By Sue Stefko
(Appeared in the Glebe Report, March 2025)
This article is part two about street names in the Glebe Annex, considering another three east-west oriented streets in the neighbourhood, Powell, Clemow and a somewhat rather mysteriously named Maclean.
Powell Ave initially stretched a single block between Bell and Turner (now Cambridge), and was called Ernest St. In 1901, despite pressure to extend the street to Concession (Bronson), the city refused, arguing that adjoining properties would not benefit by doing so. However, by 1905 the city relented and agreed to extend the road to Bronson, even though some families would have to be displaced. Ernest seems to have been renamed Powell Ave in 1909, when lots on Powell Ave between Bronson and Bank began to be marketed for development.
Powell was named after William Frederick (WF Powell) Powell, a politician and Chief of the Ottawa Police. The development of Powell and Clemow avenues were closely linked. Senator Francis Clemow married Margaret Powell, the sister of WF Powell. WF Powell owned about 65 acres of land at the edge of town, including the future location of Powell and Clemow avenues. In a joint real estate venture, called Clemow-Powell Realty (later Clemora Realty), the Clemows and Powells started subdividing the land in 1906, offering them as prime building lots over the next several years.
The Glebe Annex portion of Clemow Ave used to be a short street called Crawford that stretched from Concession (Bronson) to Bell. It was named after Mrs. Crawford of Toronto, a member of the Sherwood family who owned the area, then planned to be a subdivision. However, the neighbourhood grew more slowly than envisaged. The street’s first inhabitant was Sergeant Sam Chandler. He moved to Mount Sherwood in 1874 and built a house in the planned subdivision area. However, no subdivision was developed. There were in fact no other homes built, and not even a road. Vehicles ran on the grassed area until they formed somewhat of a road. The house was described like being in a commons, as it was surrounded by open fields and bush with wild plums, grapes and apples, as well as roaming cows.
Crawford was changed to Clemow Ave in 1915, once the street flowed into Clemow on the east (Glebe) side, which was named after the aforementioned Senator Clemow. Among Clemow’s many accomplishments, he was a journalist (and founder of a newspaper called The Monarchist), a merchant, the president of Ottawa Gas Works, and Chairman of the Ottawa Collegiate Institute, as well as a politician before becoming senator.
The eastern part of Clemow was developed as part of the Clemora Realty project between 1904 and 1914. Streetcars enabled the creation of city suburbs, as the Glebe was considered at the time. Clemow envisaged the neighbourhood as a grand statement, carefully planning every detail, such as the trees, lampposts, no unsightly telephone poles, and homes built by renowned architects. The careful design and planning effort was a result of a public-private partnership between the Ottawa Improvement Commission (a precursor to the National Capital Commission) and private developers to ensure long-term aesthetic beauty of the street.
Maclean St is among the most untouched streets in the neighbourhood, though named both McLean and Maclean over the years. It is shown in an 1879 map of Ottawa, and always seemed to be only one block in length.
Photo: The length of Maclean St, one of the few streets in the Glebe Annex that have retained their initial name. Photo by Gabrielle Dallaporta
Orangeville according to the H. Belden & Co. 1879 atlas of Carleton County.
1887 map showing Elizabeth, Dolly Varden and Henry Street.
Source: Map of the City of Ottawa and the City of Hull, compiled by John A. Snow and Son, 1887. Credit: City of Ottawa Archives.
