Popular Ottawa Valley history website is back online.
The Pembroke Observer & News
The Historic Westmeath Township Project is a valuable resource for the Upper Ottawa Valley. Since going online in 2013 the website HWTProject.ca has had thousands of visitors interested in the history of the Ottawa Valley.
Researched and written by Gayle McBride Stewart, the website supports general knowledge of our shared history. Written in an easy style and peppered with additional links to enjoy, visitors will find lots of rabbit holes to go down. When as many as over 900 visitors come to the site in one month, you know there is a need and people from around the world are seeking it out.
Stewart has worked to digitize microfiche records from public archives, images of sights and peoples, historic maps, correspondence, journals, and stories. Her research has been eclectic and widespread. The use of pictures is extensive. To see an image of what interests you is a powerful learning tool. She has a journalistic background but now views herself as an average person wanting to have a good layperson’s knowledge of local history. She has also included several old, long-out-of-print books from local writers so that they are available to the modern reader and researcher. Sourcing for most people is to put an idea, question, or noun into a search engine. HWTProject.ca will often be the only result.
When asked about her favourite section the quick answer is Maps. Old maps are hand-drawn works of art, and the website has a treasure trove. Maps showing the “limits” of the lumber companies; maps with paths and trails used by Indigenous Peoples and early settlers, or roads no longer used; maps of transport systems long gone like “Gould’s Line”; maps of explorer Champlain travelling through this area and writing in his journal.
The main section of HWTProject.ca covers a wide array of topics, including the mysterious Ottawa Caves and an introduction of Pembroke Township-born Lumber Baron Alex Fraser and his sons because of a serendipitous set of circumstances. Researching the website has thrown up many unanticipated twists and turns.
The second section, the “Family Registry,” is about the people who came to this area. Nearly 130 pioneer families are included. This alphabetized directory tells the story of when the settlers arrived at Westmeath Township and presents any highlights found in the research of the family. Any military service is denoted with a red poppy, some going back to the 1812-1814 War.
The Riverview Seniors Social Club had proudly sponsored the website through its early years. Its members share roots in the Westmeath Peninsula and Whitewater Region. Now, Stewart is funding it herself.
