Originally Posted by http://www.rideau-info.com/canal/history/memorials.html

Colonel By - Ottawa
Colonel By StatueA statue to Lieutenant-Colonel John By stands in the poorly named Majors Hill Park which overlooks the spectacular flight of eight locks in Ottawa. The park got its name from Major Daniel Bolton who took over as Superintending Engineer of the canal after Colonel By was recalled to England to answer to (unfounded) charges of mismanagement of construction funding. However the whole affair put a black mark on Colonel By's reputation and it took over a century to start fully restoring Lt-Colonel John By's reputation and recognizing the significant role he played in the development of early Canada, including the founding of our nation's capital, Ottawa (formerly named Bytown).

The statue, created by scultor Emile Brunét, was unveiled on August 14, 1971. The statue was described as "It is a very moving statue. In the quiet of the evening one can almost feel the presence of this man standing, as he must so often have done, just a few steps from his verandah and gazing out across the head of the canal" (P.A. Camp in Royal Engineers Journal).

Also in Majors Hill Park are the foundations of Colonel By's house, which was destroyed by fire in 1848. Archaeological work on the site was done in the 1980s and the site has recently been made into a full interpretive display.

The first commemoration to Colonel By occurred 100 years after the opening of the canal with a small foundation stone placed in 1932 on the south side of the Plaza Bridge. In the 1950s a larger monument, incorporating a fountain made up with parts of two original fountains placed in Trafalgar Square, London, shortly after the building of the canal, was erected. It had to be moved due to construction in the 1970s and was relocated to Confederation Park.