Martin Oswald- Sales Representative

08/07/2026

Open House this Saturday August 8th between 2 to 4 pm. Come visit this lovely 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom home with a fully finished basement. Half Moon Bay Barrhaven. Hosted by Your Ottawa Agent Martin Oswald , ,

08/07/2026

This Sunday in Half Moon Bay between 2 to 4 pm. You are invited to come to an Open House. 🏠 This is one of the few 5 bedrooms homes on the market. Great neighborhood a number of schools. Easy access to highway, close to parks and shopping. Your Ottawa Agent Martin Oswald will be hosting August 9th 2 to 4
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07/23/2026

✨ 5 Bedroom, 4 Bathroom home fully finished basement featuring bedroom, 3 pc bathroom, family room and additional laundry room. ✨ This home 🏠 is built for a big family and great gatherings. Low maintenance yard.
Come and take a look this Sunday between 2 to 4 pm ✨ your host and listing agent Martin Oswald will be there to answer any questions call 📞 direct for private showing 613-797-4456
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07/11/2026

For those who are familiar with Island Park Dr it’s hard to believe the photo. Ain’t that something

Construction of Island Park Drive began 105 years ago today, on July 11, 1921.

Island Park Drive is today a scenic parkway, a tree-lined boulevard, home to historic residences, embassies and families.

Although proposed almost two decades earlier, in the 1903 report of urban planner Frederick G. Todd, construction of Island Park Drive did not finally get underway until July 11, 1921.

Todd’s report, commissioned by the Ottawa Improvement Commission, had recommended Island Park Drive as a “desirable route” which would “continue within the Experimental Farm” beyond which “unoccupied land could be taken for the entire distance, crossing near Merivale Road through beautiful woods… across the Canadian Pacific Railway… over a high elevation where the Parliament Buildings are in full view, and where a view is obtained of the distant Laurentian Mountains” (Gatineau Hills) and across Richmond Road, terminating at a proposed riverside park at the Ottawa River.

Answering the call of Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, who considered Ottawa “not a handsome city” and expressed his vision that Canada’s capital be transformed into a “Washington of the North”, the Ottawa Improvement Commission had commissioned Todd to outline a comprehensive improvement plan for the national capital region.

Todd’s report ended up recommending an extensive interconnected network of parkways, parks and waterways, within Ottawa’s existing city limits and beyond, among which would be Island Park Drive (referred to early on as the “Victoria Parkway” or “West End Driveway”).

Visit the Island Park Community Association’s excellent website to learn more about the fascinating history of Island Park Drive and the IPCA’s work toward preserving the heritage of the Island Park community:

https://www.islandparkcommunityassociation.ca/ipd-history

For a deeper dive, here is a 100th anniversary presentation on the history of Island Park Drive, including the “Who’s who” of Ottawa’s past who have lived in the community, researched and prepared by Island Park resident Jennifer Gillespie:

https://www.islandparkcommunityassociation.ca/ipd-history?fbclid=IwY2xjawSaMNJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFJdlEyTDlTbzNIQWRoSWlUc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHrhsYPJNiaH391tgmQzDODzedjUhlhu43Dt9bby25HYs350iofFGPYDDdunq_aem_BvQojcXBJRNNz03FrGVSrQ

Of interest as well is this article on construction of the Champlain Bridge, from Dave Allston’s Kitchissippi Museum blog:

https://kitchissippimuseum.blogspot.com/2023/01/the-1920s-champlain-bridge-construction

06/26/2026

[email protected] 200 Bay St Ottawa between Laurier and Slater. This one 🛏️ one 🛁 with in suite laundry and underground garage parking is looking to go steady with a qualified buyer who’s looking to relocate. This unit also has a balcony that’s just over 25 ft long. Minutes to LRT, groceries and a short walk to parliament hill. If you would like to look 👀 give me a call Martin Oswald Realtor with ReMax Hallmark Realty Group. 📞 613-797-4456.

