Sarsfield, Ontario is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in Cumberland Ward in the east portion of the City of

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

in the former township of

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

History

The first residents of Sarsfield were mostly

French-Canadians French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the provi ...

from

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

. In 1854, families began to establish in the Sarsfield region. Family names at that time included: Potvin, St-Denis, D'Aoust, Lafrance, Dessaint and Ethier. One of these colonizers,

Sévère D'Aoust Sévère D'Aoust (or Daoust) born in Vaudreuil, Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established ...

, bought land from the Crown and later gave part of this land for the construction of a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church. The construction of the church had such an impact on the village that it was known as Daoust's Corner. The region was also known as Bear Brook. Construction for the new church was completed in 1886. The church celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2011. In June 2011, strong winds and intense lightning caused the churches's

steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a relig ...

to fall off. It was replaced a few months later. It was destroyed a second time after the May 2022 Canadian derecho The village was renamed Sarsfield in 1874 when an Irishman, Michael O'Meara, opened a post office and gave it the name of an Irish hero,

Patrick Sarsfield Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan ( 1655 – 21 August 1693) was an Irish army officer. Killed at Battle of Landen, Landen in 1693 while serving in the French Royal Army, he is now best remembered as an Irish patriot and military hero. Born ...

. In 2000, the Township of Cumberland was amalgamated to the City of Ottawa.

Notable people

Don Boudria Don Boudria (born August 30, 1949) is a former Canadian politician and current senior associate at Sandstone Group, an Ottawa-based executive advisory firm. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1984 to 2006 as a member of the Libera ...

, former

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

MP from 1984 to 2006, and

government house leader The Government House Leader, officially known as the leader of the Government in the House of Commons of Canada (), is the Cabinet minister responsible for planning and managing the government's legislative program in the House of Commons of ...

* Ferdinand Larose (1888–1955),

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the Uni ...

, who planted the Larose Forest was born in Sarsfield.

References

External links

The Village of Sarsfield's official website
Neighbourhoods in Ottawa {{EasternOntario-geo-stub