Manotick

Manotick straddles the Rideau River between Rideau Road to the north and Century Road/First Line/Roger Stevens Drive to the south. The eastern boundary is Dozois Road/Gough Road/Manotick Station Road and to the west is Veterans Memorial Highway (Hwy 416). The neighbourhood includes the communities of Manotick Village, Long Island, Colony Heights, Nicholls Island, Watterson Corners, and Mahogany.

Manotick takes its name from an Ojibwa word meaning ’island in the river’. The Manotick area was first settled during the 1830s by Moss Kent Dickinson (who also named the community) and Joseph Merrill Currier for the primary purposes of logging, milling, and trading following the construction of the Rideau Canal. However, as the commercial importance of the Rideau Canal declined so did the town’s commercial significance and the population declined.

The population in the village rebounded as Manotick came to be viewed by some as a bedroom community for Ottawa, joining the City of Ottawa in 2001. With perceived over-development of housing in south Ottawa, including the rapid growth of communities in Barrhaven and Riverside South, Manotick has endeavored to maintain its character and property values by carefully managing growth and working closely with developers.

Today residents continue to celebrate the town’s early regard with a one day festival every June.