1

Transport and communication in the Gatineau Valley

The Gatineau River has always been an important transportation route. It was well known to the Algonquin people of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence valleys and it has been used extensively as a highway for seasonal travel for thousands of years. The Gatineau River starts 150 miles north of Ottawa, at Lake Capimitchigama. The rivers and lakes of the region provided canoe routes, while aboriginal snowshoe and foot trails were used for land travel. During the winter, frozen lakes and rivers became the preferred routes.

Canoe
In the early days, the canoe, a borrowed aboriginal technology, was one of the few means of transport for the settlers. Canoes were made of long strips of birch bark stretched on white cedar frames and laced together with pine gum and the roots from juniper or spruce trees. Canoes were used well into the 1860s, when they were largely replaced by pointer boats made of planks.

Development of the road system
Later, when time was a consideration, and when horses were readily available, settlers used horses for riding, as pack animals on some trails, to pull carts, and in the winter, to pull sleighs on the ice. The main problem was a need for established routes, and as these were set up, people and goods could travel more quickly. Many roads and train routes that we use today were developed based on traditional aboriginal travel routes.

The stagecoach
In 1851, William Patterson began operation of the first stage coach between Bytown (Ottawa) and North Wakefield (Alcove). As a passenger and mail service, it provided a vital link with the outside world.

Ferries
Ferries, or scows, served on the Gatineau River as summer bridges for the rural settlers. They operated between the east and west banks of the river from late spring until late fall. The use of these ferry crossings spanned a period of nearly 100 years; the first scow appeared about 1850 and the last ceased operation about 1940. They were rendered obsolete with the widespread construction of roads and convenient bridges.

Train
While the Gatineau River had long been the main transportation route for lumber and for people, it was no longer adequate once Canada moved into the rail era. In 1871, the Ottawa and Gatineau Valley Railroad Company was incorporated and began work on building a railway from Hull to Desert River (Maniwaki). Progress was slow, and the Hull-Wakefield section was not completed until 1891. In the following years, the railway reached Low (1892), Kazabazua (1893), Gracefield (1894), Blue Sea Lake (1903), and finally Maniwaki (1904).

Bibliography:
Gatineau Valley Historical Society Files
Gaffield, Chad: History of the Outaouais. Québec: Institut québécois de recherche sur la culture, 1997, 843 p.
Panet, A de L.: "Early Transportation in the Gatineau Valley," Up the Gatineau! Vol. 13, 1987, pp. 9-13.

2

Poplar Island campsite, 1923
20th Century, 1923
Thirty-One Mile Lake, Quebec, Canada

Credits:
GVHS Archives, 02364.045.a028

3

Ronald Gauvreau sings 'Mon canot d'écorce'
20th Century
Gatineau Valley, Quebec, Canada

Credits:
Lucien Ouellet Collection
http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/ic/cdc/vallee/indexcredits.htm

4

The ferry at Kirk's Ferry, circa 1912
20th Century, Circa 1912
Kirk's Ferry, Quebec, Canada

Credits:
GVHS Archives, 00063.001

5

Scow (ferry) at Farm Point, circa 1930
20th Century, Circa 1930
Farm Point, Quebec, Canada

Credits:
GVHS Archives, 01319.009

6

Passenger and mail coach in Chelsea
19th Century
Chelsea, Quebec, Canada

Credits:
GVHS Archives, 00559.003.005

7

The Cooper House 'Stopping Place' in North Wakefield (Alcove), 1910
20th Century, 1910
North Wakefield, Quebec, Canada

Credits:
GVHS Archives, 00269.003

8

Tom Moore's Hotel in Chelsea with horse-drawn buses, circa 1880
19th Century, Circa 1880
Chelsea, Quebec, Canada

Credits:
GVHS Archives, 02221.002.a022

9

Dog team and sleigh
20th Century
Gatineau Valley, Quebec, Canada

Credits:
Boyle Collection / GVHS Archives, 00943.007

10

Three Geggie brothers in a cutter, Wakefield, circa 1935
20th Century, Circa 1935
Wakefield, Quebec, Canada

Credits:
GVHS Archives, 00365.004

11

1882 booklet 'Railway development in the county of Ottawa: opinions of leading journals'
19th Century, 1882
County of Ottawa, Quebec, Canada

Credits:
Library and Archives Canada, AMICUS No. 5360510

12

Gracefield train station, circa 1890
19th Century, Circa 1890
Gracefield, Quebec, Canada

Credits:
Andrew Merrilees Collection / Library and Archives Canada, PA-164656

13

The steam train heading up the Gatineau, circa 1920
20th Century, Circa 1920
Chelsea, Quebec, Canada

Credits:
GVHS Archives, 00551.003.005

14

Alcove train station, 1915
20th Century, 1915
Alcove, Quebec, Canada

Credits:
GVHS Archives, 00879.007