Thomas McKay (1 September 1792 – 9 October 1855) was a Canadian businessman who was one of the founders of the city of

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Biography

McKay was born in Perth, Scotland and became a skilled stonemason. He emigrated to

the Canadas The Canadas is the collective name for the provinces of Lower Canada and Upper Canada, two historical British colonies in present-day Canada. The two colonies were formed in 1791, when the British Parliament passed the '' Constitutional Act'', ...

in 1817, and settled in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

. He became partners with

John Redpath John Redpath (1796 – March 5, 1869) was a Scots-Quebecer businessman and philanthropist who helped pioneer the industrial movement that made Montreal, Quebec the largest and most prosperous city in Canada. Early years In 1796, John Redpa ...

and their firm did the masonry work on the

Lachine Canal The Lachine Canal ( in French) is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres (9 miles) from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroughs of Lachine, ...

near Montreal, they then went on to build the

locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

on the lower section of the Rideau Canal, between the Rideau River and the Ottawa River at

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 It was founded on September 26, 1826, incorporated as a town on January 1, 1850, and superseded by the incorporation of the City of Ottawa on January 1, 1855.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 ...

. McKay also built two stone spans for the Union Bridge, which was the first bridge across the Ottawa River between Hull, Quebec and Bytown. The Commissariat building built by McKay in 1827 during the construction of the Rideau Canal now serves as home to 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 ...

and is the oldest surviving stone building in the city of Ottawa. McKay was one of the few business leaders to remain in Bytown after the canal project was finished. He bought land at the intersection of the Rideau River and Ottawa River and laid out a town, which he named

New Edinburgh New Edinburgh is a neighbourhood in Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located to the northeast of the downtown core. It is bordered on the west by the Rideau River, to the north by the Ottawa River, to the south by Bee ...

. McKay built a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

and a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

on land there. He encouraged Scottish immigrants to come to the area and it became a prosperous industrial centre. He was an Elder and Trustee of St. Andrew's congregation of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

, and partly responsible for the acquisition of

The Glebe The Glebe is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located just south of Ottawa's downtown area in the Capital Ward. According to the Glebe Community Association, the neighbourhood is bounded on the north by the Queensway, on the ...

lands for St Andrew's. He was also a founding trustee of Queen's College.

Works

Thomas McKay became quite wealthy and in 1837 he bought 1100 acres (4.5 km²) east of the village. On the western edge of this new land he built in 1838 for himself a limestone

Scottish Regency Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English * Scottish national identity, the Scottish id ...

mansion which he named

Rideau Hall Rideau Hall (officially Government House) is the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and their representative, the governor general of Canada. It stands in Canada's capital on a estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main b ...

, and which is today official residence of the

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, ...

. He also built

Earnscliffe Earnscliffe is a Victorian manor in Ottawa, Ontario, built in the Gothic Revival style. During the late 19th century, it was home to Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. Since 1930, it has served as the residence of the Brit ...

to house his daughter and son-in-law. The remainder of McKay's lands later became the village of

Rockcliffe Park Rockcliffe Park ( French: ''Parc Rockcliffe'') is a neighbourhood in Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward, close to the centre of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1864, organized as a Police village in 1908, and an independent village from 1926, and ...

. McKay also brought the first railroad to the Ottawa area with the Prescott and Bytown Railway that had its terminus at a station near

Sussex Drive Sussex Drive (french: Promenade Sussex), also known as Ottawa Regional Road93, is an arterial road in Ottawa, Ontario, the capital of Canada. It is one of the city's main ceremonial and institutional routes. Travelling roughly parallel to the Ot ...

just south of New Edinburgh. McKay entered politics serving on Bytown's city council, and then the

Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was the elected part of the legislature for the province of Upper Canada, functioning as the lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada. Its legislative power was subject to veto by the appointed Lie ...

from 1834 to 1841. From 1841 until his death in 1855, he served on the Legislative Council of the United Province of Canada. Thomas McKay was interred in the Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa. In New Edinburgh, the

MacKay United Church MacKay United Church is a United Church of Canada church in the New Edinburgh neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The church is located at the intersection of 39 Dufferin and Mackay at the southwest corner of the Rideau Hall estate. MacKay ...

is named in his memory.

Notes

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Thomas 1792 births 1855 deaths Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople Settlers of the National Capital Region (Canada) Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada People from Perth, Scotland Elders of the Church of Scotland Scottish emigrants to Canada Burials at Beechwood Cemetery (Ottawa)