In the 1820s, Barrack Hill Cemetery became the first settler graveyard in Bytown, what would later become Ottawa. It was a resting place for the city’s earliest and often poorest residents. Over time, it was paved over and forgotten. Nearly two centuries later, remains were found during LRT construction along Queen Street. In this audio documentary, I speak with Dr. Janet Young, a bioarchaeologist who helped recover the site, to learn what the remains reveal about early Bytown and what it means to preserve memory in a changing city. The story ends just steps away, where a statue of Oscar Peterson plays piano softly—like a lullaby for those still resting beneath the streets.
“How do we honour the humanity of the past when it's been literally built over? That’s the question this work keeps asking.”
— Dr. Janet Young
— Dr. Janet Young
framing
