Burritts Rapids

Burritts Rapids was one of the first settlements on the Rideau, predating the Canal itself. In 1793, Colonel Stephen Burritt, floated down this section of the Rideau River on a raft looking for a good spot to settle. At Burritts Rapids he saw the water power potential for a mill and settled there with his wife Martha (Stevens) and their two-year old son Henry. Their second son, Edmund, was born here on 8 Dec 1793.
The story goes that, soon after settling there, they were dying from a fever when they were rescued by a band of local Indians, nursed back to health, and even had their crops harvested for them. Ever after, the Burritt home was a welcoming place for Indians travelling the Rideau.