Chelsea is a municipality located immediately north of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, and about north of Ottawa. Chelsea is located within Canada's National Capital Region. It is the seat of Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais Regional County Municipality. Its population was 6,909 in the 2016 Canadian Census. The population of Chelsea is almost evenly divided between anglophones and francophones and both English and French languages are in common use throughout the town. The municipality has a reputation for being environmentally responsible and was one of the first in Canada to ban the use of pesticides. While 60% of the area consists of Gatineau Park, much of the rest of Chelsea is residential with mostly large lots, and tracts of undeveloped land. It has a distinctly rural feel. A new sports complex, the Meredith Centre, was developed on the main road, neighboring the English Elementary School. The new complex hosts a hockey rink, community rooms, and soccer fields. Part of the film Grey Owl was shot on the Gatineau River. A number of regionally and nationally well-known musicians, filmmakers, and artists live in Chelsea, including Ian Tamblyn.
Geography
Chelsea is a triangle-shaped municipality that includes much of the southern and eastern parts of Gatineau Park, and is bordered on the east by the Gatineau River. The southern border is south of Old Chelsea, and it runs north to the community of Farm Point. Beyond Farm Point lies the municipality of La Pêche and the village of Wakefield. Just north of Old Chelsea is Camp Fortune, a popular alpine ski club 15 minutes from Downtown Ottawa.
History
Chelsea is named after the Vermont town of its first settler, Thomas Brigham, who was a partner and son-in-law of Philemon Wright and arrived there in 1819. The name has been in use since the early 19th century: Old Chelsea, Parish Saint-Stephen-of-Chelsea, Chelsea. In 1875, the municipality was established as Hull-Partie-Ouest, or commonly referred to as West Hull. The municipality was renamed to its current name in 1990. During World War II, the Royal Canadian Navy wanted to understand more about the propagation of radio waves and how they were affected by the earth's ionosphere in order that German radio transmissions could be intercepted in a more efficient manner. In co-operation with the National Research Council, the RCN established a "field intensity station" at Chelsea in 1941 to monitor the height of the ionosphere. Chelsea, also known as an ionospheric observatory, was established in 1941 and closed down in 1947. It was located on the north side of Old Chelsea Road a few hundred yards west of Highway 105. The Chelsea station operated during the post war period but in 1947, its work was transferred to the Defence Research Board's new Radio Propagation Laboratory in Ottawa. Shortly thereafter, the station was demolished. Today, there are no traces of the single shack or the many masts that were once erected on the property.
