Ken’s Bygone Sandy Hill

The story of 47-49 Daly Avenue, part 2: the birth of the Ottawa Mission

Ken Clavette

Built in 1861, the double stone home at 47 and 49 Daly Ave. is one of the oldest homes in the neighbourhood. The Herons, an Irish traveling musical family, made it their home for 51 years. Mary Heron married Richard Scott, who had been the mayor of Ottawa and subsequently a member of provincial parliament, member of parliament, and member of the federal cabinet. Between 1874 and 1892, the family rented the unit at 49 Daly Ave. to Miss Harmon, a well-known Ottawa educator in the last half of the nineteenth century, who ran an all-girls school.

The building was designated a heritage property by the City of Ottawa in 1991. According to the City, “the purpose of this designation is to recognize the important role this building has played in the social history of Ottawa and to protect a fine example of a rare Ottawa housing type; the classically proportioned, stone double dwelling.” The major reason for this designation was to recognize that since 1912, the building served as the home of the Union Mission, now called the Ottawa Mission.

On January 1, 1907, the Ottawa Citizen reported that a new institution was to open the following day. The headline read: “For the unfortunate—Union Mission Opening Shelter for Homeless in Ottawa.” The Mission has its roots in the leadership of Ottawa’s Protestant churches. Inspired by the Old Brewery Mission in Montreal, it opened at 75 George St. in the ByWard Market. The founders believed there was a need for a home for the poor and unfortunate in every large city, and Ottawa was no different. “It will have for its object the sheltering of homeless men or needy strangers as well the reclaiming of drink victims,” stated Reverend W. G. Taylor of the Old Brewery Mission. He believed that in order to be successful, the Mission needed to have “representatives of every Protestant church in the city […] at its head,” and that cooperation of Ottawa’s businessmen would also be necessary. In his words, “If this mission can save only one poor soul in a year, it is money well spent.”

The first building to house the Mission was a wood frame dwelling at 75 George St. The dining room could seat about 24 men, and the sleeping quarters had a dozen beds. The average cost of a single meal was 10 cents, while three meals and a night’s lodging cost 40 cents. Tickets were sold to merchants and to “charitably disposed persons who may give them to applicants whom they consider worthy,” as published in the Ottawa Citizen. Soon, 15 beds were added in the attic.

The need for the Mission was demonstrated when, in its first month, it served 1,800 meals. The chief of police congratulated the officers of the Mission on the “reclaiming of several noted frequenters who have heretofore been a nuisance to the police and public.” Newspapers reported on the early success of the Mission, noting that “enlarging of the present quarters will be only a question of a very short time.”

The Mission was interested in helping more than just men. In August of 1907, women volunteers organized a family picnic at Rockcliffe Park with sports and games. Such an event was valued by many poorer families who did not get such breaks. The Ottawa Citizen reported that “one tired mother brought along two pairs of twins, the quartets all being less than three years of age.”

The Mission’s first annual meeting was held on February 13, 1908. While adopting a constitution, there was a lengthy discussion as to the desirability of including the loaded term “rescue” in the name. In the end, it was agreed that it would be known as “The Union Mission for Men.” The use of the word “union” in Canada indicated that the organization was a union of Protestant churches that would carry out the work together. However, newspaper coverage would refer to the Mission using the word “rescue” for years to come. Membership was set at $1 a year for men, and women who annually contributed at least 50 cents could also be members of the society. A motion was passed to seek a city grant and another to start the process to purchase the building it was renting.

From the start, the need continually outgrew the Mission’s space. As early as in its second year of operation, a committee was established to find a new location. The Mission moved to a larger building at 26 George St., frequently housing 50 to 60 men a night and serving 2,700 meals a month. But even that building was not large enough to meet the need.

By 1912, the Heron family had sold the property at 47 and 49 Daly Ave. The new owner, a Mr. Copland, was applying to demolish the building and had received a building permit for a new $28,000 apartment building. It is not known why that work did not take place, but shortly thereafter, it was reported that the Mission had acquired the buildings and was undertaking renovations. The Ottawa Journal reported that the new building would contain sleeping accommodations for one hundred men who were to be provided with lavatory and bathing facilities, “for each guest at the mission must wash thoroughly and have his clothes fumigated before he goes to bed.” There was even a quiet room that provided the “opportunity to write home, if they have a home.”

The Mission that the Sandy Hill community has come to know over the past 114 years opened here on December 3, 1912. Guests enjoyed a musical program, and tours were given to those who had made donations to purchase the Daly Avenue homes. The managers reported that between 1907 and December 1911, they had served 67,967 meals, supplied 67,967 beds, held 1,833 gospel meetings, and, of the 69,105 men who registered for employment, jobs had been found for 10,234 of them.

Peter Tilley, Executive Director of the present-day Ottawa Mission, made a presentation to the Historical Society of Ottawa in 2023 saying that, from its start, the guiding principle was that “no man would ever be turned away the first night they came to the Mission.” He said the “three hots and a cot” (three meals and a bed), the Mission’s initial offering, is still a key component of their services today. But the organization now provides a much wider range of services to the community; it offers job readiness and job training assistance, and it operates two mixed-market rental buildings, an addictions program, and a food services training program based in the former Rideau Bakery. Primary health care, mental health, dental care, foot care, and a wide range of educational and housing supports, as well as a food truck program are among the many programs that have been developed over the years. Several years ago, a neighbour of mine who was living in a rooming house was dying of cancer. As his life ended, he was cared for in the Ottawa Mission Hospice. Special care continues to be given to those in need by the Mission at the heritage homes at 47 – 49 Daly Ave.

After I finished my research, I couldn’t stop thinking of the irony that in 1912, the Mission came to buy the Herons’ homes at 47 and 49 Daly Ave. Since 1907, the Mission has provided services to those whose lives have been affected by alcohol. Through the 1853 marriage of Mary Heron to Richard Scott, the buildings are forever connected to the Canada Temperance Act; while he was a member of parliament, Scott drafted Canada’s first temperance legislation in 1879. The act that has been known ever since as the Scott Act allowed municipalities to ban the sale of alcohol.