Bytown the Terrible Lowertown was predominantly Irish and French. The French Canadians of Lowertown were mostly lumbermen who had been working for Philomen Wright in Hull and who had supplied the canal works with wood and related materials. This made Lowertown a mainly Roman Catholic area, while Uppertown was mostly Protestant. As people were competing for jobs, old animosities were revived. The French Canadians, who remembered the still-recent defeat of 1760 (je me souviens), and the Irish, fresh off the British conquest of their country, became arch-rivals with the Englishmen of Uppertown, who were better educated and wealthier. Another major source of resentment were the living conditions in Lowertown, which contrasted enormously with the ones in Uppertown. Lowertown was mostly shanties, whereas Uppertown was starting to have some elegant mansions. The above quotation comes from an interesting article by the Bytown Business Improvement Area.
March 5, 2002: Thank you for contacting the National Capital Commission (NCC). The publication you are inquiring about is available at the NCC library. Since you are interested in obtaining a copy of chapter 6, we can photocopy it and send it to you by mail. Should you wish to pick up a copy, we invite you to visit our library. It is located at 40 Elgin St on the second floor. It is open to the public. The hours of operation are 8:00 am to 4:30 am Monday to Friday, closed 12:00 to 12:30 PM for lunch. We hope the information provided is helpful. If you have further questions or require clarification, please do not hesitate to contact us again, by e-mail at info@ncc-ccn.ca or by phone at (613)239-5555 (Monday to Friday). Information Services National Capital Commission -----Original Message----- From: Al Lewis [mailto:ag.lewis@sympatico.ca] Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2002 3:59 PM To: info@ncc-ccn.ca Subject: NCC Publication Hello: I'm trying to obtain a copy of a publication or article written by the NCC called "Lower Town Ottawa". It was written by Michael Newton "in National Capital Commission, Ottawa, 1979, Vol. 1, Ch. 6". Can you please tell me how I can obtain a copy of this please. Thanks, ... Al Lewis Ottawa _______________________________ March 22, 2008: This article is listed on our bibliography page. ... Al
May 12, 2008: Present day Byward Market web site.
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