Braddish Billings
Braddish Billings (
September 23 1783 -
April 8 1864 ) was an early settler in the
Ottawa area.
He was born in
Ware, Massachusetts in 1783, but moved to the
Brockville area with his family when he was 9. He later worked cutting down the
white pine along the
Ottawa River and transporting the logs down river. In 1812, Billings moved to the Ottawa area and settled on a farm south of the
Rideau River in what was then the
Township of Gloucester. He married Lamira Dow of
Merrickville in 1813. In 1830, a bridge was built over the Rideau River near the Billings Farm to make it easier to transport produce into town.
Billings died in 1864 and is buried on the
Billings Estate which has been preserved as a historical site and museum. The Billings House, on the site, was built in 1829.
The area where Billings had his farm and the nearby bridge over the river are now known as
Billings Bridge.
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Billings Estate Museum
