Chelsea

Chelsea is a Canadian municipality in Quebec, capital of the Collines-de-l'Outaouais Regional County Municipality, in the Outaouais region. It is located north of Gatineau, about a 15-minute highway drive from Ottawa, and is therefore part of Canada's National Capital Region.

The name "Chelsea" has been used since the early 1800s: Old Chelsea (1819), Saint-Steven-de-Chelsea Parish (1835), Chelsea (circa 1870). The name comes from Chelsea, New Vermont, the birthplace of Thomas Brigham, the first settler. The area was once known as "Hull-Ouest" or West Hull, but the name was changed to avoid confusion with the neighboring city of Hull (now Gatineau).

The municipality of Chelsea developed through the lumber trade, like the vast majority of the Outaouais region. Due to the intensive fur trade, beavers almost completely disappeared from the region. At that time, the region's poor arable soil made farming unsuitable, which is why logging became so popular. In 1840, the Gilmour Mills were established at Chelsea Falls, a milestone in the municipality's development. Furthermore, the fact that Chelsea was a stopover between Hull and Wakefield, with each municipality being approximately 19 km apart, also contributed to its growth in the mid-19th century. Today, Chelsea's population stands out from the rest of the Outaouais region because it is young, more educated than the rest of the region, has a very high average income, and a low unemployment rate.

Chelsea is a triangular-shaped municipality, bordered to the east by the Gatineau River. The southern edge is 5 km from Old Chelsea (the central village) and runs north to the community of Farm Point. Beyond Farm Point lies the municipality of La Pêche, which includes the village of Wakefield. Much of Chelsea's territory is owned by the National Capital Commission (NCC). This organization manages Gatineau Park and other lands in the Gatineau-Ottawa region.