Alonzo Wright

Who was Alonzo Wright?

Alonzo Wright was a Canadian member of Parliament and businessman commonly known as "King of the Gatineau".

He was born in Cantley, Quebec in 1821. He was a grandson of Philemon Wright, and son of Tiberius Wright. He earned his fortune in the family's lumber business.

In 1848, he married Mary Sparks, who was the daughter of Nicholas Sparks and Sarah Olmstead Wright, the widow of his uncle.

In 1863, he was elected in the County of Ottawa riding of Canada East to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada. He continued to represent this district until 1891, after 1867 as a member of the Canadian House of Commons.

He died in 1894 at Ironside, Quebec, now part of the city of Gatineau.

The Alonzo-Wright Bridge over the Gatineau River was named after him. Although Wright wasn't involved in the construction of this bridge, he did have a role in petitioning for the replacement of the ferry service at this location by a bridge. His original homestead became the Collège Saint-Alexandre, and some have claimed that a log cabin at 893 av. Gatineau served as the family residence in the 1830s.