Porter Island
Written by Bytown Museum
on
03/Dec/2009
Today, Porter Island is home to two retirement residences. It is also known for its urban bird watching, especially during the spring and fall migrations, and an abundance of wildlife including turtles, muskrats and more.
Porter Island was annexed by the City of Ottawa in 1888, along with the community of Lindenlea. The year before, Ottawa had annexed New Edinburgh and Green Island. Decade by decade, the capital city continued to annex surrounding towns and in 2001 forced amalgamation transformed Ottawa into the fourth-largest city in Canada.
In 1913, a municipal isolation hospital to treat smallpox patients opened on Porter Island. And in 1946, the army barracks on Porter Island were turned into emergency shelters for families following the post-war housing shortage. The barracks were demolished shortly thereafter.
