Alonzo Wright (April 28, 1821January 7, 1894) was a Canadian member of Parliament and businessman commonly known as "King of the Gatineau". He was born in

Hull, Quebec Hull is the central business district and oldest neighbourhood of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of Canada's ...

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 Nicholas Charles Sparks (born December 31, 1965) is an American novelist, screenwriter, and film producer. He has published twenty-three novels, all ''New York Times'' bestsellers, and two works of nonfiction, with over 115 million copies sold ...

and Sarah Olmstead Wright, the widow of his uncle. In 1863, he was elected in the Ottawa (County) riding of

Canada East Canada East () was the northeastern portion of the Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new colony, known as the Province of ...

to the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the Parliament of the Province of Canada. The Province of Canada consisted of the former province of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East (now Quebec), and Upper Canada ...

. He continued to represent this district until 1891, after 1867 as a member of the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

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

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

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. According to the current owners, the log cabin now located at 893 av. Gatineau, known locally as the "Little Red House" built by Alonzo's father, Tiberius, served as the family residence in the 1830s. It dates from as early as 1824, possibly making it the oldest building in the

Outaouais Outaouais (, ; also commonly called The Outaouais) is a region of western Quebec, Canada. It includes the city of Gatineau, the municipality of Val-des-Monts, the municipality of Cantley, Quebec, Cantley and the Papineau Regional County Municipal ...

region in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Electoral record

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* * 1821 births 1894 deaths 19th-century Canadian businesspeople Pre-Confederation Quebec people Businesspeople from Quebec Canadian people of English descent Politicians from Gatineau Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East Anglophone Quebec people Canadian people of American descent 19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada {{Conservative18671942-Quebec-MP-stub