This property was depicted as a vacant lot on Goad's 1878 (sheet #38), then shown as an all-wood row ten years later, making these houses at least 130 years old. Two units have been fitted with rear dormer windows and one with a skylight. The original summer kitchens and rear sheds have been variously modified over the years. The siding, I assume, is not original. There seems to be a plaque, must check that out — also give the siding a poke. All in all, the building seems well-maintained, from the outside at least.
It would be a fair guess that these were built as working-class homes. Woodburn doesn't mention them for 1884, narrowing our construction date window to '84-'88. Polk & Woodburn 1890-'91 does list the houses and gives us a good idea of their original demographic.
245 John Wilson, carpenterMr. O'Connell's employers, Thomas and William Church, operated a planing mill on the southwest corner of Kent and Lisgar (Goad indicates a fire there, with "scattered wood" in October of 1898). I don't know what Mr. McArthur drove but horses were likely involved. It goes without saying that Elizabeth Killeen was a widow, otherwise she would have been known formally as Mrs. James Killeen (and not listed at all).
247 John O'Connell, foreman — Church Brothers
249 Elizabeth Killeen, widow of James
251 Archibald McArthur, driver
Regarding these names in general and Killeen in particular — while most of Bytown's first Irish residents lived in Lower Town or, for that matter, on the banks of the Canal they helped build, many were living in this part of Centretown by the latter decades of the 19th Century. Indeed, I've found evidence of an Irish settlement on Somerset west of Bank at a time when the surrounding land was still deserted. More on that later. Of course, 245-251 Nepean was a stone's throw from what was then the heart of Ottawa's Irish Catholic community, St. Patrick's Church (now Basilica) at Nepean and Kent — completed in 1875.
* * *
Later—
I was able to check out that plaque this AM, the one next to the door of #247. It reads...
c. 1889 Quinn's Row
A classic and simple design in clapboard.
This row was built for Patrick Quinn,
and is the only surviving 19th Century
working class terrace in Centretown.
Designated Heritage Property
Well there you go — I thought it looked oldish. "Circa 1889" does narrow things down a fair bit, though it makes us wonder why Goad portrayed the row as a fait accompli in January of the previous year. It wouldn't be the first time I've seen a heritage plaque slightly at odds with a Goad map.
Patrick Quinn was likely the contractor of that name, listed by Woodburn (1884) as living at 352 Nepean (since demolished). Sadly, the only news mentions I can find for Mr. Quinn involve run-ins with the law — assault (on a woman) and aggressive attempts to "borrow" money from various residents of Metcalfe Street.
Quinn's Row is mentioned in a Heritage Ottawa newsletter from 1986 (pdf).
Oh, and the siding? Definitely vinyl — it wiggles.
