Pasapkejinawong

Pasapkedjinawong, the Rideau River, takes its Anishinaabe name from the water passing between rocks. At its mouth a pair of falls drops into the Ottawa River; their curtain-like appearance gave the river its French name, Rideau. Above the falls, the river and its lakes formed part of an Indigenous route connecting the Ottawa and St Lawrence waterways.

After the War of 1812, British planners sought an inland route less exposed to attack from the United States. Under Lieutenant-Colonel John By, workers built locks, dams and channels along the Rideau and the lakes to the south, linking existing waters into a continuous passage. The canal opened in 1832, joining the Ottawa River to Lake Ontario at Kingston and changing the course of travel through the district.