Description of Historic Place

The North Gower Old Town Hall was built in 1876 as the Township's first municipal building. This one-storey brick building is situated on Main Street at Roger Stevens Drive, in North Gower and remains a fine example of a modest type of town hall, common in rural Ontario.

The North Gower Old Town Hall has been recognized for its heritage value by the former Township of Rideau, By-law 33/79, on 1 March 1979.

Heritage Value

The North Gower Old Town Hall is associated with the 19th-century development of the community. North Gower Township existed as a geographic entity from the original survey in the late 18th-century, but it was not until the formation of Carleton County, following the Baldwin Act of 1848, that North Gower, the only village at the time, became the seat of municipal government. From 1850 to 1876 municipal meetings were held in a room in James Johnston's hotel. By 1875, Reeve James Wallace began to push for the construction of a proper municipal building.

The site that was selected was purchased from James Craig for $100, and John A. Eastman was contracted to construct the building, which cost the Township $2290 to complete. Council met in the newly constructed Town Hall for the first time on 18 November 1876. This modest building was intended as a public hall, but also accommodated dances and other social events. When the North Gower Council moved into a new building, in 1967, it was turned over to the North Gower Fire Department and a garage (later converted into a public library) was constructed immediately to the north. When the Fire Department vacated the building, in the late 1970s. The building was converted into the Rideau Township Archives in 1990.

Sources: City of Ottawa File XD001 – XMM3200/0003410; Rideau Township Archives, LACAC Files.

Character-Defining Elements

Character defining elements that contribute to the heritage value of the North Gower Old Town Hall include its:
- one storey, hipped roof structure, symmetrical in design
- use of red and yellow brick
- six over six sash, segmental arched windows
- cupola
- brick quoins, voussoirs and stringcourse
- orientation in the heart of North Gower