The Bytown museum is kicking off a year-long celebration to mark Bytown’s 200th anniversary. Bytown was founded in September 1826, and the museum has a lineup of programming planned to mark the 200-year anniversary of the occasion throughout 2026. Bytown was renamed to Ottawa in 1855, when the town was incorporated as a city. “In 1826, Lieutenant-Colonel By was sent from England here to this region to supervise the construction of the Rideau Canal, and as a result, he also led the development of the settlement of Bytown which later became Ottawa,” Chloe Dennis, exhibition and collections manager at the Bytown Museum, told CTV Your Morning Ottawa on Friday. Dennis says the museum has big plans for 2026, starting with the 200+ Kickoff Fundraiser on Jan. 30. “There’s going to be a performance by the Bytown Sea Shanty Collective, a silent auction, as well as just an opportunity to socialize and gather with the community,” Dennis said. The museum has a behind the scenes tour event lined up for February, a portrait exhibition planned for May, as well as interactive events planned for Winterlude, Doors Open Ottawa and National Indigenous People’s Day. “[We’re] focusing on the people who have lived, worked and made community in Bytown and Ottawa, past and the present,” Dennis said. “Really, focusing on how Ottawa is a strong place of community because of those people who call it home.” Dennis says the museum will also be celebrating the centuries of history in the area that preceded Bytown’s founding. “We’re kind of looking at it more as a 200 plus anniversary as well, because the history of the region began long before 1826,” Dennis said. “The Anishinaabe Algonquin have lived, hunted, and really gathered on the land surrounding the Kitchissippi or the Ottawa River since time immemorial. So, there’s a lot of ways to kind of mark anniversaries like this, so we’re trying to reflect on it.” The celebration will be capped off with a multi-day event in September. “We’re really all working up to a three-day weekend event in September to mark that exact anniversary of when of Lieutenant-Colonel By came to the area,” Dennis said. “Three days, big scale programing. Lots to look forward to.” The City of Ottawa also has celebrations planned to mark the bicentennial, including a signature music event delivered by Ottawa Bluesfest, outdoor youth and family-friendly events at Marion Dewar Plaza and the launch of the “downtown Arts, Culture and Entertainment District.” The Bytown Museum is located at the Ottawa locks between the Parliament buildings and the Chateau Laurier. More information on events at the Bytown Museum can be found here.
