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PO Box 523, Station B,
Ottawa, ON, K1P 5P6

PO Box 523, Station B, Ottawa, ON, K1P 5P6
Slide 1 - With Welcome Message - Bottom

Lady and Lord Aberdeen with the National Council of Women at Rideau Hall, shortly before their return to the United Kingdom, October 1898, Topley Studios/Library and Archives Canada, PA-029033

Truss Bridge over the Chaudière Falls, Ottawa River, watercolour by John Burrows, 1828, Library and Archives Canada, I.D. No. 2833217.

Timber raft on the Ottawa River, date unknown, John William Woolsey and family fonds, Library and Archives Canada, I.D. No. 319157.

Welcome

The Historical Society of Ottawa (HSO) is Ottawa’s oldest historical organization.The principal aim of the Society is to increase public knowledge of the history of Ottawa and the surrounding region through meetings, tours, awards, publications, and sponsored research.

Historical Society Articles

  • Ottawa’s Early Baseball History

    23 April 2025 Speakers Presentations
    We filled the virtual bleachers on the evening of Wednesday, April 9th, 2025 as we watched Steve Rennie start for the Historical Society of Ottawa. Steve is a baseball writer and researcher who lives in Ottawa. A former journalist, he is the president of the Ottawa-Gatineau and Eastern Ontario chapter…

  • Time Travelling with the Historical Society of Ottawa

    22 April 2025 Society News
    Beginning on April 2, 2025, subscribers to Rogers TV will be able to enjoy a fascinating new weekly series, “Time Travelling with the Historical Society of Ottawa”, a collaboration between Rogers TV and the HSO. Each week's new episode will air Wednesday @ 7:30 p.m. and then be rebroadcast Friday…

  • Black History in Ottawa Streets - A Virtual Tour

    5 April 2025 Speakers Presentations
    If you didn’t have a chance to hop aboard Black History Ottawa’s excellent bus tour last summer then grab a seat now. The Historical Society of Ottawa is proud to partner with Black History Ottawa for a virtual re-creation of the tour. The bus leaves on Wednesday, February 12, 2025…

  • The Bells of the Peace Tower

    30 March 2025 Speakers Presentations
    We began our speaker session of March 22, 2025 at the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library on a somber note as Ben Weiss informed us of  the unexpected death of Jamie Bramburger who had been our guest speaker just one month earlier. All of us at the Historical…
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Upcoming Events

Apr 26 2025
Afternoon Series
1:00PM
Ottawa Public Library, Main Branch Auditorium

Through the Lens of the Non-Fiction Writer: A Search for Order in the Chaos of Real Life

Denise Chong

May 2 2025
Special Events
2:00PM
Unit 1, 2880 Sheffield Road, Ottawa, ON, K1B 1A4

HSO Museum Club: Bytown Fire Brigade Historical Society

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Jun 11 2025
Evening Series
7:00PM
Online via Zoom

HSO Annual General Meeting

Jun 16 2025
Afternoon Series
1:00PM
Ottawa Public Library, Main Branch Auditorium

A Life of John Buchan Beyond the Thirty-Nine Steps

Ursula Buchan

View Full Calendar

Ottawa Stories

Ottawa has an interesting and varied history.
Enjoy stories from this month in history or discover other Ottawa stories.

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