06/25/2026

Sadly these sellers have to move on. Great opportunity for a new family to enjoy this lovely detached. 4 🛏️ 3 🛁 🏠 in Half Moon Bay. Come take a look this Sunday June 27th from 2 to 4 pm ,

06/23/2026

It’s always so rewarding to see people succeed. We traveled from one end of the city to the other. Military moves allow a short amount of time for its members to shop and secure a home. So pleased with the results!

06/16/2026

Who knew that the house had a connection to Ottawa’s colourful past.

BYTOWN BICENTENNIAL BYTE! AYLEN-HENEY HOUSE… The stone cottage at 150 Richmond Road is a link to the colourful world of Bytown’s lumber industry in the early 19th century. Peter Aylen (1799-1868), "a man of insatiable ambition" according to his biographer Michael Cross, was a successful timber producer and later public official who held cutting rights along the Gatineau and Madawaska rivers in the 1830s and 1840s.

For a time, Aylen was known as the “King of the Shiners,” leading Irish Catholic labourers in a campaign of violence in Lowertown against French-Canadians, led by Joseph Montferrand, who were competing for work in the lumber camps. Known as the 'Shiners' Wars,’ the open violence only came to an end with the creation of the Ottawa Lumber Association.

Aylen purchased land on Richmond Road near present day Kirkwood Avenue in 1821 and 1825. He established a 150-acre farm containing a two-storey house, barns, and other outbuildings, as advertised for lease in the Bytown Gazette in 1836. Aylen moved to a farm in Lower Canada on the north side of the Ottawa River in 1837, following several years of promoting violence in Bytown affairs.

John 'Buffalo' Heney (1814-1896) purchased the property in 1854 where his family remained for nearly 100 years. ‘Buffalo’ Heney was so named to distinguish him from the more prominent John Heney, a Lowertown businessman, politician and temperance campaigner. He was successful in the leather manufacturing business and in real estate in Upper Town, and he represented Wellington Ward on city council for six years.

Heney’s son, Frederick, continued to live in the house with his wife. They called it "Syringa Cottage” according to the birth announcements that appeared in the newspapers in the 1890s. In 1900, the family moved across the street to a 33-room mansion that they designed and built. It was referred to as “Carleton Lodge” in birth notices and in newspaper reports of the lavish social events the Heneys hosted there. The mansion was demolished in 1947 to make way for the construction of the Canadian Bank Note Company, which remains on the site today.

Ottawa entrepreneur Eric Cohen purchased 150 Richmond Road from the Heney’s in 1988. It was his research of the property's history that led to its designation under the Ontario Heritage Act that same year. The designation by-law includes this description:

"The symmetrical design and unusual proportions exhibit a layering of architectural changes reflected by a vernacular blend of English Georgian stylistic features with traditional French Canadian building elements. Of particular note are the large rough-cut stone coins, half-round fanlight over the centre entrance, casement windows and metal-clad mansard roof with flared or bell-cast eaves. These architectural features, combined with the building’s close proximity to the street, create a minor landmark along this section of Richmond Road."

Cohen carried out a major restoration of the house, converting it from a rough, derelict residential duplex to an impressive updated heritage commercial property, now the offices of ZW Group.
The next time you’re travelling or walking along that stretch of Richmond Road, take moment to stop and admire this impressive little stone house.

Sources
Ottawa Historical Society. The Shiners' War.
https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/publications/ottawa-stories/momentous-events-in-the-city-s-life/the-shiners-war

Michael S. Cross, “Aylen (Vallely), Peter,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography: https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/aylen_peter_9E.html

Dave Allston. “Early Days: Richmond Road’s Home With a Forgotten Name,” Kitchissippi Times, August 18, 2016.

Dave Allston. “Hidden History of Kitchissippi's Own Pioneer House,” Kitchissippi Times, February 4,

CAPSULES DU BICENTENAIRE DE BYTOWN! MAISON AYLEN-HENEY... La maison de style cottage au 150, chemin Richmond est un lien à l’ère tumultueuse de l’industrie du bois à Bytown au début du 19e siècle. Peter Aylen (1799-1868) était « un homme à l’ambition insatiable », selon son biographe Michael Cross. Il était un producteur de bois prospère, titulaire de droits de coupe le long des rivières Gatineau et Madawaska dans les années 1830 et 1840. Avec le temps, il assumera aussi diverses responsabilités publiques.

