27 Facts About Philemon Wright

Philemon Wright was a farmer, lumberman and entrepreneur who founded the Ottawa River timber trade in 1806.

Philemon Wright was founder of what he named Columbia Falls Village, mostly known as Wright's Town, Lower Canada and Wright's Village to others, the first permanent settlement in the National Capital Region of Canada.

Philemon Wright was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, into the family of Thomas Philemon Wright and Elizabeth Chandler, a large and prosperous Woburn family that had been among the town's founders, 120 years before.

Philemon Wright finally decided that the best location for a new settlement would be next to the Chaudiere Falls, near the intersection of the Tenagatino-sibi or Gatineau and Kitchi-sibi or Ottawa rivers, where he found thousands of acres of good soil and vast amounts of timber.

Philemon Wright applied for the lands of the Township of Hull under the "leader and associates" regime and after swearing allegiance to the Crown, received the grant.

Philemon Wright used his natural leadership abilities to convince a group of Massachusetts settlers to come north with him.

Philemon Wright sold his holdings in Woburn and led a group of 4 other families and 33 labouring men to the area, leaving on February 2,1800, at the age of 39.

Philemon Wright preferred to call the falls the Columbia Falls, but the name never stuck.

Philemon Wright built a lumber mill, a hemp and grist mill and a smithy to fulfill their needs.

Philemon Wright built a large bakehouse, shops for a shoemaker, a tailor, a bark grinding mill, as well as a tannery for curing leather.

The process was long and difficult and by 1806 Philemon Wright had nearly exhausted his original capital of $20,000.

Philemon Wright built the first raft at the mouth of the Gatineau River.

Philemon Wright was the point man for every builder, land speculator and government project in the region.

In 1819, Philemon Wright established the first passenger ship service on the Ottawa River.

Philemon Wright was elected to the legislature of Lower Canada to represent Ottawa County in 1830 and he and his settlement both saw great success.

Philemon Wright was the leader of Freemasonry in the area for many of the villagers and surrounding communities.

Philemon Wright was a strong advocate for "scientific farming" and selective breeding, and he was the first person to import prize Devon and Herefordshire cattle to the Ottawa Valley.

In 1813, Philemon Wright sold 3,000 bushels of wheat in Quebec for $3.00 a bushel.

From Onslow Township to present-day Buckingham, Philemon Wright owned 36,978.5 acres The fame of Hull as an agricultural community in Canada, the US and Britain was well deserved.

Philemon Wright lived in that home until 1818, when he handed it over to his son Ruggles, along with the reins of all of the family's Chaudiere operations.

Philemon Wright's 4th home was built just west of the Standish Hall near the Chaudiere Falls and was a grand home he named "The White House".

Philemon Wright confessed to this in a codicil to his Will, dated 1838.

Tiberius Philemon Wright established the Gatteno Farm in 1816, which his son Alonzo Philemon Wright would inherit.

Philemon Wright owned 12,000 acres that spanned the entire width of the County in the first six ranges of Onslow Township.

Philemon Wright died on June 3,1839, in Philemon Wright's Town, and is buried in St James Anglican Cemetery, Gatineau.

Philemon Wright was survived by a large family, including his son Ruggles Wright who invented the timber slide.

Philemon Wright is regarded as the founder of both the cities of Ottawa and of Gatineau.