Hull, Québec
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Hull was founded in 1800 by Philemon Wright as a remote lumber camp in what was at the time mosquito-infested wilderness at the head of navigation of the Ottawa River. While Wright arrived by way of Woburn, Massachusetts, he gave the settlement the name of his family's original home town Kingston-upon-Hull in the United Kingdom.
The Gatineau River, like the Ottawa River, was very much the preserve of the draveurs, people who would use the river to transport logs from lumber camps until they arrived downriver; the Gatineau River drains into the Ottawa River, which ends at Montreal. The log-filled Ottawa River (as viewed from Hull) appeared on the back of the Canadian one-dollar bill until it was replaced by a dollar coin (the "loonie") in 1987; the very last of the dwindling activity of the draveurs on these rivers ended a few years later.
Ottawa was founded later, as the terminus of the Rideau Canal built under the command of Col. John By as part of fortifications and defences constructed after the War of 1812. Originally named Bytown, Ottawa did not become the Canadian capital until the mid-1800's and then only because its greater distance from the international border left it less vulnerable to foreign attack.
Nothing remains of the original 1800 settlement; the downtown Vieux-Hull sector was destroyed by a terrible fire in 1900 which also destroyed the original pont des Chaudières (Chaudière Bridge), a road bridge which has since been rebuilt to join Ottawa to Hull at Victoria Island.
Navigation beyond Ottawa-Hull still remains difficult as watercraft must be removed from the Ottawa River due to obstacles posed by rapids such as the Rapides des Chaudières or kettle rapids.
It is also the home to the Casino du Lac Leamy and to the Canadian Museum of Civilization directly opposite Parliament Hill. Hull is also Outaouais's cultural centre.
Hull is in the Outaouais region and is located within the City of Gatineau; the name "Gatineau" itself sometimes is more specifically used to refer to a mostly-suburban former city of Gatineau on the opposite side of the Gatineau River.
In 2002, the Parti Québécois, leading the provincial government, forced the cities of Hull, Gatineau, Aylmer, Buckingham and Masson-Angers to fuse into one city. Although Hull was the central city in the lot, and despite the fact it had 200 years of history, the name Gatineau was voted by the citizens for the new city. The main reasons usually given to explain this fact are that Gatineau had more inhabitants, was the name of the former county, the valley, the hills, the park and the main river within the new city limits: thus its name was less restrictive than Hull. Some argued that the French name of Gatineau was more appealing than a name from England to most French-speaking residents. Hull-Gatineau had been the most popular choice in the polls, but the transition committee excluded all hyphenated possibilities from being included on the ballot. Since the former city of Hull represents a large area distinct from what was formerly known as Gatineau, to be officially correct and specific many people say "vieux secteur Hull" (the former Hull part of town) when speaking of it.
In 2004, there was a referendum to decide whether Hull would remain in Gatineau, but the population in majority voted against the deamalgamation thus the status quo prevailed.
Approximately 86% of the hullois or hulloise residents speak French as their first language.
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