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Arnold's Cove
For much of its history, Arnold's Cove was a small fishing community in Placentia Bay but in the 1960s it became one of the primary "growth centres" under the resettlement program. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, its population doubled as 139 families - a total of 620 people - moved there from Tack's Beach, Woody Island, Port Ann, Harbour Buffett, Kingwell, Spencer's Cove and other communities from Placentia Bay islands. Many people floated their houses to Arnold's Cove and installed them in neat rows on newly developed, suburban-style streets. These structures were modernized by their owners and, combined with the many new houses and commercial and institutional buildings, now give Arnold's Cove a very different appearance from most Newfoundland fishing towns. With a new fish plant constructed by National Sea Products in 1978, an oil refinery at nearby Come-by-Chance and a phosphorous plant Long Harbour, Arnold's Cove developed into a prosperous town with full employment for its new residents. The images are of a modern, suburban-style community in a rural setting.
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Battle Harbour
Described by Bishop Feild in 1851 as "probably the oldest, as well as the largest settlement on the Labrador Coast," Battle Harbour evolved from a seasonal fishing station to a permanent settlement and mercantile centre in southeastern Labrador. In the last quarter of the 18th century, John Slade and Company of Poole, Dorset had built extensive mercantile premises there. The Slade company engaged in the saltfish trade and sealing, supplying crews with their needs in exchange for their produce each season. Battle Harbour also became a centre for supplying the Labrador "floater" fishery prosecuted by crews from the island of Newfoundland who came each spring on their schooners. This brisk commercial trade maintained a stable, though small population at Battle Harbour of about 200 by 1848. In that year Bishop Feild consecrated the first cemetery which, not surprisingly, had headstones imported from Poole. St. James Anglican Church, the first church at Battle Harbour, was constructed in 1857. In 1871, Baine, Johnston and Company acquired the Slade operation. Baine, Johnston ran the operation until 1955 when it sold the premises to Earle Brothers Freighting Services. However by then the community had begun to decline. When fire devastated Battle Harbour in 1930, the new school, hospital and outbuildings were built at Mary's Harbour on the mainland, 11 kilometres away. The relocation of these services combined with the decline of the salmon and cod fisheries after Confederation, led to the resettlement of the community around 1966. In that year, an amendment to the Federal-Provincial Resettlement Program allowed individual households to move from "designated outports." This prompted many people in southeastern Labrador to relocate, including 14 Battle Harbour families consisting of 59 residents who had moved to Mary's Harbour by 1970. Some families continued to maintain their property there and returned each season to prosecute the fishery. Earle Brothers continued to operate at Battle Harbour until the decline of inshore fisheries in the early 1990s, when the Battle Harbour Historic Trust acquired the property. The Trust has preserved and restored the old premises and other properties at Battle Harbour, resulting in its designation as a national historic site. Now regarded as one of the province's "signature attractions," many travellers from around the world visit Battle Harbour each year. The images capture the extent and layout of the mercantile premises in the early 1900s and after restoration at the end of the century.
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Bragg's Island
The community of Bragg's Island (pop. 1951, 83) was on the north side of Bonavista Bay southeast of Trinity. The community had eighteen people in 1857 and was resettled between 1952 and 1955. The main receiving areas were Glovertown, Dark Cove and Hare Bay.
Bragg's Island depended predominantly on the fishery, with a small amount of agriculture supplementing the people's needs. The inshore fishery was particularly important but the community was also dependent on the Labrador fishery. The island was nestled close to two other island communities; Deer Island and Green's Island. In 1921 ten vessels from the three communities were involved in the Labrador fishery and in 1920 sixty-eight men obtained employment there.
The first church to serve the communities was built in 1909. The people were almost exclusively Methodist and then United Church.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
British Harbour
A small fishing community on the north side of Trinity Bay, about 19 kilometres southwest of Trinity, British Harbour was abandoned under the Federal-Provincial Resettlement Program around 1969. Residents were heavily involved in the Labrador fishery, the inshore fishery and boat building. The highest recorded population of 224 in 1901 fell to 78 in 1966, no doubt due in part to the decline of the Labrador fishery. Most of the images presented here either date from the time of Confederation when British Harbour was a very scenic but still active community in the fishery, or twenty years later when resettlement was under way.
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Cape Cove
Cape Cove (pop. 1945, 51) was a resettled community located on the northeast side of Fogo Island and was settled in the early 1800s by Irish Roman Catholic settlers. E.R. Seary (1976) records a Catherine Kennedy as a resident of Cape Cove in 1827 and the settlement is first reported in the Census of 1845, with a population of three, all involved in fishing (cod) and sealing.
By 1901 the population had reached 41, composed of 10 families, all Roman Catholic, with one school reported operating. Fishing remained the economic base of Cape Cove, which was accessible only by boat. This extreme isolation and the decline of the cod and seal fisheries in the 1930s led to the resettlement of Cape Cove and by 1953 it was one of 29 Newfoundland communities resettled, at an average cost of $301 per family.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Cape Island
Cape Island (pop. 1945, 102) is located off the eastern tip of Cape Freels, at the northern entrance to Bonavista Bay. It was probably settled in the late 1700s as fishermen and trappers moved from Bonavista and Greenspond to the islands off the cape. E.R. Seary (1976) reports a John Vincent baptized at Cape Island in 1830. The 1836 Census lists 11 houses and a mainly Methodist population of 100. There were a few Roman Catholic families present, as well. The population fluctuated as families from the mainland temporarily moved to the island in the summer to fish. By 1857 Cape Island numbered 69 inhabitants and by 1891 it had risen to 103.
