Rochester's Victoria Brewery (Ottawa), 1829-1900 (Part 1: 1829-65)

This two-part story marks the completion of my trilogy on Ottawa's own "Big-Three" 19^th Century breweries. I wrote previously on Henry Brading's Union Brewery and George Stirling's (OG) Dominion Brewery for Apartment613 – neither of those tales had been told before, and neither has this one, until now...

Legend has it that John Rochester's (Victoria) Brewery was the first in Ottawa. Legend has it wrong, although it was indeed among the first.

The first brewery in what would become Bytown (and ultimately Ottawa) may have been built by Ralph Smith, possibly as early as 1819, and was located at the former north end of Bank St. (which continued north beyond Wellington St. at the time). One Michael Burke definitely ran a brewery on the exact same spot – on "Brewery Hill" at "Brewery Landing" on "Brewery Bay" – starting around 1826.

(Transcribed from) Ottawa Citizen – Jan. 31, 1925.

Brewery Bay & Brewery Hill. "Parliament buildings, Ottawa, ON" (viewing east, presumably from Victoria Island), ca. 1878-80. [Photo by Notman & Sandham]

John Rochester Sr. was born between 1786-93, reportedly in *Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England, and is said to have emigrated to the U.S. with his young and growing familly in *1816 [*per "Prominent Men of Canada," 1892], ultimately settling in Rouse's Point, NY. When he first came to Canada is up for debate, but he and his familly settled in Bytown in 1827.

"Mr. Rochester" (likely John Sr.), Ottawa, (copied) 1868. (b. 1786-93, d. 1872) [Photo by William Topley] Photo "copied" (i.e. pic of a pic); orig. may have been taken earlier, & is in style of Ottawa photog. Elihu Spencer (active 1859-69). John Sr., his wife, & their descendants were the only Rochesters in Ottawa in the 1860s.

John Rochester Jr. was born in Rouse's Point in 1822. One of his earliest memories was of the Aug. 23, 1827 laying of the cornerstone for the Rideau Canal, with “Sir John Franklin, of Arctic fame,” performing the ceremony.

John Rochester (Jr.), Montreal, QC, 1864. (b. 1822, d. 1894) [Photo by William Notman]

John Rochesters Sr. & Jr. are often mixed-up/combined/conflated in historical records, much like J.P. Morgan & J.P. Morgan Jr. (who further looked alike), and even father and son Henry and Harry Brading (of Ottawa's former Brading Breweries). For the record, John Sr. originally founded the brewery in 1829, whereas John Jr. merely ran it for about ten years, from around 1858 to 1868 (guiding it to success, mind you).

As an industrialist and politician, John Jr. was also far better known than his father, the latter of whom was primarily a pig farmer, butcher, and meat inspector.

John Sr.'s eldest son James Rochester was born near Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1813. While the two (amalgamated) Johns get much or most of the historical credit, it was in fact James who was ultimately the driving force behind the Victoria Brewery.

James Rochester (aka 'Burns McGee'), 1874. (b. 1814, d. 1890) [Photo by William Topley]

As alluded to, the building of the Rideau Canal (led by Col. John By) was just getting underway when the Rochesters arrived.

Ottawa Citizen – Nov. 7, 1984.

"One of [John Rochester Sr.'s] enterprises was supplying Col. John By's commissariat with "victuals and spirits" for the men engaged in building the Rideau Canal." [Ottawa Journal - May 24, 1969]

The million dollar question is... where exactly was John Sr.'s brewing operation situated?! It was most likely on Nepean Point (now called Kiweki Point), close to the Commissariat Building alongside the locks (i.e. the present-day Bytown Museum), but it may possibly have been on Victoria Island (in the Chaudière district). More on all that in a minute...

Chaudière Falls, from Bytown, July 1838. Victoria Island (aka Asinabka) middle-left, front (Chaudière Island tucks in behind). (A section of the bridge got washed out around this time.)

As mentioned, the founding of Rochester's (original) brewery was in 1829. John Sr. clearly got much assistance in the endeavor from his then-15 year-old son, James, who subsequently caught the brewery-business-bug.

Then, one year later, in *1830, the Rochesters reportedly left Bytown! In *1831, however, John Sr. returned, along with an elder son, likely James, and a daughter. His wife Barbara and the rest of their sizable brood re-joined them in *1833. [*Per "Prominent Men of Canada," 1892]

So what happened to the burgeoning 'brewery' when they skipped town? I have no idea! Further, there is absolutely no sign of it in the 1830s from my research, nor in the 1840s (other than James' confirmed re-launch year of 1847). Did it only initially last the one year, 1829-30? Maybe!

