guiges – appointed to Board of Health for 1899
• William Doran - three years – 99/00/01 -warehouseman, 27 Bronson St.
• A.G. Greenfield – bookkeeper – west side of Parry St. – auditor for 1899
• Arthur St. Laurent - auditor for 1899 – appt by Reeve
• Robert Robinson – Assessor and Collector for 1899 @ $40 for year

Motions:

• County Carleton – 5 tons of broken stone in 1987 – be paid
• R. Biggars and G.T. Barrett – authorized to buy stone
• Bylaw #54 carried
• Bylaw for Assessor for 1899 – Robert Robertson accepted - $40/yr
• Purchase forms of slips for bitches and dogs
• Trowbridge and Biggars to call on Mr. Bower and request all papers and collection rolls be turned over Mr. Maher – application for collector and assessor be referred
• Purchase one cord of hardwood
• Municipal World subscription be paid
• Provincial Gov’t – re: equalization of taxes in Ontario municipalities – The motion indicates that Council felt that province was being unfair to small municipalities in the taxing of gas and telephone companies
• D. Charron be paid $40.32
• J.C. Bower – be paid $40 for collection of 1895 taxes
• T. Ballantyne resignation as treasurer be asked to reconsider
• Barrett and Bompas to form sidewalk committee
• Purchase financial bond for $2,000
• Ex-treasurer Ballantyne be directed to turn over all books, papers and vouchers
• Sidewalk at Cluff? Property on Main St. be addressed
• Clerk to draw up bylaw to change name of Canal Rd. to East Ave.
• Cedar St. to get drain and widen sidewalk
• R. Robinson – balance of account when books are found
• Repair East Ave. between Cedar and Railway
• Clerk authorized to audit books from Jan 1 to May 1/99
• Center St. at 3^rd to be repaired
• Dog taxes to be paid before June 1 – constable to collect and get 10%
• Constable be provided with notices to prevent people from riding bicycles on sidewalks
• Reeve to contact railways about excessive whistling and shunting on Sundays
• Request legal advice on opening William St. across tracks
• Brass band to use lower hall on Thursday night for .35 cents
• Collector rolls for 97 and 98 be returned by August
• Chamberlain of CAR to be worked on to reduce fence size on Cedar St. to five feet
• Cedar St. – widen by expropriation or purchase of lots 27 and 12
• Constable authorized to prosecute all delinquent dog taxes
• Clerk to negotiate with Mr. Rainboth? For lots 27 and 12 on Cedar St.
• Bylaw #66 – appoints W. A. Cole as tax collector – salary $40/yr. – security of $500
  • to be completed by Dec. 15
• William Ogilvie drain on 2^nd St. approved
• J.C. Bowers account for collecting 1897 taxes approved
• Public School to use hall on Dec. 8
• Treasurer’s report accepted and thanked for his work

Bylaw #65 – Mill Rates for 1899:

iv – Accounts:

Image Library: The images are from the specific year or are related to the text above.

Place your cursor over the image and a Cue Card will appear.

Then click on the image for a larger view