Dow's Lake
1001 Queen Elizabeth Drive
Written by Bytown Museum
on
03/Dec/2009
Dow's Lake was originally known as Dow's Great Swamp and it extended from the Rideau River all the way to the Ottawa River, a distance of over six kilometres. The swamp was named for Abraham Dow who owned land in the area for a short time. His sister, Lamira, married Braddish Billings and settled Billings Estate.
John McTaggart, who surveyed the area in 1826 prior to the construction of the Rideau Canal, called Dow's Great Swamp “one of the most dismal places in the wilderness.” It was swampy lands like this and the malaria-bearing mosquitoes that inhabited them that contributed to the high death toll from malaria during the Canal's construction. A portion of Dow's Great Swamp was flooded during the construction period, creating the more manageable (and better smelling!) Dow's Lake.
Today, Dow's Lake and the adjoining Commissioners Park are one of the most scenic areas in Ottawa, greatly enjoyed in spring during the Ottawa Tulip Festival and in winter during Winterlude.
