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The Builder. William Fairbairn, a Scotsman, emigrated to Canada with his wife and son in 1817. After working as a stonemason in Bytown (Ottawa) he followed river routes travelled by Indigenous hunters and fur traders to become one of the earliest settlers in the lower Gatineau Valley. He built a log home on the river in Wakefield township. He was a farmer, carpenter and millwright, and, in 1838, built Wakefield's stone grist mill. This picture shows William in the early 1860s as the builder of his second
The Builder. William Fairbairn, a Scotsman, emigrated to Canada with his wife and son in 1817. After working as a stonemason in Bytown (Ottawa) he followed river routes travelled by Indigenous hunters and fur traders to become one of the earliest settlers in the lower Gatineau Valley. He built a log home on the river in Wakefield township. He was a farmer, carpenter and millwright, and, in 1838, built Wakefield's stone grist mill. This picture shows William in the early 1860s as the builder of his second home with its many interesting features, still with us 150 years later, and now known as the Fairbairn House Heritage Centre. William died in 1872.
(Photo - Janis Ulstein)