More of the Capital's Curious History - A city that's hiding from its past.
MARCH 7, 2025 will mark the 225th anniversary of the arrival of Philemon Wright and his family[a] on the banks of the Gatineau River, where the first permanent settlement in the Ottawa Valley was born.
Somehow, this important anniversary seems to have escaped the notice of the City of Gatineau and the Société d'histoire de l'Outaouais. At the writing of this blog, no commemoration has been planned for March 7 and no celebrations planned throughout the year. So, one must wonder what could ever cause the stewards of Gatineau's past and present to hide from its history. Could they really be writing...
A new chapter of the Capital's Curious History.
BEFORE the 1970s, historians had nothing but good things to say about Philemon Wright. He was universally accepted as the Founder of Hull and he was recognized as the enterprising man that founded the Ottawa Valley Timber Industry.
Then came the Quiet Revolution[1] in Quebec.
Although much had been written about Wright and his settlement, some writers in the 70s and 80s, began to make assumptions about how it was that the Crown granted a quarter of the land in Hull Township to an American. They began to write a "new story" about Philemon Wright. It was a story about a rich American landlord who was given an opportunity that was never going to be given to any Francophone.
But that "new story" entirely ignored that a decade after Philemon had settled here, a similar settlement would begin in the Seigneurie de la Petite-Nation by a francophone named Louis-Joseph Papineau. Both Wright and Papineau's settlements were granted by the Lower Canada government under the identical land title regime, the Seigneurie System. Under that tenure system, land could be sold in constitut.[2] With no understanding of the tenure system act, many of those writers, and some modern historians, would shamelessly claim that Philemon invented the system, when the tenure system had been in existence in New-France for 200 years.[3],[4] But in Wright's colony, which was the only one established under the Leader and Associates Program, associates could actually own their grants outright.
To be or not to be ... an American.
IN Philemon's "new story", he is most often referred to as an American with a certain amount of derision, so as to imply that as a foreigner he may not have deserved the good fortune he was afforded. But was he really an American? Let's take a closer look.
Philemon was born a British subject in 1760, 23 years before the creation of the Republic at the end of the War of Independence.
At the age of 15, he enlisted in Washington's army and fought for the rebels for two years, but in 1799 at the age of 39, Philemon swore allegiance to the British Crown in Montreal; a requirement to receive the land grant in Hull Township.
For the rest of his life, until 1839, Philemon was a British subject, commander of the Hull militia, and even became involved in illegal smuggling of goods from America for British regulars in the War of 1812.
Doing the math, we see that Philemon was a loyal British subject for at least 56 of his 79 years. Having sworn an oath of allegiance, Philemon was bound more significantly as a loyal Canadian than most of the population of Lower Canada who were not bound by oath.
It is also worth noting that although Philemon was obviously an English speaker and his town was predominantly English-speaking, he insisted that his youngest children and grandchildren receive the best possible bilingual education in Montreal and Quebec City, a tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation in my family.
Before Philemon arrived in 1800, the Ottawa Valley had never been opened up for settlement because the Crown wished to protect the fur trade, just as had been the case under the French regime. But after the American Revolution, the Crown saw an urgent need to occupy and defend the territory. So in 1791, they began planning for settlement.
The Leader and Associates Program
TO THIS END, the Crown announced across Canada and Britain a settlement plan called the Leader and Associates Program, and the news quickly reached the ears of Americans like Philemon. Honourable Americans were not barred from applying and many did so, bringing their letters of reference to the Executive Councils of Upper and Lower Canada.
The Leader and Associates Program would allow any loyal subject of the Crown to be granted large tracts of land under six conditions:
The Leader must swear allegiance to the Crown.
He must gather associates who also take the oath and who, for the price of one guinea, immediately cede their share to him as soon as the letters patent are issued. The partners are then allocated a plot of 100 or 200 acres.
He must carry out a survey of the concessions.
He must clear the land and set up the infrastructure for a village, specified in the program as a mill and at least one house.
He must complete the roadworks.
He must plan a government village, i.e. the construction of a courthouse and a prison, a post office and a records office.
It was only when the Crown's Provincial Executive Council was satisfied with the progress made, that patents of grant were issued in 1806. By order of Governor Sir Robert Milnes, more than 14,000 acres in the Township of Hull were granted to the leader to be distributed to himself as compensation, and to the associates (as the leader, Philemon Wright had paid for everything from his own funds to meet the conditions of the program).
When the distribution was done there were more than 20 partners occupying nearly 4,000 acres, among them a French-speaking family, the family of François Loizeau. By 1821, there were over 100 partners occupying more than 10,000 acres, including dozens of francophone families. It was by far the most successful of the settlements created under the program in both provinces.
The "new story" that was written about Philemon Wright also sought to minimize the importance of the village that he founded, ignoring that it gave birth to the Ottawa Valley timber industry and that it played a pivotal role in the founding of our Nation's Capital by founding the cement industry that built the Rideau Canal. That "new story" allowed many to deny that Wright's Town was the embryo of the whole modern city that we live in today.
