Stony Monday riot, the rabid Duke of Richmond, rowdy lumberjacks and eccentric geniuses. . . Ottawa's history is anything but boring! And OPL is the place to find out all about it. Our local history collections tell the stories of the people, customs, and institutions that built Ottawa and the surrounding communities.
Reference materials, including books, newspapers, directories, and municipal reports, can be consulted at Main, Nepean Centrepointe, or Beaverbrook branches. In addition, OPL is pleased to house the collections of 3 local history societies. And, of course, the most popular local history titles are available to borrow at many branches. Together, OPL's local history collections provide an extensive resource on Ottawa and the surrounding area, past and present.
Online resources
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This digitized full-images archives of the Ottawa Citizen provides genealogists, researchers and general public with online, easily-search...read more about Ottawa Citizen - ProQuest Historical Newspapers (1845 - 2010)
Blogs
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Mon, Jul 18, 2022
This summer, with gas prices and wanting new adventures closer to home, I decided... -
Mon, Aug 30, 2021
To celebrate Capital Pride 2021, OPL welcomes guest blogger John Lund, City of Ottawa Archives. -
Fri, Oct 09, 2020
Ottawa’s film, television, and animation industry is a vibrant sector contributing over $100 million...
Events
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As part of The Historical Society of Ottawa's speaker series, Jean-François Lozier will present Hatpins & Defiance: The Battle in Ottawa Against Regulation 17 ...
Main
Wednesday Oct 12, 2022 at 1:00pm
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As part of The Historical Society of Ottawa's speaker series, Rick Henderson will present the story of Philemon Wright. Wright carved a settlement from the...
Main
Wednesday Sep 14, 2022 at 1:00pm