À une époque, Aylen était « le roi des Shiners », des ouvriers irlandais catholiques qui menaient une campagne de violence dans la Basse-Ville contre les Canadiens français dirigés par Joseph (« Jo ») Montferrand, en concurrence pour le travail dans les camps de bûcherons. C’est ce qu’on appellera la « guerre des Shiners ». La brutalité ouverte ne prendra fin qu’avec la création de l’Ottawa Lumber Association.

Aylen a acheté du terrain sur le chemin Richmond, près de l’avenue Kirkwood d’aujourd’hui, en 1821 et 1825. Il y établit une ferme de 150 acres avec une maison de deux étages, des granges et autres dépendances, le tout annoncé à louer dans la Bytown Gazette en 1836. En 1837, Aylen déménage dans une ferme au Bas-Canada, du côté nord de la rivière des Outaouais, après avoir passé des années à fomenter la violence à Bytown.

John « Buffalo » Heney (1814-1896) achète la propriété en 1854. Sa famille y vivra presque 100 ans. « Buffalo » Heney avait reçu son surnom pour le distinguer d’un autre John Heney, éminent homme d’affaires de la Basse-Ville, politicien et militant en faveur de la tempérance. Il a connu le succès dans la fabrication d’articles de cuir et dans l’immobilier dans la Haute-Ville, et il représentera pendant six ans le quartier Wellington au conseil municipal.

Son fils Frederick et son épouse continueront de vivre dans la maison. Ils l’appelaient « Syringa Cottage », selon les annonces de naissance parues dans les journaux dans les années 1890. En 1900, la famille déménage de l’autre côté de la rue dans un manoir qu’ils ont conçu et construit. On l’appelait « Carleton Lodge » dans de nouvelles annonces de naissance et dans des articles de journal sur de somptueuses rencontres sociales qu’y organisaient les Heney. Le manoir sera démoli en 1947 pour faire place à l’immeuble de la Compagnie canadienne des billets de banque, qui est toujours là aujourd’hui.

L’entrepreneur ottavien Eric Cohen achètera le 150, chemin Richmond des Heney en 1988. La même année, les recherches qu’il effectue sur l’histoire de la propriété mènent à sa désignation en vertu de la Loi sur le patrimoine de l’Ontario. Le règlement de désignation comprend cette description :

« La symétrie et les proportions inhabituelles témoignent d’une superposition de changements architecturaux visibles dans une combinaison vernaculaire d’éléments de style géorgien anglais et d’éléments traditionnels canadiens français. En particulier, il y a les pierres d’angle de taille grossière, l’imposte semi-circulaire au-dessus de l’entrée centrale, les fenêtres à battants, le toit mansardé à revêtement métallique et les avant-toits évasés ou en cloche. Ces éléments architecturaux, ainsi que la proximité de l’immeuble de la rue, font que l’immeuble est un immeuble marquant sur ce tronçon du chemin Richmond. »

Cohen a mené à bien une grande restauration de la maison. Il a transformé un duplex résidentiel délabré en impressionnante propriété patrimoniale commerciale qui abrite maintenant les bureaux du groupe ZW.
La prochaine fois que vous passez par cette section du chemin Richmond, prenez le temps de vous arrêter pour admirer cette merveilleuse petite maison en pierre.

Sources
Société historique d’Ottawa. « La guerre des Shiners ».
https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/publications/ottawa-stories/momentous-events-in-the-city-s-life/the-shiners-war

Michael S. Cross, « Aylen (Vallely), Peter », dans Dictionnaire biographique du Canada : https://www.biographi.ca/fr/bio/aylen_peter_9F.html

Dave Allston. « Early Days: Richmond Road’s Home With a Forgotten Name », Kitchissippi Times, 18 août 2016.