But by the end of his life, Philemon had been granted a total of 36,978.5 acres in several townships, from which he, his sons, and the associates can lay claim to founding Hull (Wright's Town)[5], Aylmer (Turnpike End & Deschênes)[6], Gatineau (Waterloo Village & Gatineau)[7], and Buckingham[8], in partnership with Levi Bigelow. The history shows that Philemon's role was instrumental in founding each of the 4 cities that, along with Masson-Angers, would amalgamate to form the City of Gatineau today.
... but why here?
THE story of this colonial settlement can easily be understood as one of simple opportunism - land was available, settlers seized the opportunity. What is perhaps less easy to understand, however, is what motivated people to pack up everything they owned, sell their property and travel to the utter wilderness that was the Ottawa Valley in 1800 to settle. Two circumstances of life in North America fully explain this:
It is estimated that the vast majority (83-90%) of the North American population of the late 18th and early 19th centuries lived on farms.[9]
The vast majority of these farms were part of, or close to, the battlefields of the empires: the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) and the War of 1812 (1812-1815).
With the horrors of these bloody wars and the constant presence of a bellicose and unstable American Republic, it's not surprising that people everywhere dreamed of finding a peaceful home away from conflict and hardship; seeking to escape to a place where their families could be safe.
Philemon and the Indigenous people of the area.
WHAT about the indigenous people of the region, and what happened when Philemon and his associates arrived to create their colony?
Logically, it can be assumed that Philemon Wright would have known nothing of the Crown's Treaty obligations under the Proclamation of 1773.
But as soon as he arrived, Philemon was visited by two Chiefs from the Lake of Two Mountains, who came to ask him by what right he had to clear land in their territory.
To answer the Chiefs properly, Philemon then travelled to Quebec to meet Sir John Johnson and ask him to send an agent-translator with him to Hull Township to explain to the Chiefs that Philemon had been granted the land.[10]
The request was granted and when Philemon returned with an agent-translator named Brown, the Chiefs were satisfied with the explanation and a three-day feast was organized to celebrate the agreement. During one of the many ceremonies, Philemon was made a Brother-Chief and Philemon wrote 20 years later that the two communities continued to live in harmony, without quarrels.
Truth be told.
SO, to answer the question: "Why is the city hiding from its past?" It's because of the damage done by a culture war brought about by the Quiet Revolution that is being fought here, in the Ottawa Valley, by chauvinists who wished to erase all traces of the anglophone culture in Quebec. There ... I said it!
The problem is that we can't go back and I dare say, most people wouldn't want to go back, if they were aware of the real facts of the history.
They say that history is written by the victors, but it doesn't have to be. In fact, in this neck of the woods, where people were trying to find refuge from the battles of Empires, no wars were fought here. The Ottawa and Gatineau valleys are places where no people were displaced by invading foreigners. Places where settlers settled down to a peaceful existence, far from the tyranny of empires.
Am I guilty of overstatement? Perhaps, but this is my perspective of the Curious Capital History that I have spent so much time researching, digging into the archives, searching for the primary sources that would either prove or disprove that gleefully written "new story". Well, with all that research done, that "new story" has proven to be utterly false.
In conclusion, I think that the real story has moments of human brilliance that we can all take pride in, and the end result is a history of the National Capital that reflects the diversity of the many cultures that live here today.
Happy 225th, Philemon!
[a] Philemon Wright's family and travel partners in his emigration from Woburn Massachussetts to the Ottawa Valley in February and March of 1800.
[1] The Quiet Revolution:
"Prior to the Quiet Revolution, the province's natural resources were developed mainly by foreign investors. Until the second half of the 20th century, the majority of Francophone Quebec workers lived below the poverty line, and Francophones did not join the executive ranks of the businesses of their own province. Political activist and singer Félix Leclerc wrote: "Our people are the waterboys of their own country". So it was that the popular divide of the Two Solitudes became newly defined by economics, and not just language; Anglo-Quebecers were now seen as the rich entitled class, and the Francophone Québécois were defined as the virtuous working class." Click here and here to read more.
[2] Explanation of the the "régime à constitut" of Lower Canada, aka le Régime seigneurial (1627 to 1854): "The lord of the manor rented most of the land to tenants, known as censitaires or habitants, who cleared the land, built houses and other buildings, and farmed the land. A smaller portion of the land was kept as a demesne (land owned by the manorial lord and farmed by his family or by hired labour) which was economically significant in the early days of settlement, though less thereafter. Manorial land tenure in New France differed somewhat from its counterpart in France; the manorial lords of New France were not always nobles, though many were. Fiefs in North America were granted to military officers and – as in France – many were owned by the Catholic clergy. However, the system was feudal in the sense that there was a clear displacement of wealth happening from tenants to their landlords, which was not at all based on market forces (as land was plentiful and labor was not), but rather a system institutionalized by the crown." Click here for the full article.
[3] "The seigneurial system was based on the feudal system, which involved the personal dependency of censitaires (tenants) on the seigneur. In New France the similarities ended with occupation of land and payment of certain dues. The tenant was normally referred to as a habitant. The Compagnie des Cent-Associés, which was granted ownership and legal and seigneurial rights over New France, from the Arctic to Florida, also obtained the right to allocate the land to its best advantage. The land was therefore granted as fiefs and seigneuries to the most influential colonists who, in turn, granted tenancies." Click here for the full article.
