More Carp History

Carp is a small village west of Ottawa, Ontario, in beautiful Canada, where James Paul, an Irish shoemaker, about 24 years of age, purchased some land to make shoes way back in history - actually around the 3rd of August, 1844. James bought this half an acre near the present Swan Pub (mmmm...Swan Pub), and on that site began to operate his shoemaker business. This is the first proven non-agricultural business on a site in what is now referred to as Carp.

Three years later, in 1847, James Paul moved his shoemaker business to Pembroke - possibly since all of the locals now had quality shoes. The reality is that the actual origin of the name Carp has never been established - yet.

Early pioneers told me that there never were carp in the river, but that there were thousands upon thousands of suckers and mud pout in the river. For the people who live by or near the banks of Carp River in the 1860's and even right up until last fall, the suckers were literally "meat on the table".

Another account, The Carleton Saga, written by Harry and Olive Walker, gives the following conjecture (p.422):

"When the writer researched the origin of the name Carp as it applied to the river and the village, a student of nomenclature in Montreal, Herman J. Rolland, wrote the following possible explanation: 'The French word for sucker is "carpe", and it would seem to me that coureurs de bois may have given the name "Carpe" to the river, as they must have known of its fishing conditions, and later on the village possible adopted the name of the river.'"

How will we ever know if there were ever carpe in Carp?

Carpology

If you take a day in Carp (or seize it) should it be Carpe Diem?
If we share rides in Carp, would we Carp-ool?
If you need something built, do you call a Carp-enter?
Should you park in a Carp-ort?

These and more important issues when we return...