The economy of Cape Island was based on the small-boat inshore cod fishery. Cod and capelin were the main catches and in the 1900s shore fish in salt bulk was sold to merchants in Newtown. However, by mid-century the inshore fishery was in decline and the industry was changing from salt-bulk to fresh-frozen processing. This change was an important factor in the community's decision to resettle. Between 1948 and 1950 the entire community abandoned the island to move to Newtown, Bonavista Bay, to take advantage of that community's services.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Colinet Islands
Two islands, Great Colinet Island and Little Colinet Island, situated adjacent to each other in the middle of St. Mary's Bay, make up Colinet Islands. However, only Great Colinet Island saw extensive permanent settlement at two communities called Mosquito and Mother IXX's (probably an aberration of the name Mother Hicks), later renamed Reginaville. Well situated to prosecute the fishery in sheltered coves and near abundant stocks of codfish, both communities were prosperous. In the 1950s, each community had a church, school, and fish plant to process fresh codfish. The future seemed promising. However, by 1960, the decline of the fishery and continuing isolation convinced all 51 families and 264 inhabitants - named Power, Dalton, McEvoy, Hanlon, Linehan, Doody and Ryan - to resettle. Almost all resettled to nearby Admiral's Beach. The images show life and work on Great Colinet Island prior to resettlement.
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Cowards Island
Cowards Island is one of four rocky islands in central Bonavista Bay which together are called the Flat Islands. The islands, named Flat (Samson) Island, Berry Head, North Island and Cowards Island, were among the earliest reported settled areas in Bonavista Bay with the first record of residence mentioned in the "Register of Fishing Rooms in Bonavista Bay," for 1806.
According to G.W. Roberts (1973) the first settlers of Cowards Island were named Puddister. Later settlers included the Ralph, Pike, Saunders, Kelligrew, Durdle and Morgan families.
The development of the islands rested on a shift from local fishing to the Labrador fishery in the 1850s. In the 19th century the area's production of Labrador cod averaged between 152,400 and 203,200 kg (3,000 and 4,000 quintals) per year using eight or nine vessels. By the 1950s, however, with the decline of the lucrative Labrador fishery, more than half the workforce were employed in carpentry, construction and woods work in shoreline communities of Bonavista Bay and in central Newfoundland. By 1956 the school on Cowards Island was closed and towed to Glovertown, and in 1957 the majority of the population prepared to move.
The last move out of the four islands, involving 119 families, was undertaken with government assistance. About twenty per cent moved to St. John's. The remainder scattered to Glovertown, Eastport, St. Chad's, Burnside and other settlements such as Dark Cove, Hare Bay, Dock Cove and St. Brendan's. Many houses were floated, or disassembled and rafted to their new locations where, with their older style, made significant contributions to local architecture.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Deer Harbour
Situated on the east side of Random Island, not far from Ireland's Eye, Deer Harbour was a very picturesque fishing, saw milling and boat-building community. Its secure, bowl-shaped harbour was ideal for pursing these economic activities. Nevertheless Deer Harbour was not connected to the rest of Random Island by road, and the population of less than 200 abandoned the community after 1965, under the Federal-Provincial Resettlement Program. Most residents moved to other parts of Random Island, especially Hickman's Harbour. The mostly colour images presented here are striking in how they capture the vibrant community prior to resettlement and the degree of decay evident a few years afterwards.
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Deer Island
Deer Island (pop. 1951, 83) was one of three adjacent islands (Bragg's Island, Deer Island and Green's Island) on the north side of Bonavista Bay southeast of Trinity. Deer Island was the first settled and had a population of 36 in 1836.
All three were depended predominantly on the Labrador fishery. In 1921, for example, they sent 10 vessels to to Labrador.
The first school was built on Deer Island in the 1890s and the first church to serve the three communities was built in 1909.
The people were almost exclusively Methodist and then United Church. Deer Island was resettled between 1952 and 1955 with the main receiving areas being Glovertown, Dark Cove and Hare Bay.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Exploits
Settled in the late 18th century, Exploits was for much of its history a bustling fishing and saw milling town on Burnt Island in Notre Dame Bay. Exploits was also a mercantile centre, a base for both the Labrador fishery and, because if its strategic location, the annual spring seal hunt. However, the population fell from a high of over 600 in 1874 to less than 300 by 1966. Nevertheless it was one of the larger communities resettled in this period. The images here are taken either before resettlement or in 1965, the year Newfoundland artist Gerry Squires moved to Exploits from Toronto, only to find that people were beginning to pack up and leave under resettlement.
