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History and Evolution
Confederation Heights is part of the ancestral territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation. Early settlements started in the late 18th Century, with Braddish Billings being one of the early settlers in the area. Billings built the Sawmill that resulted in the naming of Sawmill Creek, and the first Billings Bridge, connecting the area to Ottawa to the north. Beyond farming, the area was used for resource extraction, including rock and clay. Mostly, the area remained rural until the 20th Century.
The Confederation Heights area as it is known today is mostly the result of two major plans. In 1915, the Holt Plan designated large parcels of lands along the Rideau River for federal parkland for the use of the general public. It is thanks to this plan that we have Vincent Massey Park, Hog’s Back Park and Mooney’s Bay Park. In 1950, the Gréber Plan was released which led to a federal employment development spur in the 1950s and 1960s, when the site was transformed into the federal government campus it is today.
The campus’s current layout is the result of over 100 years of infrastructure projects (roads, railways and bridges), the topography of the site, as well as the Holt and Gréber plans. Today, we identify Confederation Heights as having irregularly shaped parcels with federal office buildings and large federal parks.
Most of the buildings that stand within the campus today were built between 1950s and 1960s. The site has three “recognized” and one “classified” Federal Heritage Buildings within the study area.
Confederation Heights is part of the ancestral territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation. Early settlements started in the late 18th Century, with Braddish Billings being one of the early settlers in the area. Billings built the Sawmill that resulted in the naming of Sawmill Creek, and the first Billings Bridge, connecting the area to Ottawa to the north. Beyond farming, the area was used for resource extraction, including rock and clay. Mostly, the area remained rural until the 20th Century.
The Confederation Heights area as it is known today is mostly the result of two major plans. In 1915, the Holt Plan designated large parcels of lands along the Rideau River for federal parkland for the use of the general public. It is thanks to this plan that we have Vincent Massey Park, Hog’s Back Park and Mooney’s Bay Park. In 1950, the Gréber Plan was released which led to a federal employment development spur in the 1950s and 1960s, when the site was transformed into the federal government campus it is today.
The campus’s current layout is the result of over 100 years of infrastructure projects (roads, railways and bridges), the topography of the site, as well as the Holt and Gréber plans. Today, we identify Confederation Heights as having irregularly shaped parcels with federal office buildings and large federal parks.
Most of the buildings that stand within the campus today were built between 1950s and 1960s. The site has three “recognized” and one “classified” Federal Heritage Buildings within the study area.
