Chelsea, Quebec: Hiking, bistros, shopping and more!

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By Katharine Fletcher

If you visit Chelsea, Quebec, you’ll find Gatineau Park trailheads, colourful bistros, and unique and artsy Christmas gifts. Come explore this charming, picturesque Outaouais village, where you can discover a hoop door, see the final resting place of Asa Meech (after whom Meech Lake is named) and browse for local artists’ work—perhaps finishing your day with a massage!

From Biscotti & Cie’s vermillion shingles and tongue-in-groove wooden cladding, to the rounded turret of La Fab Arts Centre and the soaring spire of St. Stephen’s Roman Catholic Church, Chelsea is walkabout worthy.

And because this Gatineau Hills village is only 20 minutes (15.7 km) north of Parliament Hill, many of us feel we know it well. However, it boasts some secrets for heritage sleuths to discover. Let’s take a look.

Why was a village built here?

Chelsea is situated near a bend in Chelsea Creek with a waterfall. In pioneer days, falls powered several mills here. Because the mills ground local farmers’ grain and sawed logs into boards, the village prospered. With its tannery and blacksmith’s shop, it become a hub where people would shop, eat and perhaps stay overnight before travelling on with their horses and wagons.

In the late 1800s, this bustling settlement boasted four inns, all operated by Irishmen. At the corner of Kingsmere and Old Chelsea roads, one flat-topped, tin-clad former hotel remains; it’s now a private home. Once the Dunn Hotel, it also housed the post office and a tavern, at various times. Incidentally, all the village’s taverns were closed during the temperance movement of 1907.

Immediately east of the former Dunn Hotel you’ll find the Old Protestant Burial Ground. A brown sign points the way. Closer to the cemetery, you’ll see a larger interpretive sign, framed in red, identifying this as “Chelsea’s oldest cemetery, established in the 1830s.”

Immediately ahead, you’ll see Asa Meech’s grave. A United Empire Loyalist, doctor, Congregationalist minister and teacher, Meech had title to the first farm near the lake that bears his name.

Several other British and American settler families are buried here, too. You’ll also find the grave of “Budge” and Judy Crawley, pioneering Canadian filmmakers who won an Academy Award for their documentary feature, The Man Who Skied Down Everest.

Directly across the street, you’ll see the Chelsea Pub (238, chemin Old Chelsea). In these pandemic times, you can order boxed dinners and bottles of their fine microbrewery beer to take home (check out their Facebook page for details). If you’re standing outside its front door, look to the right to discover a narrower door (the one with all the credit card signage). To me, this is Chelsea’s secret portal to the past. It’s a rare example of a “hoop door,” so-named because when women wore hoop skirts, it could be opened to allow their unimpeded entry.

To the pub’s left, on the corner of Scott Road, is Mamma Teresa Ristorante (254, chemin Old Chelsea). On the right-hand side of this building, a gambrel-style dormer protects a brown door with deep red trim. Once upon a time, this part of the building was Gilmour’s Gatehouse, located beside the Gatineau River. After a dam was constructed on that river, the gatehouse was moved here.

In his fascinating column, “Echoes from the Past,” published in The Low Down to Hull and Back News, the late author Pat Evans once wrote:

“In 1926, when the electric dam had been erected, Tom Padden, watchman for the power company acquired the former gatehouse and moved it to a vacant lot on the corner of Old Chelsea and Scott Roads where once had stood, side by side, Whittaker’s Hotel…”

Gateway to Gatineau Park

Walking up Scott, you’ll pass several beautifully restored buildings. At the vermillion-coloured Biscotti & Cie (6, chemin Scott), you can enjoy a coffee outside (if you’re bundled up!). It’s followed by La Maison Bleue (10, chemin Scott), formerly the Old Chelsea Gallery and now a B&B. Near it, you’ll find what used to be called the Big House. Like La Maison Bleu, this building was constructed before 1875. Once home to mill owner John Chamberlin, today it’s La Cigale (14, chemin Scott), a popular ice cream shop that’s currently closed for the winter. It’s near yet another heritage structure, now home to Tonique restaurant (18, chemin Scott).

