The Billings Estate National Historic Site is a heritage

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 2100 Cabot St. in the former home of one of the region's earliest settlers. The oldest wood-framed house in Ottawa was built in 1827-9 by

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

-born

Braddish Billings Braddish Billings (September 23, 1783 – April 8, 1864) was an early settler in the Ottawa area, for whom the community of Billings Bridge was named. He was born in Ware, Massachusetts in 1783, but moved to the Brockville area with his family w ...

. It became the home for the following four generations of the Billings family. It is Ottawa's oldest surviving house, though the

Bytown Museum The Bytown Museum (French: Musée Bytown) is a museum in Ottawa located in the Colonel By Valley at the Ottawa Locks of the Rideau Canal at the Ottawa River, just below Parliament Hill. Housed in the Commissariat Building, Ottawa's oldest rem ...

building is older. Billings had moved to the area in 1812, and was the first settler in

Gloucester Township Gloucester Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 64,634, reflecting an increase of ...

. Billings became prosperous in the timber trade and built the large home that was named Park Hill. Billings later moved into agriculture, and the house became the centre of a large and prosperous farm providing produce for

Bytown Bytown is the former name of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded on September 26, 1826, incorporated as a town on January 1, 1850, and superseded by the incorporation of the City of Ottawa on January 1, 1855. The founding was marked by a so ...

, with the farm linked to the town by the

Bytown and Prescott Railway The Bytown and Prescott Railway (B&PR) was a railway joining Ottawa (then called Bytown) with Prescott on the Saint Lawrence River. The company was incorporated in 1850, and the first train ran from Prescott into Bytown on Christmas Day, 1854. Th ...

. The estate remained in the Billings family until 1975. Over time the property was slowly sold off to developers, and today the estate retains only a relatively small plot of land. In 1975, the house became the Billings Estate Museum which is today operated by the City of Ottawa. The house is included amongst other architecturally interesting and historically significant buildings in

Doors Open Ottawa Doors Open Ottawa is an annual event held in the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, that gives the public access to many of the city's unique and historically significant buildings. Among the buildings included are government offices, museums, radi ...

, held each year in early June. The estate also includes a historic cemetery that contains graves dating back to 1820.

Billings Estate Artifact Collection - Routhier Community Centre

The museum's collection includes over 13,000 artifacts. Very few of the artifacts owned by the Billings Estate National Historic Site are on display at any given time. The Billings Estate Artifact Collection storage facility, located at the Routhier Community Centre (172 Guigues Ave.) includes items that have never been on exhibit, and is used by collections staff to preserve artifacts for safe keeping. The storage facility is also open during

, held each year in early June.http://ottawa.ca/doorsopen Doors Open Ottawa

External links

Billings Estate National Historic Site

References

* * * {{NHSC Museums in Ottawa History museums in Ontario Houses in Ottawa Historic house museums in Ontario National Historic Sites in Ontario Houses completed in 1828 Museums established in 1975 1975 establishments in Ontario Designated heritage properties in Ontario

Billings Estate Artifact Collection - Routhier Community Centre

See also

External links

References