Life of Jones Block
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2025-10-11T21:09:24+00:00
Jones Block, located at the corner of Wellington Street (historically known as Richmond Road) and Somerset St. (sometimes called Cedar St.), was more than just a building, it was the heart of community life on the west end of Hintonburg in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally built in the late 1800s and rebuilt in 1903 after a destructive fire, the building evolved into one of the more notable mixed-use commercial blocks in Ottawa’s West end. Over the decades it bore witness to shifting economic, cultural and social transformations. From its earliest mention in an 1876 article in the Ottawa Daily Citizen, Jones Block appears not only as a location but as an intersection of daily life. Mentioned casually in a story about two boys who left home in a rebellious fit and ended up frost bitten, and whose family either lived or worked in Jones Block. That same newspaper clipping mentioned cowhide, suggesting the presence of leather or general goods businesses within the block.
After a catastrophic fire in May 1902—possibly started by firecrackers—the block was completely rebuilt with greater ambition and architectural flourish, described in newspapers as potentially “the finest commercial block in the village.” The reconstruction was handled by local contractor D. McArthur and funded by E.C. Jones, the owner of Jones Block and a relatively important figure in Hintonburg. His decision to upgrade the materials and expand the footprint of the building suggests confidence in the area’s future and growing prosperity. The life of the building, then, is not just one of fire and rebirth—it’s a microcosm of Hintonburg itself: resilient, evolving, and deeply rooted in the story of Ottawa’s working-class west end.