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Fair Island
A series of small islands on the north side of Bonavista Bay, off shore from Centreville, Fair Island was a fishing settlement throughout its long history. In the second half of the 19th century, the increasing population made inshore fishing less viable and residents became heavily involved in the Labrador fishery. When that fishery began to fail in the 1930s and beyond, many left the fishery to become loggers in that region. The community was resettled under the provincial government's centralization program between 1959 and 1961. They moved primarily to Centreville, a planned community, and nearby Trinity, Bonavista Bay, but also Hare Bay, Black Duck Cove and Catalina, Trinity Bay. The images show life on Fair Island prior to resettlement and also one of the houses moved under the program.
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Flat Island
Flat Island is one of four rocky islands in central Bonavista Bay which together are called the Flat Islands. The islands, named Flat (Samson) Island, Berry Head, North Island and Coward Island, were among the earliest reported settled areas in Bonavista Bay with the first record of residence mentioned in the "Register of Fishing Rooms in Bonavista Bay," for 1806. Settlement on Flat Islands concentrated on Flat Island, with about one half of the population living there.
The Hallett, Dyer, Cheaten, Samson, Kelligrew, Ralph, Hiscock, Hicks, Rogers and Morgan families were permanent residents of Flat Islands by 1845. Names associated with the settlement after 1845 included Power, Crocker, Petten, Philpott, Butt, Pike and Honnibon.
Tremendous growth and development was reported at Flat Islands from 1836 to 1891 (Census). In 1844 it was reported that a schoolhouse was being built at Flat Island, and by 1846 this school was in operation. By 1869 Flat Islands had a population of 230. By 1891 the population reached 417.
The development of the islands rested on a shift from local fishing to the Labrador fishery in the 1850s. In the 19th century the area's production of Labrador cod averaged between 152,400 and 203,200 kg (3,000 and 4,000 quintals) per year using eight or nine vessels. By the 1950s, however, with the decline of the lucrative Labrador fishery, more than half the workforce were employed in carpentry, construction and woods work in shoreline communities of Bonavista Bay and in central Newfoundland.
In 1954 the first house from Flat Island was floated to Glovertown and in 1957 the majority of the population prepared to move. The last move out of Flat Islands, involving 119 families, was undertaken with government assistance. About twenty per cent (42) of this total moved to St. John's. The remainder scattered, to Glovertown (17), Eastport (12), St. Chad's (12), Burnside (23) and other settlements (including thirteen familes who settled in Dark Cove, Hare Bay, Dock Cove and St. Brendan's). Many houses were floated, or disassembled and rafted to their new locations, where Flat Islands houses with their older style have made significant contributions to local architecture.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Grole
Grole (pop. 1966, 193) was a fishing settlement located on the south side of Hermitage Bay near its eastern entrance at Pass Island.
The English-based Newman and Company was probably the means by which the first year-round settlers came to Grole. Nearby Gaultois was a major base of the Newman operation from the 18th Century and the company is recorded as having purchased Crown land in the settlement of Grole in 1851.
The volume of business at Grole during the 19th Century was sizable: between 1836 and 1884 the settlement was the largest salt-fish producer in the area (Census) and also reported catches of salmon and lobster.
By 1836, when Grole was first reported in the Census, it had a population of 188. Because of its limited available land and lack of a good harbour able to accommodate large numbers of boats, Grole's growth was slow; it reached its peak in the early 20th Century and the population of the settlement never exceeded 250 people.
Between 1966 and 1970 the families of Grole resettled, mainly in Harbour Breton under the latter part of the first agreement of the federal-provincial government resettlement programme. Other families settled in small numbers at Gaultois, Grand Bank, Hermitage, Long Pond, Marystown, Milltown and Stephenville.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Harbour Buffett
Harbour Buffett, located on the southeastern side of Long Island in inner Placentia Bay, has a deep, sheltered harbour with Dick's Island at the entrance and Isaac's Island close by to the south. It was settled in the early nineteenth century by English and Irish fishermen who took up residence in four areas: "the harbour," northeast Harbour Buffett, the Tickles, and Coffin's Cove. Although Harbour Buffett was primarily a fishing community, census records also list coopers, blacksmiths, sailmakers, carpenters, boat builders and clerks. The first official census in 1836 showed a population of 58, and by 1921 the population peaked at 498. When young people started leaving to further their education the community began its decline. Harbour Buffett was abandoned in 1967 under the second phase of the government-sponsored resettlement program. The majority of residents moved to Arnold's Cove, Dunville and St. John's. The images here show life in Harbour Buffett from early in the twentieth century to resettlement in 1967, it's abandoned state, and finally the reunion of 1993.
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Hooping Harbour
Located on the eastern side of the Great Northern Peninsula, about 16 kilometres south of Englee, Hooping Harbour was settled in the 19th century, though it was likely used as a seasonal fishing station for both the French and English in the 18th century. Initially called Sansfond by the French, a reference to the deep water of the harbour, Captain Cook charted Hooping Harbour in 1775. Fishing was the economic mainstay but good timber resources in the area also supported a sawmill.
Methodism predominated in the early 20th century but by the time of Confederation, a new denomination, the Apostolic Faith, had become established in Hooping Harbour and nearby communities. The Apostolic Faith came to play a central role in the resettlement of the community. After an unsuccessful attempt in 1969 to have Hooping Harbour designated as a "growth centre" under the Federal-Provincial Resettlement Program, Pastor Booth Reid of the Apostolic Faith Church, by then the predominant denomination, convinced residents to resettle.
