District de Hull in Gatineau in Outaouais, Québec — Central Canada (French-Canadian)

Les débuts modestes de l'usine E. B. Eddy

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 27, 2024

1. Les débuts modestes de l'usine E. B. Eddy Marker

Inscription.

[English translation] , The Modest Beginnings of the E. B. Eddy Factory, Born in 1827 in Vermont, USA, Ezra Butler Eddy moved to Hull in 1854, where he rented a building from one of the Wright family members. With the help of his wife Zaida, he started crafting matches by hand, which he sold himself. This was the modest beginning of an industry based on producing a wide variety of items that were affordable and essential. , A Rapid Industrial Rise , In the following decade, E. B. Eddy diversified his production by renting the Wrights' buildings and equipment, including a cooperage, a forge, and a sawmill used for making boilers as well as buckets, washboards, and other wooden products. After the death of Ruggles Wright, Philemon's son, in 1863, Eddy acquired from the Wright heirs almost all the buildings at the Chaudières Falls and the forest concessions he already largely occupied. Adding to his early products the manufacturing of doors and windows and lumber, Eddy became during the 1870s the main manufacturer at Chute des Chaudières. , From Wood to Paper , In 1882, a fire almost completely destroyed Eddy's facilities. Rebuilding the factory led the industrialist to rethink his 1878 patent for hardened pulp for buckets and other wooden items and apply it to paper manufacturing. He first focused on mechanical pulp, then on producing sulfite pulps. In 1886, the entrepreneur consolidated his interests and founded E. B. Eddy Company Limited. The following year, Eddy entered the pulp and paper industry and installed his first paper machine in 1890. He then produced tissue paper, brown paper, and newsprint. In 1901, he built a washing tower for his sulfite pulp mill, the first of its kind in Canada. For over a century, E. B. Eddy Company remained the main employer in Hull. , From Industrialist to Politician , Best known for his role as an industrialist, Ezra Butler Eddy also got involved in politics. Between 1871 and 1892, he served as a Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly and as councilor and mayor of Hull. In 1875, he introduced the bill that officially created the City of Hull.

Né en 1827 au Vermont, aux États-Unis, Ezra Butler Eddy s'installe à Hull en 1854, où il loue un bâtiment à l'un des membres de la famille Wright. Aidé de son épouse Zaida, il entreprend la fabrication artisanale d'allumettes qu'il vend lui-même. C'est le modeste début d'une industrie basée sur la production d'articles très variés, mais abordables et essentiels.

Une Ascension Industrielle Rapide
Dans la décennie qui suit, E. B. Eddy diversifie sa production en louant les bâtiments et équipements des Wright, dont la tonnellerie, la forge et la scierie servant à la fabrication de chaudières ainsi que des seaux, planches à laver et autres produits en bois. Suite au décès de Ruggles Wright, fils de Philemon, en 1863, Eddy acquit des héritiers Wright presque tous les édifices de la chute des Chaudières et les concessions forestières qu'il occupait déjà en grande partie. Ayant ajouté à ses premières productions la manufacture de portes et fenêtres et le bois d'œuvre, Eddy devient au cours des années 1870 le principal manufacturier de la chute des Chaudières.

Du Bois au Papier
En 1882, un incendie détruit presque

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entièrement les installations d'Eddy. La reconstruction de la manufacture amène l'industriel à revoir son brevet d'invention de pâte durcie pour les seaux et autres articles en bois de 1878 pour l'appliquer à la fabrication du papier. Il s'intéresse d'abord à la pâte mécanique, puis à la production de pâtes au bisulfite. En 1886, l'entrepreneur consolide ses intérêts et fonde l'E. B. Eddy Company Limited. L'année suivante, Eddy fait ses débuts dans l'industrie des pâtes et papiers puis installe sa première machine à papier en 1890. Il produit ensuite du papier mousseline, du papier brun ainsi que du papier journal. En 1901, il construit une tour de lessivage pour son usine de pâte au bisulfite, la première du genre au Canada. Pendant plus d'un siècle, la compagnie E. B. Eddy demeure le principal employeur de Hull.

D’industriel à Politicien
Surtout connu pour son rôle d'industriel, Ezra Butler Eddy s'implique également dans le milieu politique. Entre 1871 et 1892, il est député conservateur à l'Assemblée législative et échevin et maire de Hull. En 1875, il présente le projet de loi créant officiellement la Cité de Hull.

[English translation]
The Modest Beginnings of the E. B. Eddy Factory

Born in 1827 in Vermont, USA, Ezra Butler Eddy moved to Hull in 1854, where he rented a building from one of

Marker detail: Les installations de la compagnie E. B. Eddy en 1890. image. Click for full size.

Ville de Gatineau, Collection iconographique de la Ville de Hull

2. Marker detail: Les installations de la compagnie E. B. Eddy en 1890.

The facilities of the E. B. Eddy company in 1890.

the Wright family members. With the help of his wife Zaida, he started crafting matches by hand, which he sold himself. This was the modest beginning of an industry based on producing a wide variety of items that were affordable and essential.

A Rapid Industrial Rise
In the following decade, E. B. Eddy diversified his production by renting the Wrights' buildings and equipment, including a cooperage, a forge, and a sawmill used for making boilers as well as buckets, washboards, and other wooden products. After the death of Ruggles Wright, Philemon's son, in 1863, Eddy acquired from the Wright heirs almost all the buildings at the Chaudières Falls and the forest concessions he already largely occupied. Adding to his early products the manufacturing of doors and windows and lumber, Eddy became during the 1870s the main manufacturer at Chute des Chaudières.

