kanata was originally part of the township of march. it was settled by europeans in the early 19th century. it was mainly agricultural(farms) until the 1960s when it became the site of a lot of construction. modern kanata is largely the creation of bill teron, a developer and urban planner who purchased over 3,000 acres (12 km2) of rural land and set about building a model community. it was planned to have a mix of offices, residential(housing) area, and green area. kanata was divided into a number of communities. each was intended to have its own business center and unique culture. these include beaverbrook, glen cairn, bridlewood, katimavik, hazeldean, morgan's grant, and kanata lakes.