Englee attracted 73 of those residents while 16 went to Roddickton. The majority, 181, went to Bide Arm, a new community established for this purpose located between Roddickton and Englee. A few others found their way to Woodstock, Sops Arm and Corner Brook. By establishing Bide Arm as their new home, Hooping Harbour residents had flouted convention; it was the only new community created under resettlement in the 1950s and 1960s.
The images presented here show life in Hooping Harbour before and after resettlement and also of the Apostolic Church being moved to Bide Arm. There are also images of Bide Arm that show buildings moved from Hooping Harbour and the planned service road for the fishery along the shoreline, an unusual feature in a Newfoundland fishing communities.
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Ireland's Eye
Ireland's Eye was a small fishing community on an island of the same name, at the entrance to Smith Sound, Trinity Bay. Occupied by planters as early as 1675, Ireland's Eye was ideally situated for prosecuting the inshore cod fishery. The population reached a recorded high of 157 in 1911 but declined quickly after Confederation. With the nearest road connection at New Bonaventure, 13 kilometres from the island, and a declining fishery after 1949, people began to resettle under the provincial government's centralization program in 1959. By 1966 the population had fallen to 16; most moved to New Bonaventure, Trinity and the Clarenville area. The images, including those of the Church of England Church, the predominant denomination at Ireland's Eye, show the transition from a viable fishing community to its abandonment and beyond.
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Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe (pop. 1961, 71) was a resettled fishing community on the southwest side of the island of Ireland's Eye, facing The Thoroughfare between Ireland's Eye and Random Island. The island of Ireland's Eye was used by fishermen from at least the 1600s and was associated with the nearby commercial centre of Trinity. Early references to Ireland's Eye do not distinguish between the island and specific communities: Ivanhoe was not reported until 1891. In that year Old Tilt, as the community was then called, recorded a population of 21. The community was renamed Ivanhoe in 1917 after the Ivany family.
The people, exclusively Church of England throughout its early history, attended church services in Ireland's Eye and the children went to school there until 1921, when a school was opened in Ivanhoe. A church was also built between Ivanhoe and Traytown and a cemetery consecrated.
By 1921 the population had reached 64 and grew slowly until 1945 when 101 people were recorded. Thereafter, the community declined in size until the 1960s, when the island communities resettled. When the nearest substantial merchant, in Thoroughfare, moved from the area, the remaining residents of Ivanhoe soon followed. By 1966 the resettlement of the community was complete. In 1990 a few decaying houses and the church, its roof gone, marked the site.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Jersey Harbour
Jersey Harbour (pop. 1966, 169) was a resettled community in Fortune Bay about 3 km northeast of Harbour Breton.
The firm of Nicolle and Co. from Jersey set up at Jersey Harbour some time between 1789 and 1803 and became one of the first major mercantile operations in Fortune Bay. The company immediately recruited servants in Jersey and later in Dorset, 40 arriving from Jersey in 1803. In that year there were 95 men fishing from the settlement. The company's small schooners collected fish all along the south coast for export to Europe. In 1863 Nicolle began operating under the name Nicolle de Quitteville and Co. and continued to operate from Jersey Harbour until 1872, when it was bought out by DeGrouchy, Renouf, Clement and Co. When that company declared insolvency in 1886, the Jersey connection was broken. Other merchants operating there around this time were F.P. Jean and J. Mauger.
When Newfoundland's first official census was taken in 1836, Jersey Harbour had a population of 108. In 1869 the population was 155.
By the mid-1870s, the Fortune Bay fishery began to decline from overfishing of herring. When more and more fishermen turned to the bank fishery, the population of Jersey Harbour declined by 1884 to 123. The inshore fishery rebounded during the first decades of the 1900s and by 1921 the population had peaked at 210, the level around which it remained until the government's resettlement program of the 1960s. Three firms, owned by Chesley Boyce, D. Boyce and Joseph Rose, were operating from Jersey Harbour in the 1930s.
Most early settlers were members of the Church of England, but there were 16 Roman Catholics in 1836. Children were attending school by 1848, when teachers were provided for six months at Jersey Harbour and six at Brunette. By the 1930s there were two Church of England schools - the North Side School and St. Anne's. Despite the introduction of a coastal steamship service in Fortune Bay as early as the 1870s, the community was relatively isolated. Consequently by 1969 everyone had relocated. Thirty-four families moved to Harbour Breton, while the remainder went to such centres as Grand Bank, Port aux Basques, English Harbour West, Marystown and St. John's.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
La Manche
Situated between Tors Cove and Cape Broyle on the Southern Shore and in a small inlet surrounded by high mountains, La Manche was one of Newfoundland's most picturesque communities. The first permanent settler is believed to have been George Melvin who arrived there circa 1840 from nearby Burnt Cove. Limited by the amount of land available in the area, the community remained small, its population peaking at about 54 around the time of Confederation. Although a majority of residents were apparently opposed to resettlement, the closure of the school and the continuing isolation of the community prompted some to leave. By 1961 the population had fallen to 25. Others continued to reject the notion of resettlement, but their resolve gave way in 1966 when a severe storm demolished the community's extensive network of stages and wharves. The images presented here capture the physical layout of the place - its stages, flakes and wharves around the shoreline - and also convey a sense of how hard the people of La Manche must have worked to prosecute the fishery from that difficult location.
