Barrhaven’s Brief History Is Worth Knowing About

Last week was Heritage Week, an excellent opportunity to celebrate what built the community we call home.

Barrhaven’s history is shorter, as it’s relatively newer, but it’s still worth learning about.

For example, the stone house on Long Gate Court. Built by James Long in 1904, a descendant of Nepean pioneers from Mountshannon, Ireland, the house was the family farmhouse.

James Long married Ida Davidson in 1919. They had one child, Beatrice Lois May Long, who renamed the farm Longfields before selling it to a developer in the 1990s on the condition the farmhouse remains in place

James Long, Davidson, Mountshannon, Beatrice…familiar names! It’s also wholesome husband and wife continue to be together through Longfields-Davidson Heights Secondary School.

Have you also noticed Fallowfield Road’s S-bends near its intersections with Greenbank, Woodroffe, and Merivale?

Much of Nepean was surveyed using the “single front” method, where lot divisions were drawn from one concession to the next, errors became apparent at junctions where roads would offset one another. As communities develop and roads become busier, offsets were corrected through S-bends.

We’re still writing Barrhaven’s history. Whether it’s family decisions or employee mistakes, you and I are shaping Barrhaven’s future. Let’s keep in touch with our past in the process.