From Wood to Paper
In 1882, a fire almost completely destroyed Eddy's facilities. Rebuilding the factory led the industrialist to rethink his 1878 patent for hardened pulp for buckets and other wooden items and apply it to paper manufacturing. He first focused on mechanical pulp, then on producing sulfite pulps. In 1886, the entrepreneur consolidated his interests and founded E. B. Eddy Company Limited. The following year, Eddy entered the pulp and paper industry and installed his first paper

Marker detail: Groupe de travailleurs de l'E. B. Eddy, vers 1910. image. Click for full size.

Ville de Gatineau, Collection iconographique de la Ville de Hull

3. Marker detail: Groupe de travailleurs de l'E. B. Eddy, vers 1910.

Au pic de ses activités, Eddy est le principal employeur de ta ville. • • • Group of workers from E. B. Eddy, around 1910. At the peak of its activities, Eddy was the main employer in town.

machine in 1890. He then produced tissue paper, brown paper, and newsprint. In 1901, he built a washing tower for his sulfite pulp mill, the first of its kind in Canada. For over a century, E. B. Eddy Company remained the main employer in Hull.

From Industrialist to Politician
Best known for his role as an industrialist, Ezra Butler Eddy also got involved in politics. Between 1871 and 1892, he served as a Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly and as councilor and mayor of Hull. In 1875, he introduced the bill that officially created the City of Hull.

Erected by Ville de Gatineau, Québec, Entente de développement culturel.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1854.

Location. 45° 25.505′ N, 75° 43.174′ W. Marker is in Gatineau, Québec, in Outaouais. It is in District de Hull. It is at the intersection of Promenade du Portage and Rue Eddy, on the right when traveling west on Promenade du Portage. The marker is on the sidewalk near the northeast corner of the intersection. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Gatineau QC J8X 2L9, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Ottawa Metropolitan Area

and in the Outaouais & Eastern Townships.

It is also in Central Canada.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Great North Woods,

the Western Hemisphere,

and the Western World.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony,

the Viceroyalty of New France,

the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: L'édifice Jules-Léger / The Jules Léger Building (within shouting distance of this marker); Le métier et les combats des allumettières

Marker detail: Ezra Butler Eddy et son épouse Zaida Diana Arnold en 1873. image. Click for full size.

by William James Topley, Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, Fonds Topley Studio

4. Marker detail: Ezra Butler Eddy et son épouse Zaida Diana Arnold en 1873.

Posant avec leur fille, Ella Clarissa. • • • Ezra Butler Eddy and his wife Zaida Diana Arnold in 1873. Posing with their daughter, Ella Clarissa.

(within shouting distance of this marker); Philemon Wright (about 180 meters away, measured in a direct line); Ce bâtiment est un haut lieu du syndicalisme Québécois (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Maison Aubry (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Une enclave du passé au cœur de la ville (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Le village d'Argentine, dernier témoin d'une époque (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); La Place du Portage / Place du Portage (approx. 0.4 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Gatineau.

Also see . . .
1. Ezra Butler Eddy (Wikipedia).

Excerpt: Ezra Butler Eddy (August 22, 1827 – February 10, 1906) was a Canadian businessman and political figure. He founded the E. B. Eddy Company, which produced matches and related wood products, later diversifying into pulp and paper and expanding to become a major manufacturer. Eddy later became a politician, serving as mayor of Hull, Quebec and as a Quebec legislator.
Eddy first began manufacturing wooden matches by hand in Burlington, Vermont in 1851. In 1854, he brought his business
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 27, 2024

5. Les débuts modestes de l'usine E. B. Eddy Marker
Looking south across Promenade du Portage.
to Hull, Canada East (now Gatineau, Quebec) when he was only twenty-four, and began producing matches using discarded wood from the nearby sawmills. With the help of his first wife, Eddy produced matches by hand at his home in Hull. His business grew rapidly, becoming one of the largest match factories in the world. In 1856, he added the manufacture of wooden ware, such as pails, tubs, washboards, clothespins, etc., to his business. In 1858, he commenced lumbering in a small way; but all these branches increased in volume from year to year, until 1868, when the business had reached a magnitude of one million dollars per annum. Eddy's company was one of the major employers in the region for over a hundred years.
For thirteen years, at different times he occupied the position of Mayor of Hull. He represented Ottawa electoral district in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1871 to 1875. He was a member of the municipal council for Hull from 1878 to 1888 and mayor from 1881 to 1885, from 1887 to 1888 and from 1891 to 1892. He tabled the bill creating the City of Hull in 1875. Besides running his factories, he was an administrator of the Canada Central Railway Company.

(Submitted on June 6, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. E. B. Eddy Company (Wikipedia).

Excerpt:
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 27, 2024

6. E. B. Eddy Company Building
The circa 1892 factory building is one block southwest of this marker, on Alexandre-Taché Boulevard.
The E. B. Eddy Manufacturing Company was originally incorporated in 1886 with Ezra Butler Eddy as its president. Eddy had begun business in 1854 making and selling wooden matches out of his home. The company expanded into pulp and paper. In 1891, it was renamed to the E. B. Eddy Company. On April 26, 1900, a large fire destroyed most of the company's facilities, but it was back in operation in less than a year. Eddy died in 1906. In 1926, R.B. Bennett gained control of the company. E. B. Eddy sold off its match division in 1927 and it was merged with World Match Corp. Ltd., Dominion Match Co. Ltd. and Canadian Match Co. Ltd. The company became the first manufacturer of book matches in Canada in 1929 and was the largest producer of this product in Canada. In 1943, the company was sold to George Weston, Ltd. The company acquired the paper mills of the J.R. Booth Company in 1946. In 1998, the company was taken over by Domtar Inc. and became the E. B. Eddy Division of that company.

(Submitted on June 6, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on June 8, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 6, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 11 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on June 6, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.