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Lumsden North
Lumsden (pop. 1986, 636) is a fishing community on the Straight Shore, known as Cat Harbour until 1917, when it was renamed in honour of Rev. James Lumsden. The name Cat Harbour was often applied to settlements on both sides of the sandy cove now known as Lumsden Harbour, at Cat Harbour Point or Seal Cove (Lumsden North) and at Lumsden South, the present-day site of the community.
By the first Census in 1836 there were 97 people recorded at Lumsden and Cape Freels. Over the next two decades the Straight Shore migratory fishery began to decline and permanent settlement increased.
Although some Lumsden residents were involved in the Labrador fishery, the area was noted for having some of the best inshore grounds on the northeast coast. Local fishermen strongly supported the Fishermen's Protective Union movement, forming a local council in 1909 and building a Union store in 1912, which operated until 1932. Lumsden also had a strong tradition of involvement in the spring seal fishery and of winter woods works (although local woods work all but ceased after the great Bonavista North forest fire of 1961).
The first highroad to Lumsden was built in 1952 and Wesleyville began to develop as a commercial centre for the Straight Shore after the road was upgraded in 1960. In 1962 a regional high school was built at Lumsden South and in 1966 residents of Lumsden North began moving their homes under a government resettlement program. By the following winter the two communities had effectively merged and the town of Lumsden was incorporated in 1968.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Merasheen
Merasheen, located on the southwestern tip of Merasheen Island in Placentia Bay, was one of the larger and more prosperous communities resettled. Settled by English, Irish and Scottish in the late 18th century, the community eventually became predominantly Roman Catholic with families of Irish descent. In an ideal location to prosecute the inshore cod fishery along with the herring and lobster fisheries in the ice-free harbour during winter and spring, it appeared that Merasheen would not succumb to the same fate as other small resettled communities. After the Great Depression, the community experienced a resurgence: a fisheries co-operative established in 1939 to operate a small herring factory and a liver factory, a new fish merchant set up shop in the 1950s. By 1957 the Newfoundland government had constructed a community salting and drying plant to replace individual stages and flakes. By 1963 Merasheen had formed a community council and acquired an electric power plant, the school was expanded, and Fishery Products began processing herring there. Nevertheless the population fell from about 350 in 1953 to 290 in 1961, and, as was the case for all of the Placentia Bay island communities, residents petitioned to be resettled under the provincial government's centralization program. By 1965, people had begun to move to Freshwater, Jerseyside, Placentia, Point Verde and St. John's. In 1980 Merasheen was the first of the resettled Placentia Bay communities to organize a reunion; they have since held reunions on several occasions. The images capture life in Merasheen prior to resettlement and follow it through the resettlement and post-resettlement periods.
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Miller's Passage
Miller's Passage (pop. 1966, 108) is a resettled fishing community on the Connaigre Peninsula in western Great Bay de l'Eau.
The population was 89 in 1869, with the family names Grant, Green, Gorman, Habbit, Hind, Lambert, Martin, Ridgley, Sheppard, Smith and Whelan. The population continued to increase steadily into the 1900s, peaking at 142 in 1935. While at this time some people from smaller settlements had begun to relocate to communities like Miller's Passage, where there were stores, churches and schools, many people were leaving the area. This movement of people is reflected in the fact that family names in the 1930s -- Abbott, Bullen, Bungay, Drakes, Green, Lambert, Martin, Quann, Ridgley, Sheppard, Snook, Skinner and Vallis -- were very different from those of the late 1800s.
In the mid-1930s the Commission of Government noting the area's extreme isolation, encouraged people to resettle to the Port au Port Peninsula to develop the agricultural potential of that area. Several families were relocated to Lourdes from Miller's Passage and other nearby communities. After Confederation the community was abandoned at an even faster rate. By 1968 the community was completely vacated. Most people went to Harbour Breton, while others moved to Stephenville, Lourdes and Lamaline. The last families to reside at Miller's Passage were Bungay, Dollimount, Drake, Lambert, Ridgley, Rose, Sheppard, Skinner and Snook.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Muddy Hole
Muddy Hole (pop. 1961, 69) is a resettled fishing community located west of the northern entrance to Hermitage Bay between Richard's Harbour and McCallum. The settlement was first recorded in the 1836 Census with 20 people.
Settlers were no doubt attracted to Muddy Hole because the harbour afforded excellent protection for small boats and because of its proximity to excellent year-round fishing grounds. Cod, salmon, herring, and, later, lobster were the main species fished. Family names at Muddy Hole in 1869 (pop. 32) were Fudge, McDonald and Simms. By 1901 there were 88 residents. The population peaked at 123 in 1951. The exclusively Church of England population had constructed a school by 1901 and the Mary Magdalene school and church continued to operate there through the 1930s and 1940s.
