Streets

In 1827, the three main streets were Rideau and Sussex in Lower Bytown, and Wellington in Upper Bytown [IHACC]. On 8 January 1831, a meeting of forty inhabitants unanimously approved the idea of statute labour for road and street construction. In March 1836, a street surveyor was appointed for Bytown [Brault 1946]. The dirt streets of Bytown were turned into a sea of mud by spring slush and summer rain, and clouds of dust would rise during dry periods [Haig 1975]. With the organization of the district of Dalhousie in 1842, streets and roads were placed under the jurisdiction of a township path master appointed by the district council. With the incorporation of Bytown in 1847/1850, this duty was vested in the hands of a street surveyor [Brault 1946]. In Lower Bytown, York street was macadamized between Sussex and Dalhousie streets on 9 June 1851 [Haig 1975].