Thomas MacKay: The Laird of Rideau Hall and the Founding of Ottawa - Paperback

$43.15

Thomas MacKay: The Laird of Rideau Hall and the Founding of Ottawa - Paperback

Name: Thomas MacKay: The Laird of Rideau Hall and the Founding of Ottawa - Paperback
Brand: BooksCloud
SKU: 9780776636788
Price: 43.15 USD
Availability: InStock

by Alastair Sweeny

$43.15

Format

Hardcover $75.55 Paperback $43.15

Book Overview

Thomas Mackay: The Laird of Rideau Hall and the Founding of Ottawa explores the life and times of Thomas Mackay, the chief founder of Bytown/Ottawa.

Born and raised in Perth, Scotland, Mackay and his family emigrated to Montreal in 1817. Partnering with fellow mason John Redpath, he built the locks of the first Lachine Canal, did military construction work at Fort Lennox and St. Helen's Island, and supplied stone for Montreal's Notre Dame Basilica. Engaged by Colonel By of the Royal Engineers to build the Ottawa and Hartwell Locks of the Rideau Canal, Mackay used his profits to found the village of New Edinburgh and build a mill complex at Rideau Falls, as well as the residence his daughter named Rideau Hall. With his hefty canal profits--paid in Spanish silver pieces of eight--Mackay was a major financier of the Ottawa and Prescott Railway, and chief promoter of Ottawa as the capital of Canada. He served as Colonel of the Russell and Carleton militias, was MLA for Russell for seven years, and a member of the Legislative Council of Canada for fifteen.

After Mackay's death in 1855, his son-in-law and estate manager Thomas Keefer sold Rideau Hall to the government to serve as a residence for Canada's Governor General. Keefer also developed a tract of land owned by the estate into the village of Rockcliffe Park, today home to over 70 diplomatic residences.

ISBN	9780776636788
Author	Alastair Sweeny
Publisher	University of Ottawa Press
Genre	Biography
Format	Paperback
Published	February 2022
Edition	2021
Language	ENG- English
Pages	404
Weight	1.0 lb
Target Audience	Adults
Print Size	Standard Print