By Sue Stefko
(Appeared in the Glebe Report, May 2025)
This article in the street name series will consider the north-south streets in the Glebe Annex.
Lebreton Street was named after Captain John Le Breton, an army officer, farmer and mill-owner. Lebreton attained notoriety in 1820 after he bought land stretching from what is now Lebreton Flats down to Dow’s Swamp (now Dow’s Lake). The government planned to build a canal between the two bodies of water, largely for military purposes. Lebreton found out, scheming to buy the property and sell it back to the government at an inflated price. The government refused to give into Lebreton’s demands, instead changing plans for the canal to avoid his lands, a longer and more costly route.
Cambridge Street went through different iterations before it came to its current name. Its origins were tied to the 1820 land deal described above. The street was originally called Sherwood, after Judge Levius P. Sherwood. Sherwood and LeBreton split the cost and the land, with part of Sherwood’s area now known as the Glebe Annex. (However, some surmise that the street was named after Edward Sherwood, a lawyer and Registrar of the County of Carleton in the 1800s.) Although referred to as Turner since at least 1890, in 1900, the name Sherwood was officially changed to Turner, likely to avoid duplication with the already existing Sherwood Drive. The new name paid homage to Colonel Turner, a British officer who helped create the first Canadian militia units, an important step in creating an independent Canadian military force that was separate from the British forces. Colonel Turner’s daughter married into the Sherwood family.
In 1922, local residents wanted to change the street’s name, as it had a reputation for being a rough area, and it was hard to sell real estate there. To rebrand the street, they requested it be called Richmond Avenue, but the City thought it would be confused with Richmond Road, so the board asked for another name to be brought forward. In 1923, the road was renamed Cambridge Street. Cambridge had long existed but stopped at Gladstone. Today there is still a brief jog at Gladstone where Cambridge is briefly interrupted. It’s uncertain what Cambridge is named after, but a number of Ottawa streets were named after towns in the United Kingdom, which may be the case here.
Bell Street had been named Lisgar until 1900, most likely named after Lord Lisgar, Canada’s second Governor General, an Irish nobleman and lawyer. He was a strong supporter of a united Canada and promoted the concept of a national identity. After Mount Sherwood was annexed by the City of Ottawa, a name change was required to avoid duplication, given the name was already in use. It was thought that Bell was named after Irish-born Robert Bell, the founder of the Bytown and Prescott Railway. He bought the newspaper called the Bytown Packet in 1849, changing its name to the Citizen in 1851.
Bronson Avenue had initially been called Concession Street due to its role in land division. In the 18th and 19th century, concessions were used to divide land to organize settlements and land grants. Concession roads served as dividing lines between land parcels and were often used as thoroughfares. This segment of Concession Street was the boundary of the city of Ottawa until Mount Sherwood was annexed to the city in 1889. The name remained Concession until 1905. However, its name change to Bronson was not without controversy. Local Alderman Davidson, who championed the change, did not first obtain the approval of a county judge. This step was mandated to avoid frivolous name changes, which had in the past caused confusion and incurred unnecessary expenses. However, by the time this omission had been brought to light, many of the new signs were already up, and so the city let it pass.
While the process of the name change was controversial, the name itself seemed well-accepted. The street was named after Erskine Henry (EH) Bronson, a prominent American-born businessman. The Bronson family was key to Ottawa’s industrial development, especially relating to forest products and energy. Among his many accomplishments, EH Bronson was head of the Bronson and Weston Lumber Company (which was founded by his father), President of the Ottawa Power Company, co-founder of the Standard Electric Light Company, he built a power generation station at Chaudière Falls, and was president of the Upper Ottawa Improvement Company Ltd. He was also a philanthropist, supporting many churches and charities.
Fire insurance map: 1912 Ottawa Fire Insurance Map, showing Cambridge and part of Turner Street on the south side of Gladstone, before the southern portion was renamed Cambridge in 1923.
Source: Ottawa Fire Insurance Plans, 1912 (revised and reprinted June 1912), Chas. E. Goad, Montreal; Toronto
Photo: The jog of Cambridge Street at Gladstone, where formerly Turner Street (at the bottom) became Cambridge, even though the streets don’t completely align. by Sue Stefko
