Stittsville, Ontario

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Former hotel on Main St. The train station was located across the street

Stittsville, Ontario is a large suburban town of roughly 19000 people. A part of the City of Ottawa, Canada's national capital, Stittsville is located immediately to the south-west of Kanata, and about 30 km (19 miles) from downtown Ottawa.

[edit] History

The first settlers to the area were farmers, arriving in 1824. One of the original surveyors in the Stittsville area referred to it as a "God-forsaken wasteland". This was due to the large number of fens, swamps, and marshlands in the area, which made agriculture and travel nearly impossible. This same surveyor would refer to the area around Richmond(10 km south) as some of the most fertile soils in the entire region. The town itself was born in the 1850's by Jackson Stitt, for whom the town is named; he was also the first postmaster in the area.

The original townsite, now known as "Old Stittsville" was located at the present intersection of Carp Road and Hazeldean road. It was a small crossroads, consisting of a few houses, a small inn, and a general store and post office, which was owned by Jackson Stitt.

The Great Carleton Fire of 1870 devastated the community, destroying nearly everything. The Hartin House, and a handfull of other buildings were all that was left standing. This was an extremely large fire, encompassing over 250 000 acres from Ottawa to Smiths Falls to Carleton Place, it burned for almost a full week.

The regrowth of Stittsville did not occur until the 1870's, when Canadian Pacific built a rail line connecting Ottawa to the booming lumber town of Carleton Place. The new town would be located at the current intersection of Abbot Street and Main Street. A train station, grist mill, grain elevators, and several hotels were just some of the features of this sleepy outpost town. The hamlet of Ashton (12 km to the west) also attributes it's beginnings to the rail line. In 1989, the track was removed, and CP Rail donated the land to be used as part of the Trans-Canada Trail.

Stittsville was incorporated as a police village in 1956, and became a full village in 1961. In 1974 it was amalgamated into Goulbourn Township. In 2001 Goulbourn was amalgamated into the City of Ottawa..

Since the extension of the Queensway in the 1970's made travel from Ottawa quicker and easier, Stittsville has incurred a rapid growth; transformed from a quiet farming community of under 500 people to an upscale suburb of almost 20000, in just over 20 years. Most residents are employed in large part by Ottawa's high-tech industry, and the federal government. Further growth is expected in the near future with the development of neighborhoods such as Jackson Trails and Kanata West to its north, Fernbank to its east and south and Westridge to its west. In the next 10 to 20 years, Stittsville's population is expected to exceed 30000.

[edit] Services

The town is home to many elementary schools: both Catholic, French Catholic and Public. The most populated high school in the Ottawa and surrounding area is located in Stittsville: Sacred Heart Catholic High School. Hockey is a very large part of this community, which is evident in their ongoing commitment to the Bell Capital Cup, and other various hockey organisations and tournaments. It is home to three indoor hockey rinks, an indoor public pool, public library, and the Amberwood Golf Club. Stittsville has 3 weekly local newspapers: The Stittsville News, The Stittsville Weekender, and the EMC.