Hull, which is a French-speaking city, stands on the banks of the Gatineau and Ottawa Rivers on the edge of the Outaouais, across the river from Ottawa. An important center for the timber and paper industry, it also has a number of federal government departments, their buildings dominating the landscape, especially La Chaudière and the Place du
Portage.
Hull city center is divided into two core areas, linked by the Promenade de Portage, an ultra-modern administrative complex of six buildings for approximately 19,000 federal and provincial government officials.
From Jacques-Cartier Park, there is a fine view over the Ottawa River to the Parliament building, the Rideau slopes and other major features of Ottawa.
The Gatineau area was traversed by the Indians long before the first European settlement. The first French explorers, such as Champlain, came here in 1613 and 1615, to be followed by woodsmen and other adventurers in search of furs and engaged in setting up trading posts. Around 1800 the American Philemon Wright began farming here, using the slopes of the Chaudière, and founded a colony which he named Hull after his parents' birthplace in England. In 1806 he sent a consignment of timber by raft to Québec, and thus became the founder of a major industry. Some time later another American, Ezra Butler Eddy, made the town famous throughout the world with the matches he produced here.
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