Increasingly aware of the extreme isolation and consequent lack of facilities, people began to leave the community in the late 1950s. Financial assistance from government and advice from the local clergymen soon convinced all residents to relocate. The last people left in the summer of 1965, most going to such nearby communities as Harbour Breton, Gaultois and Ramea. Family names there at the time were Fudge, Morris, Simms and Wells. In the late 1980s several dilapidated buildings still stood.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
North Island
North Island is one of four rocky islands in central Bonavista Bay which together are called the Flat Islands. The islands, named Flat (Samson) Island, Berry Head, North Island and Cowards Island, were among the earliest reported settled areas in Bonavista Bay with the first record of residence mentioned in the "Register of Fishing Rooms in Bonavista Bay," for 1806.
Tremendous growth and development was reported at Flat Islands from 1836 to 1891 (Census). By 1869 Flat Islands had a population of 230. By 1891 the population reached 417. One quarter of the total population of Flat Islands was on North Island. Three schools operated on 3 of the islands: Cowards Island, Flat Island and North Island.
The development of the islands rested on a shift from local fishing to the Labrador fishery in the 1850s. In the 19th century the area's production of Labrador cod averaged between 152,400 and 203,200 kg (3,000 and 4,000 quintals) per year using eight or nine vessels. By the 1950s, however, with the decline of the lucrative Labrador fishery, more than half the workforce were employed in carpentry, construction and woods work in shoreline communities of Bonavista Bay and in central Newfoundland.
In 1953 the North Island merchant moved to Harbour Grace, and in 1954 the first house from that island was floated to Glovertown, its inhabitants wishing to be close to jobs, the road and the railway.
The last move out of Flat Islands, involving 119 families, was undertaken with government assistance. About twenty per cent of this total moved to St. John's. The remainder scattered, to Glovertown, Eastport, St. Chad's, Burnside and other settlements (including thirteen familes who settled in Dark Cove, Hare Bay, Dock Cove and St. Brendan's).
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Pass Island
Pass Island (pop. 1971, 160) is a resettled fishing community just 250 m off the tip of the peninsula which separates Hermitage and Connaigre bays. The community was resettled, largely to nearby Hermitage, in the summer of 1974 -- the last community to move under the resettlement program.
Providing the closest access to some of the major fishing banks of Fortune Bay, to the south towards St. Pierre and Miquelon, Pass Island was one of the earliest settled sites in the area. Captain James Cook reported several English fishermen using shore space on the Island in 1763, with two of the families remaining over the winter.
The first Newfoundland Census, in 1836, recorded 56 people living there. The population had grown to 110 by 1857 and to 215 by 1874. A Church of England church had been built by 1869 and a school established by 1874.
The reputation of Pass Island as a close-knit and successful fishing community kept it from being resettled in the 1960s, when many other island communities were abandoned. Instead a road was built up to Pass Island Tickle. However, when Grole opted to resettle in the late 1960s the isolation of Pass Island increased. In 1974, with a new fish plant being proposed for Hermitage and with the prospect of being able to continue to fish traditional grounds from that site by longliners, the Pass Islanders decided to move. In 1992 wharves at Pass Island Tickle were still maintained, for the convenience of keepers at the lighthouse (established in 1870) and a few former residents who still kept premises there.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Pinchards Island
Pinchards Island (pop. 1951, 218), a resettled fishing community, was one of the first settled sites in northern Bonavista Bay.
An 1806 register of fishing rooms in Bonavista Bay noted three premises at Pinchard's Island, all said to have been established in 1802. By 1827, the population had climbed to 120. A school building was erected in 1844 and also served as a chapel. In 1845 there were 291 people at Pinchards Island, making it the second largest community in northern Bonavista Bay, next to Greenspond. From 359 people in 1857 the population had dropped to 264 in 1874.
In the early 1900s, as Bonavista north ports such as Newtown and Wesleyville came to dominate the seal hunt and were increasingly involved in the Labrador fishery, the population of Pinchards Island again increased, reaching a peak of 413 in 1921. However, a series of poor years for the inshore fishery, coupled with a drastic decline in the Labrador fishery, led most young people to leave the island to seek work. In 1953, after several years in which it had been difficult to obtain teachers for the school, the remaining residents, fewer than 200, moved, most of them going to Newtown. Apparently pleas for government assistance for the move from Pinchard's Island played a role in the Province's decision to implement a formal resettlement program the next year. In 1992 some residents of Newtown maintained seasonal premises at Pinchard's Island, which had also become a popular place for residents of nearby communities to pick bakeapples each August.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Point Rosie
Originally named by the French as Point Enragée, this community, located on the Burin Peninsula 16 kilometres north of Garnish, was known to its English settlers as Point Rosie. However, early in the 20th century, the Newfoundland Government's Nomenclature Board officially renamed the community as Point Enragée, but everyone continued to use the old name. The residents were inshore fishers, relying on codfish and, to a greater degree in later years, lobster. The lack of topsoil made farming difficult but many people had livestock. Strong markets for lobster after Confederation kept the community relatively prosperous. However, by 1964 talk of resettlement convinced many that it was the only option for Point Rosie. In the 1920s the population stood at about 150 but by 1967 only eight families remained and two years later, all had left. The majority moved to Garish but others went to Grand Bank and English Harbour West. The Anglican Church was moved to Frenchman's Cove in 1973 after its church had been destroyed by fire. The images show life in Point Rosie prior to and during the period of resettlement.
