The Founding of Osgoode Township
Named for William Osgoode, the first Chief Justice of Upper Canada, Osgoode Township was established on lands the British acquired from the Mississaugas in the 1780s. Land for farming and a plentiful supply of white pine and white oak attracted the first non-native settlers, the families of Archibald and Catherine McDonell and William and Ann York, who arrived in 1827. They founded the new communty's first industries and institutions, and they built the first two roads in the Township, converging here at what was Baker's Corners. These roads, the Rideau Canal and railway lines between Osgoode and Bytown (now Ottawa) encouraged further settlement, and the Township was incorporated in 1850. On January 1, 2001, Osgoode Township became part of the City of Ottawa.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Ontario Plaques. Full page here.