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

Biography

McKay was born in

Perth, Scotland Perth (Scottish English, locally: ; gd, Peairt ) is a city in central Scotland, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population o ...

and became a skilled

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

. He emigrated to the Canadas in 1817, and settled in Montreal. He became partners with John Redpath and their firm did the masonry work on the Lachine Canal near Montreal, they then went on to build the locks on the lower section of the

Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal, also known unofficially as the Rideau Waterway, connects Canada's capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, to Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River at Kingston. It is 202 kilometres long. The name ''Rideau'', French for "curtain", ...

, between the

Rideau River The Rideau River (french: Rivière Rideau) is a river in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The river flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at the Rideau Falls in Ottawa, Ontario. Its length is . As explained in a writin ...

and the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...

at Bytown. McKay also built two stone spans for the Union Bridge, which was the first bridge across the Ottawa River between

Hull, Quebec Hull is the central business district and oldest neighbourhood of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of the Canadia ...

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 and is the oldest surviving stone building in the city of

Ottawa 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 ...

. 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

and

and laid out a town, which he named New Edinburgh. McKay built a sawmill and a gristmill on land there. He encouraged

Scottish 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 ide ...

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, and partly responsible for the acquisition of The Glebe 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, and which is today official residence of the Governor General of Canada. 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. McKay also brought the first railroad to the Ottawa area with the

Prescott and Bytown 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 ...

that had its terminus at a station near Sussex Drive just south of New Edinburgh. McKay entered politics serving on Bytown's city council, and then the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada 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 Beechwood Cemetery, located in the former city of Vanier in Ottawa, Ontario, is the National Cemetery of Canada. It is the final resting place for over 82,000 Canadians from all walks of life, such as important politicians like Governor Genera ...

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)