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Pushthrough
Pushthrough (pop. 1966, 204) is a resettled fishing community located on Newfoundland's south coast, about 20 km northwest of Hermitage.
Permanent settlement at Pushthrough is said to date from 1814, when one George Chambers moved there from Gaultois to establish a fishing room and later mercantile premises. By the first Census in 1836 there were 12 families at Pushthrough and a population of 82. By 1845 the community had a population of 98 and a school. By 1884 there was a population of 209 and a Church of England school and church. In 1888 the community received its first post office, as well as a new church and school.
By 1901 the population of Pushthrough reached 235, based on the prosperity of the local coasting trade and the Bank and lobster fisheries. Increasingly in the early part of the twentieth century Pushthrough became an inshore fishing community, although a significant number of residents continued to find work as seamen in the coasting trade or at the Bank fishery out of other ports.
The population in 1961 (247) was the largest ever recorded at Pushthrough. However movement of young families away from the community, to Gaultois in the 1950s and in the 1960s to Head of Bay d'Espoir and area, led to a decision in 1967 to close a section of the school and it was rumoured that the next year the school would be reduced to a single room. Meanwhile, changes in the resettlement program made relocation a more attractive option financially and meant that resettlement no longer required unanimous consent from the community. In the spring and summer of 1968 virtually all the families with children of school age moved. The largest number (58 people) went to Milltown-Head of Bay d'Espoir and others to Hermitage, Fortune, Burgeo and Gaultois.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Richard's Harbour
Richard's Harbour (pop. 1966, 114) is a resettled fishing community located on the south coast, about 12 km west of McCallum.
The first Newfoundland Census, in 1836, noted a population of 39 people engaged in the cod fishery. The community grew slowly, to 49 people by 1857 and to 73 by 1869, and was dominated by the two founding families (Skinner and Hardy).
The community had constructed a Church of England school/chapel by 1869, but visits from clergy were rare and it was difficult to retain teachers. By 1891 there were 100 people at Richard's Harbour, but severely limited space for dwellings and fishing premises meant that the population did not grow much beyond that. After Confederation, when expectations rose and teachers became even more difficult to retain, people soon began to leave. In the early 1950s, 38 people relocated under the first provincial resettlement program, largely to Ramea and Burgeo, the remainder following under the federal-provincial resettlement program in the 1960s.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Round Harbour
Round Harbour (pop. 1986, 37) was a fishing community on the Cape Shore of the Baie Verte Peninsula, about 5 km southwest of Tilt Cove.
By the turn of the century the English firm of Cox and Bound was operating a salmon fishery at Round Harbour, and a Humphrey Cole fished there in 1829. The first Newfoundland Census in 1836 reported three families, with a population of 18. By 1884 the community had a resident merchant as well as a Church of England school/chapel. Most services were more readily available at Tilt Cove. Although the mine closed in 1917 the local inshore fishery was relatively reliable, and enjoyed something of a resurgence during World War II. The peak population of 114 was reached in 1951.
In the 1960s, however, Round Harbour's isolation led many people to relocate to such larger centres as Baie Verte and La Scie. The decline in population made a local school impracticable, and difficulties encountered in providing bus service in the winter months was an inducement for young families to leave. By 1991 the winter population of Round Harbour was less than 20. However, the undeniable charm of the community -- accessible by road, but itself without roads and reminiscent of an earlier time -- had led several families to purchase summer homes.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Safe Harbour
Safe Harbour (pop. 1951, 155) is a resettled fishing community located around a well-sheltered harbour on the north side of Bonavista Bay, about 7 km southwest of Wesleyville.
Safe Harbour first appears in the Census in 1874, with a population of 98, but grew to more than 300 people by 1901. Tradition has it that the first settlers were the Sturge family. Other common family names included Attwood, Blackwood, Burry, Davis, Dyke, Jeans (Janes), Gillingham, King, Knee, Stratton and Wakeley. Jacob Attwood had established a general business by 1894, while a church and school were built between Safe Harbour and nearby Southwest Arm to serve both communities. The peak recorded population of Safe Harbour (326) was in 1921, by which time the community was already past its glory days. A downturn in the Labrador fishery became a virtual collapse in the late 1920s and 1930s, and by 1945 the population had declined to 181. Many of those who left went to work in the lumberwoods in Newfoundland, while others went to Canada. By the time of Confederation the Labrador schooner fishery was no more. But the remaining inhabitants of Safe Harbour were still absent from the community for much of the year, as loggers or mariners. Safe Harbour was one of the first communities to be abandoned during the first resettlement program, with most of the people moving across Valleyfield Harbour in 1954 and 1955 to the municipality of Badger's Quay-Valleyfield-Pool's Island.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Sagona Island
Sagona Island (pop. 1966, 97) is a resettled fishing community located in Fortune Bay, about 12 km south of Harbour Breton.
