Fraser Schoolhouse
62-64 John Street
Written by Bytown Museum
on
03/Dec/2009
Thomas MacKay built this one-and-a-half storey stone structure in 1837 to house workmen building his large new stone villa, Rideau Hall. MacKay, a Scottish stonemason, made his first fortune building various works on the Rideau Canal, including the Ottawa Locks and the Commissariat (now the Bytown Museum). From 1838 to 1844, MacKay allowed James Fraser to live in one half of this structure and to teach the children of New Edinburgh workmen in the other half.
Fraser Schoolhouse was the first home of Heritage Ottawa, an organization incorporated in 1975 to combat the “urban renewal” demolitions of the 1960s and ’70s. Some of its early successes include preserving Billings' Estate and the East Block of Parliament Hill. Heritage Ottawa moved to its current location in Carleton County Courthouse Registry Office and Gaol in the 1990s. Fraser Schoolhouse is now a business office.
