Vars is a compact rural community in

Cumberland Ward Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

in the east end 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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. According to the Canada 2011 Census, the population of Vars was 1,424, using the boundaries defined in the Vars neighbourhood planning study area.http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/occ/2010/02-24/pec/10%20-%20ACS2010-ICS-CSS-0002%20DOCUMENT%201%20EN%20Vars.pdf

Facilities

Vars has St-Guillaume, a French

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

and Roman Catholic churches and Alcide Trudeau Park. There are a few businesses, including a pizzeria and a pharmacy due to open in 2021. The village’s

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...

, Ottawa Fire Service's Station 73, was relocated in 2007 to the south end of Frank Kenny Road. The local youth softball teams the Vars Vipers and Vikings, are both sponsored by local businesses.

History

The Bearbrook area, where Vars is located, was first inhabited in 1824 and by 1836 a small settlement had formed. Bear Brook took its name from the hardy bear population that foraged for acorns from the plentiful oaks flanking its banks. Mr. Dunning set up his sawmill operation using logs channelled through Bear Brook, continuing eastward to the

South Nation River The South Nation River is a river in Eastern Ontario, Canada. It springs from forests and marshes located north of Brockville and it flows northeast to empty into the Ottawa River north of Plantagenet. Shows the river's course highlighted on a ...

, then to 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 ...

and finally out to the St. Lawrence Seaway. Nowadays Bear Brook flows with less than half its water capacity compared to when the settlers first arrived. When the mill was built the town consisted of a hotel, some stores and approximately 200 people, the majority being English-speaking and of Irish descent. In 1881, the area was renamed Bearbrook Station to reflect the new train station built to transport logs to the St. Lawrence. By 1886, population growth warranted its own post office, lightening the load for postmaster Jack Young, used to delivering mail by horse or snowshoe, depending on the season. As Bearbrook Station became difficult to distinguish from Bearbrook, it was renamed to Vars. Two sources lay claim to this name. The first maintains that a retired Embrun priest, l’Abbé C. Guillaume chose to commemorate the village of Vars in France’s Hautes-Alpes region. The more circulated claim is that the four men responsible for bringing the post office to Bearbrook Station deserved the credit. Their names were McVeigh, Armstrong, Ronan and Smith. As the first letter of each surname spelt MARS, they were relieved they had an alternate letter at their disposal in the McVeigh surname. And so Vars came to be. The people of Bearbrook Station decided to name the community after the four people who brought the post office to the area: Mc(V)eigh, (A)rmstrong, (R)onan, and (S)mith. The second story is that the town was given the name by a retired priest from

Embrun, Ontario Embrun (ˈɛmbrən in English; ), is a community in the Canadian province of Ontario in the Eastern Ontario region. Embrun is also part of the National Capital Region. Embrun is part of the larger Russell Township in Prescott and Russell Unit ...

, l’Abbé C. Guillaume, village of

Vars, Hautes-Alpes Vars () is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department, southeastern France. It is famous for its ski resort, with seven snow parks and of ski slopes. Population See also *Communes of the Hautes-Alpes department The following is a list of th ...

, in France. In 1915, permanent sidewalks were built in the main community area. In 1931, the first street lights were erected, a full year sooner than in their neighbouring community of

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

References

*Brault, L. 1965. Histoire des Comtés Unis de Prescott et de Russell. Conseil des Comtés Unis, L’Original, ON, CAN. *City of Ottawa, Rural Ottawa Counts. ]http://www.ottawa.ca/city_services/statistics/counts/rural/index_en.html] 1891 Census of Canada, 1901 Census of Canada, 1911 Census of Canada.

External links

Vars community website
{{authority control Neighbourhoods in Ottawa