On the corner of Scott and Padden is a beautiful square-timber home, the O’Meara House, whose name recalls its first residents. In 1928, it served as the Old Chelsea post office, where postmistress Grace Welsh also operated a tearoom, serving meals by reservation. Today, it’s a picturesque private home.

Across the road, you’ll come to the Gatineau Park Visitors’ Centre (33, chemin Scott). Although its museum and washrooms are closed due to COVID-19, the centre is open. You can buy a Gatineau Park winter trail map or enquire about snowshoe, cross-country skiing, fat-biking and other trails. I popped in the other day to confirm that the (very) easy Sugarbush Trail is open.

Along Sugarbush at this time of year, you’ll likely spy any or all of our resident birds—such as chickadees, white- and red-breasted nuthatches, and hairy, pileated and downy woodpeckers—and hear the insistent scolding of red squirrels. The woods can be alive with songs, drilling and chirps, so listen closely.

From the visitors’ centre, look for the gigantic Gatineau Park sign featuring a map. Continue left of it and cross the bridge over Chelsea Creek to find the Sugarbush Trail. This lovely trail is suitable for walking and (pending snowfall) snowshoeing. (Parents, take note: It’s also fine for strollers, if the snow’s not prohibitively deep.)

Wait! What’s this about artsy gifts?

At the other end of the village, you’ll see the spire of St. Stephen’s Roman Catholic Church (212, chemin Old Chelsea, free parking opposite). You can stroll or drive there along chemin Old Chelsea, passing Une Boulangerie dans un Village (242, chemin Old Chelsea, where you can currently buy sandwiches and desserts), the Chelsea Pub, and the gambrel-roofed Les Saisons Coffee House (232, chemin Old Chelsea). After passing the municipal buildings, you’ll approach the church, built on a rise.

Immediately before St. Stephen’s is the church’s former rectory, transformed by artists a few years ago into La Fab Centre des Arts (212, chemin Old Chelsea).

Until December 27, the artists of La Fab are holding their colourful annual Christmas show. Not only is the permanent boutique filled with affordable gifts, from earrings to scarves to pottery, but La Fab’s gallery is also chock full of members’ artworks.

Pop in, browse and don’t miss the upstairs gallery extension, where many artists have studios. If a studio door is open, you may be able to meet the artist at work.

Check the centre’s website for current hours.

And the church?

St. Stephen’s Roman Catholic Church started life as a wooden building located north of the current stone edifice. The latter was built with Corkstown Road stone from Ottawa, and the way that was collected is a tale in itself. Evans wrote:

“It became the practice, for a while, for the male parishioners to leave Old Chelsea at 3.00 a.m. with a load of logs or hay for delivery in the city, returning with a load of stone at 9 or 10 o’clock in the evening.”

It’s interesting to visit this cemetery, where you’ll now recognize some names, such as O’Meara, along with other Old World names, such as Wernikowski. All are testament to the diversity of European settlement.

What about that spa?

There’s much more to explore in Chelsea, but why not relax at Nordik Spa-Nature (16, chemin Nordik)? Although much of it is closed due to the pandemic, you can still get a massage and other spa treatments. And, of course, gift certificates are available.

Interested in learning more about Chelsea’s history?

To delve more deeply into the village’s past, check out author Pat Evans’ book, A Tale of Two Chelseas and Louise Schwartz’s detailed article about Old Chelsea for The Low Down to Hull and Back News.

Katharine Fletcher’s Historical Walks: The Gatineau Park Story includes information on the history of the region (including Chelsea) and features many of the trails in Gatineau Park. (You can buy it at La Fab or on Katharine’s website.)

Katharine is a freelance writer, author, columnist and  visual artist and member of La Fab. She invites you to “like” her Facebook page.

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