(By 1868, the advertised Victoria Brewery founding date shifted from the much ballyhooed 1829 to instead citing James' 1847 launch.)

The first record of John Sr. being named Inspector of Beef and Pork pops up in 1836. In all likelihood, he'd been so-named prior as well, and he continued to be appointed as such for many years to come.

Bytown Gazette – Aug. 25, 1836. (The Bathurst District was an historic district created in 1822, & included Carleton. It existed to 1849.)

As of 1842, John Sr. is pinpointed in a brewery-capable facility on Nepean/Kiweki Point, and he'd no doubt been operating there for some time prior. Is this where the original iteration of the Rochester brewery operated? We may never know.

Bytown Gazette – Oct. 27, 1842.

As of 1852, a “well-known property” on Nepean/Kiweki Point had been used as a brewery for some time prior, run by one Godfrey Berry. (It was advertised for rent as “well situated for persons heavily engaged in the Lumber Business,” and so was likely right on the water.) Then, following Berry, George Stirling set up his Dominion Brewery on what had formerly been called “Steamboat Landing” (aka "Fitzgibbon's Wharf", later known as “Canal Wharf”, and then ultimately as "Stirling's Wharf"). Were Rochester Sr., Berry, and Stirling all operating on the exact same site? Probably.

Steamboat Landing at foot of Rideau Canal Locks, Bytown. [Canadian Scenery Illustrated, 1842]

Entrance to Rideau Canal, Bytown, ca. 1838. (Steamboat Landing on left.)

Could John Sr. have continuously operated his initial brewery through the 1830s and to at least 1842 on Steamboat Landing? It's possible. More likely, he operated it there for a short period starting in 1829, and then quickly turned his main focus to his meat business.

Early on, John Sr. acquired land in and around what would become Rochesterville, anchored on the south-west corner of the present-day (would-be) intersection of Rochester and Albert Streets – between Booth and Preston Streets – on the southern edge of Ottawa's Lebreton Flats.

(Transcribed from) Ottawa Journal – Sept. 19, 1894. [Familly in fact consisted of four sons & five daughters.]

Could the original brewery have operated on this property? Of the three known possible locations, it's the least likely, as James started up his iteration of the familly brewery rather on nearby Victoria Island, from whence the “Victoria Brewery” got its name. (Had there been existing facilities on the familly land, James surely would have re-started the brewery there.)

As for the familly land, some in the neighbourhood took issue with John Sr.'s roving pigs, such as the writer of the below letter, who absolutely 'bristled'...

[Bytown Gazette: July 3, 1845]

So, starting up his iteration of the familly brewery on Victoria Island, perhaps James was returning to familiar territory, possibly with some semblance of a facility remaining, if the initial brewery had indeed been situated there. More likely, he started fresh, nice and close to the familly land in nearby Rochesterville.

Ottawa City, Canada West, 1855. [By Edwin Whitefield] View from Barrack Hill (now Parl. Hill). Chaudière Falls distant right. Arrow points to Victoria Island (just in front of Chaudière Island, clumped & tucked in behind).

Officially launching in 1847, James initially ran the brewery to about 1858, when John Jr. took over for a spell.

By 1851 at the latest, the brewery had been moved to the south-west corner of Richmond Rd. (now Albert St.) and Rochester St., where it would stay until 1900.

Victoria Brewery ad. [Grand Trunk Railway gazetteer, commercial advertiser and business directory, 1862-63] (Richmond Rd. used to extend all the way east to Lebreton Flats, where the brewery was situated.)

Meanwhile (in the 1850s), John Sr. was Inspector of Beef and Pork for Bytown, and was running a butcher stall in the former Uppertown Market.

(Transcribed from) Ottawa Journal – Feb. 7, 1931.

The 1860s marked the apparent heyday of the Victoria Brewery, with John Jr. at the helm, assisted by another brother, William Rochester (b. 1828, d. 1902).

Ottawa breweries in 1864. [Mitchell & Co's County of Carleton and Ottawa City directory, 1864-5] (Victoria Brewery founding date pegged as 1829.)

For a snapshot-in-time of the inner workings, here's a description in the Ottawa Citizen of the brewery (then in the process of being upgraded), from 1860:

(Transcribed from) Ottawa Daily Citizen –  Jan. 24, 1860.

And finally, ending as we began (with a poem), from the same 1860 Citizen article, “Two Barrels”, by Samuel Lover:

(Transcribed from) Ottawa Daily Citizen –  Jan. 24, 1860.

Stay tuned for Part 2 (1866-1900), in which John Jr.'s star rises and the brewery burns down twice – coming soon!

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