Dave Allston. « Hidden History of Kitchissippi's Own Pioneer House », Kitchissippi Times, 4 février 2019.

06/13/2026

The story behind Last Duel Park in Perth.

Andrew King shares the story of Upper Canada’s last fatal duel — fought right here in the Ottawa Valley on June 13, 1833.

"The picturesque town of Perth seems an unlikely setting for a twisted love story that evolved into a tragic clash between friends who would become unwilling participants in what was to be Upper Canada’s last fatal duel.

And yet, on a rain soaked June 13 in 1833, Robert Lyon, 20, crumpled to the ground when 23-year-old John Wilson fired a bullet into his lungs.

The players in this deadly duel were part of Perth’s unusual social hierarchy at that time. Most of the town’s population comprised of civilian Scottish immigrants and War of 1812 veterans. It was a village of officers and immigrants whose social classes divided the population, creating an isolated town in the wilderness of Upper Canada that existed under semi-military rule.

John Wilson and Robert Lyon were both law students and friends who had come to Perth to study under prominent established barristers. Lyon was the son of a Scottish officer in the British army and a handsome athlete with aristocratic ideals and associations. Wilson was the opposite, a man from the country who supported himself without any establishment connections. It was in Perth that he met Lyon and a young school teacher from England by the name of Elizabeth Hughes.

According to an account by Judge Edward Shortt, Wilson was quite taken by the young Miss Hughes who apparently did not reciprocate. Deflated, Wilson left for Bytown while another suitor arrived: Henry LeLievre.

LeLievre was a gregarious pal of Robert Lyon, and the two took the young Miss Hughes on a date where it was said that Lyon put “his arms about her in a position which no woman of spirit would permit.”

An infuriated Wilson found out and wrote a letter to a friend in Perth stating that Lyon should be confronted for his actions, and as small town gossip goes, the letter’s message reached Lyon who said it was joke just to make Wilson jealous.

To Wilson, it was no joke and the two men soon met on the streets of Perth where they got into a fight, Lyon knocking Wilson to the ground. With blood pouring down his face, Wilson asked his former friend if they could work things out, but Lyon refused.

Wilson, trying to preserve his dignity and feeling a need to gain the respect of the town, challenged Lyon to a duel. Lyon accepted and the two men agreed to a pistol duel on the morning of June 13.

The duel took place across the Scotch Line on the outskirts of town with Wilson accompanied by his “second”, Simon Robertson, and Lyon accompanied by his pal LeLievre. Using a duelling pistol set acquired from a local store, the two met in a rain-soaked field by the Tay canal near what is now South Street.

According to the surgeon present, a first shot was fired but both parties had missed. Wilson and Lyon both suggested they would like to reconcile, but LeLievre would not hear of it and he re-loaded Lyon’s pistol.

Lyon levelled his pistol at Wilson who fired, his bullet piercing Lyon’s right breast, perforating his lungs and killing him. Wilson, laden with regret, turned himself in to the local authorities.

The trial was held in Brockville where Wilson acted as his own lawyer and his passionate self-defence resulted in his acquittal. After leaving Perth in 1834 to open a law practice in London, Ont., he married a young woman and started a family. Her name was Elizabeth Hughes. It seems the school teacher’s feelings for Wilson miraculously altered after the duel. Wilson would later become judge of the Superior Court and be elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province Of Canada.

Today, the pistols of the last duel reside in a small display case at the local Perth Museum where a small card explains their significance. (In 1974, the fatal duel pistols were mysteriously stolen from the Perth Museum but were later found buried in front of the town hall.)

Lyon’s zealous pal LeLievre fled the country immediately after the incident. A search for Robert Lyon reveals his grave sits quietly in a small cemetery outside of town, metres away from where he fell almost 200 years ago. An unfortunate victim of a tragic love story, his unmarked headstone, now almost illegible, reads:

“Friendship Offering Dedicated To the Memory of ROBERT LYON, Student at law. He fell in mortal combat, 13 of June 1833 in the 20th year of his Age, Requieseat in Pace.”

(Article written by Andrew King for the Ottawa Citizen)