No provincial plaque for Great Fire of 1870 but marker still coming

Posted Jan 26, 2012 By John Curry

EMC News - A plaque commemorating the Great Fire of 1870 which leveled Stittsville as it swept through the area is still in the plans of the Goulbourn Township Historical Society.

The Historical Society had been seeking a provincial historical plaque to mark this happening and last fall did apply to the Ontario Heritage Trust for such a plaque.

The Historical Society provided historical information to back up its request and provided letters of support from several community organizations and city of Ottawa Stittsville ward councillor Shad Qadri.

In addition, the Historical Society also had its portion of the funds required for such a plaque. These funds would come from monies that the Historical Society still holds from revenue left over from the sale of Nevada tickets at the former Bradley's Your Independent Grocer in Stittsville after the Historical Society paid off from this source costs related to the development of Village Square Park in Stittsville.

But, as Historical Society president Barbara Bottriell noted in her report to members at the Society's annual general meeting last Saturday, Jan. 21, the application for a provincial historical plaque marking the Great Fire of 1870 was not approved by the Board of Directors of the Ontario Heritage Trust.

The Board of Directors apparently felt that the Great Fire of 1870, while an event that had profound local and regional significance, did not merit a provincial plaque.

The Historical Society, though, while finding this response disappointing, is still committed to erecting an historical marker in Stittsville for the Great Fire of 1870 and will be pursuing how best to achieve this.

john.curry@metroland.com