Four and a half billion years ago the rock formed that would become Gatineau Park.
Ten thousand years ago the last glaciers receded.
Part of the park was under water.
People may have started camping in the high places. They were certainly there by five thousand years ago.
Four hundred years ago the first Europeans came, saw and left.
Two hundred years ago Philemon Wright started a town that grew into Ottawa-Gatineau.
Settlers, mostly Irish, tried to scrape a living by farming what is now Gatineau Park. Things didn’t always grow so good so they also went in for a little low-grade mining and woodcutting.
Industrial level logging plus Ottawa becoming Canada’s capital made some people rich. They bought country houses beside the pretty lakes in the hills.
One hundred years ago three things happened that were important to the future Gatineau Park:
- In 1903 the Ottawa Improvement Commission first recommended a park in the Gatineau Hills;
- That same year William Lyon Mackenzie King bought a cottage at Kingsmere;
- In 1910 the Ottawa Ski Club was formed.
Ninety years ago the Ski Club bought Camp Fortune.
Eighty years ago skiers and cottagers formed the Federal Woodlands Preservation League.
Seventy years ago the Federal District Commission started buying up land.
Sixty years ago Mackenzie King died and left 500 acres to the people of Canada.
Other land got expropriated; that made some people sad. A public park began to emerge; that made other people happy. They’ve been trying to balance this good and bad ever since.
The National Capital Commission has bought over 1400 properties and is likely to buy a few more.
The newest balancing act is trying to keep the park natural and still allowing people to get out there and enjoy it.
The cards that GuideGatineau has begun distributing to promote the website are considered to be highly environmentally responsible due to the fact that the paper used is 100% recycled and is produced using energy from biofuels plus the ink is vegetable based.