CBC News
September 22, 2017
Remains of 79 people found during construction of the downtown light rail tunnel will be moved to their final resting place at Beechwood Cemetery, but not before the public has had a chance to pay their respects.
The city is inviting people to attend a public visitation taking place on Sept. 24 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Canadian Museum of History, where the individuals will rest in 52 caskets.
The remains were unearthed during Confederation Line construction under Queen Street in 2013 and 2014, the one-time location of the Barrack Hill Cemetery.
The cemetery closed in 1845, making those individuals “some of the earliest residents of Ottawa,” said City of Ottawa archivist Paul Henry.
“From what we can tell, many of the [people] — I think 78 of the 79 — arrived in the Ottawa region probably a decade before the building of the Rideau Canal,” said Henry, whose office is overseeing the interment project.
“And they were mainly working class people, from all walks of life. Men, women and children.”