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PHOTO: CITY OF OTTAWA
Remnants of Our Past
The Pinhey Estate is Where
Past and Present Meet
BY MADELINE KALLIO
Perched high above the Ottawa River, looking across to
Aylmer and the Gatineau Hills, the Pinhey Estate is a remnant
of the incredible history of March Township. In the
early 1800s, a number of wealthy, military members of the
British gentry settled along the river in March Township in
what is now the Dunrobin area. They established businesses,
schools and churches, and became involved in the politics
of the Carleton region. Shortly thereafter, the poor Irish
and Scottish immigrants arrived. They worked for the
wealthy English and attempted to establish their own farms
on the rocky land above the river.
Hamnett Kirkes Pinhey, a wealthy landed English gentleman,
received a 412-hectare grant of land for his services
as a courier for the British Government during the
Napoleonic Wars. He chose the site on the Ottawa River to
be near other military families because he thought they
would be “more polished than civilian farmers.” The site had
a wonderful vantage point to view both directions of the
river, as well as a secluded bay formed by a point in the river.
After building a log house, he returned to England and
brought his wife, Mary Ann, and their two children to the
new land, where two more children were born. From his
arrival in 1820 at the age of 36 until 1840, he established a
working community on the estate with a sawmill, gristmill
and a store that supplied household and farming goods to
the settlers. He built a log cabin, then a log house, a root cel-
Due West Magazine • Page 42 • Summer 2008
lar, ash house, chicken coop, and stable and barn. Pinhey
also contributed to the building of the original St. Mary’s
Church, the ruins of which are adjacent to the Pinhey Estate
and boasts the graves of many of the original settlers in the
area. He named the estate “Horaceville” after his son, the
eldest of four children. The manor house was built in four
stages, three of which are still obvious when viewed from the
front: the stone parlour wing in 1825, the central hall and
kitchen wing between 1841 and 42 and the south wing
between 1847 and 49. Of the first stage, the stone kitchen,
only the chimney is left. The Pinheys and their distinguished
guests lived a lavish life with elegant balls that sometimes lasted
for days. Mrs. Pinhey would play the spinet after dinner.
After the death of Hamnett Pinhey in 1857, Horace
Pinhey lived in the house. The devastating fire of 1871 razed
most of the area, but the estate was saved. Descendants of
the Pinheys occupied the mansion until 1971. At that time,
the estate was in serious disrepair and was sold to the
Township of March. The Pinhey Point Foundation was
formed in 1978 to oversee the restoration of the property,
which it purchased in 1981. Since the estate was sold to the
City of Kanata, and hence the City of Ottawa, in 1990, muchneeded
improvements have been made to the property, and
the public programs to showcase its history have increased
and improved over the last two decades.
Today, the estate has been reduced to 36 hectares.
PHOTO: CITY OF OTTAWA