The neighbourhood was named after the original owner of the land.[4] The northeast corner of the neighbourhood began to be built in the 1920s as an extension of the Britannia Heights subdivision.[5] The neighbourhood continued to be developed in the 1960s[6][7] around the 1980s and around 2000.[8] In 1970, Ottawa City Council approved the site for public housing.[9] The Ottawa Housing Corporation Foster Farm social housing project, of which the neighbourhood is synonymous, was built in 1973.[10]
The residential housing consists from middle class two story houses, and duplexes to high rises and townhouses.
Facilities
There are community housing projects and a high rise apartment on Ramsey Crescent and Dumaurier. The high rise apartment on Ramsey Crescent is home to the Foster Farm Daycare. Behind the high rise is a shopping strip featuring an appliance store and a few take out food places. Next door is the Boys and Girls Club community centre featuring meeting rooms, a gymnasium, and an indoor swimming pool.
The community has many amenities close by. There are three parks, Barwell Park, Ruth Wildgen Park featuring an outdoor pool, tennis and basketball courts, and a small baseball diamond. The other park (Dumaurier) is at Pinecrest and Dumaurier featuring large Slo-Pitch diamonds. Malls in the area include the Pinecrest Shopping Centre and Bayshore Shopping Centre. There are two churches, St. Stephen's Anglican and Paroisse St-Rémi French Catholic. It is home to Abarrar School owned by the Muslim Association of Canada on Grenon Avenue. The school used to be Franco Nation.
^Population calculated by combining Dissemination Areas 35061202, 35061201, 35061203, 35061204 and 35061646
^"1065 Ramsey". Ottawa Citizen. June 28, 1980. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
^Ottawa, Ontario. 1:63,360. Map Sheet 031G05, [ed. 7], 1925; Open Data Producer: Geographical Section, General Staff, Department of National Defence; Date published: 1925-01-01 (publication), 2016-01-01 (publication)
^Bells Corners, Ontario. 1:25,000. Map Sheet 031G05C, ed. 2, 1962; Open Data Producer: Surveys and Mapping Branch, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources Date published: 1962-01-01 (publication), 2016-01-01 (publication)
^Bells Corners, Ontario. 1:25,000. Map Sheet 031G05C, ed. 3, 1971 Open Data Producer: Surveys and Mapping Branch, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources Date published: 1971-01-01 (publication), 2016-01-01 (publication)