[4] "The Records: In the province of Quebec, land distribution was originally based on the seigneurial system, established in 1627 and used until 1854. Seigneuries were granted by the King to members of the bourgeoisie, members of important families or former military officers. As proprietor of a seigneurie, the seigneur had privileges and obligations towards the King or his representative. The seigneur granted parcels (concessions) of his land to tenants called censitaires or more commonly, habitants." Click here for the full article.
In the British era, the Executive Council Office of the Province of Lower Canada began dividing lands under a Township plan, while still keeping the Seigneuries where they had already been established, and through the years, modified the statutes of the tenure system.
[5] Every historian that has written about Philemon Wright acknowledges that he was the founder of Hull. A less than exhaustive list includes: Anson Gard, J.L. Gourlay, Godfrey Vigne, Bertha Carr-Harris, Joseph Tassé, Edgar Boutet, Edward Laberge, Lucien Brault, A.H.D. Ross, Pierre-Louis Lapointe, Charlotte Whitton, Judge F.R. Latchford, Lilly W. Cunningham, Dr. Chad Gaffield, and Dr. Bruce S. Elliott.
[6] Aylmer was founded in 1818 by Philemon Wright Junior, as a partner of P. Wright & Sons. It was first known as The Chaudière Lake Village, then Turnpike End and after 1830s, became better known as Aylmer. For more info, click here.
[7] The history of Pointe-Gatineau, the birthplace of the city that will become the Gatineau sector in the amalgamated city:
Since it was first settled nearly two centuries ago, Pointe-Gatineau has had a variety of names. The first known name given to the area that would become Pointe-Gatineau, appears on the 1802 survey map of Templeton Township and it is Long Point Range. This name was later translated by French-speaking residents into Long Point à Gatineau and eventually shortened to Pointe à Gatineau and Pointe-Gatineau.
The first land cleared here in 1802, was called the Waterloo Farm. It was mainly a pasture of 120 acres cleared by Philemon Wright . By 1824 the farm was producing 60 tons of hay, and had 20 hectares under potatoes, 4 hectares of wheat, 2 of maize and 2 hectares of carrots and beetroot. The livestock consisted of 2 horses, 2 oxen, 3 cows and 2 pigs. The farm had a barn and a house where three men and a woman lived.
Some time before 1832, Philemon renamed the farm Waterloo Village when it was subdivided into lots that were sold. In 1841, a register showed that 54 of the lots in Waterloo Village were occupied mainly by French-speaking families, but although this was the official name given to the village, it is reasonable to assume that the residents preferred the name Long Point à Gatineau.
In 1876, the village of Pointe-Gatineau was separated from Templeton Township. The village was renamed Pointe-à-Gatineau.
In 1957, the village of Pointe-à-Gatineau became the city of Pointe-à-Gatineau.
In 1959, the name of the town became Pointe-Gatineau.
In 1975, the cities of Pointe-Gatineau, Gatineau, Touraine, the village of Templeton, the municipalities of Templeton-Ouest, Templeton-Est and Templeton-Est-Partie-Est merged to form the city of Gatineau.
This information with sources can be found on the Wikipedia page for Pointe-Gatineau by clicking here.
[8] The village of Buckingham was founded by Levi Bigelow who enlisted the aid of Philemon Wright to establish the first mill, the distillery, buying lots and building a house in the settlement. Library and Archives Canada, Wright Fonds, MG 24, D 8, pgs. 469-472, 944-947, 959-962, 5372-5373, 15317-15320 and others. For more information on the history, click here.
[9] For information about the demographics of life in the 18th & 19th centuries, click here and click here
Facts About an 1800’s Agricultural Economy:
- Many of the farmers lived in a two-room house because they were poor.
- Horses were used for transportation and for working on the field.
- Most farmers did not own a horse because they were expensive to own.
- Farmers did not work on Sunday, and this was the day that the families went to church.
- Most farmers had large families of around six or more children.
- The children on the farm usually worked on the farm and were taught school at home. (Click here for more)
[10] Appendix to the XXXIIIIRD Volume of the Journals of the House of Assembly of the Province of Lower-Canada. Fourth Session of the Eleventh Provincial Parliament; Sketch of the First Settlement on the Ottawa or Grand River; The Committee having requested from P. WRIGHT; 1824.
Love history of our area. Ottawa Valley on the Quebec side where I grew up. Thank you for sharing your research with the people as it is important to be educated. Your hard work is very much appreciated.
Rick, thank you for all you do to keep this history alive. I am a descendant of Nathaniel Chamberlin, and I follow your articles with great interest.
Rick, this is a treasure trove of information. I am a transplanted Canadian of my own voilition, a Canadian history buff looking to educate Canadians about their Christian heritage. My website is www.christianrootscanada.org. I would love to talk to you! This article thrills my heart. Would love to repost to my website with your permission.
Great article!