The community appears in the first Census (1836), with a population of 59 people in nine families. Twenty years later there were 158 and in 1874 there was a population of 289, engaged in the cod and herring fisheries. Shortly thereafter the population of Sagona declined, remaining at about 200 people until the 1930s. This decline coincided with the heyday of the Fortune Bay bank fishery, for which Sagona harbour was poorly suited, its narrow entrance effectively blocked to larger vessels by a sunker.
There was a further exodus from the island during World War II. By 1945 the population had dropped to 117, remaining at about this level until resettlement. The remaining inhabitants were resettled over three years in the late 1960s, with most moving to Harbour Breton and others to St. Jacques-Coomb's Cove.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Salvage
Occupied as early as 1675, Salvage continues to be an important fishing community in the central portion of Bonavista Bay. Salvage was also a mercantile centre for the region, especially in the late 19th century when communities in that area participated heavily in the Labrador fishery. As the Labrador fishery declined in the early 20th century, so did the population of Salvage, falling from a high of 591 in 1891 to 249 by 1945 and less than 200 in the early 1960s. However its good harbour, close proximity to fishing grounds, road connection with the Trans Canada Highway and the development of nearby Terra Nova National Park gave Salvage a degree of stability not found in many other more isolated communities. As a consequence, some Flat Islands residents moved there in the late 1950s when that community resettled. Some brought their houses and stages with them. The Flat Islands stages, captured in the images presented here, along with those originally built in Salvage - all painted red ochre and situated on the shoreline around the small harbour - make a strong visual impression on the landscape. They are a vivid reminder of resettlement and others aspects of Newfoundland's outport history and culture.
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Silver Fox Island
Silver Fox Island (pop. 1956, 163) is a resettled fishing community located on the northwest side of Bonavista Bay, at the mouth Indian Bay. The island was settled at a small harbour on its southern side, known as Warren's Harbour.
Warren's Harbour appears in the first Census, in 1836, with a population consisting of one family of eight people. The population of Silver Fox Island grew slowly -- to 49 by 1884 and 82 by 1901 -- largely as a result of natural increase among the five founding families. The only other common family name of Silver Fox Island was Wicks, also a family name of Fair Islands.
By the late 1800s the community was largely reliant on the Labrador fishery, supplemented by winter woods work in Indian Bay. Through the early years of the twentieth century woods work grew in importance, as the Labrador fishery declined, and by the mid-1930s most of the younger men were employed at Indian Bay for much of the year, cutting pitprops. In 1945 Silver Fox Island recorded its peak population, 198 people, with a mixture of the inshore fishery (now increasingly prosecuted from motorboats) and winter logging compensating for the virtual disappearance of the Labrador fishery. However, the changing economy of central Bonavista Bay, in particular after Bowater's took over Indian Bay in 1937 and expanded pulpwood cutting operations, led many of the people of Silver Fox Island to look increasingly to the adjacent mainland. By the mid-1950s some families were moving in to Indian Bay and nearby Wareham, where many had relatives. The last eight families to leave the island moved to Wareham in 1960.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Sops Island
Situated at the head of White Bay, just off shore from Sop's Arm, Sops Island is believed to have been one of the earliest English settlements on the French Shore. John Slade and Company of Twillingate had established a branch of their mercantile operation there by 1763 which was subsequently acquired by Richard and Neltham Tory of Poole. Although the Torys were removed from Sops Island by the British Navy and the French in 1786 in an effort to end illegal English settlement of the French Shore, an early settler, William Pittman, appears to have either remained or found his way back there. Pittman, who had been in White Bay by 1810, was likely the antecedent of later Pittmans who resided on Sops Island until the time of resettlement. A fishing community throughout its history, Sops Island experienced considerable growth in the early 20th century as a logging industry developed in that part of White Bay. The population peaked at about 324 in 1951. However, people began to move to Sop's Arm in the 1950s and at the end of the decade only the Pittmans were left. The Pittmans finally moved to Sop's Arm in 1967 but they, like other former Sops Island residents, continued to fish the same waters. Only a few images are presented here - Sops Island before resettlement and at Sop's Arm afterwards.
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Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove is a resettled community on Pork Island, one of the Fair Islands in Bonavista Bay.
Fair Islands was one of the earliest fishing stations and later fixed settlements of Bonavista Bay. Family names of early settlers, recorded on the islands between 1800 and 1840 were Rogers, Akerman (Ackerman), Gibbons, Pond, Way, and Wicks. Family names associated with somewhat later settlement included Harlock, Farmage, and Oakley (Seary).
The economy of Fair Islands was based on the Labrador fishery until its decline in the 1930s and 1940s. The decline of the Labrador fishery, coupled with the rise of cash-employment on the mainland, especially after 1940, led to the eventual resettlement of Fair Islands between 1955 and 1961. Lack of roads and services were also considerations in the move.
With the building of a school in 1960 the remaining 36 families on Fair Islands (particularly in Sydney Cove) moved to Centreville in the summer of 1961 under the Government centralization offer.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Thoroughfare
Thoroughfare (pop. 1961, 2) is a resettled fishing community located at the northeast corner of Random Island, facing the passage between Random Island and Ireland's Eye. There were 18 people in Thoroughfare in 1845, with the population increasing to 40 by 1869.
The peak population recorded at Thoroughfare was 74, in 1921. Most people were inshore fishermen who also engaged in winter logging for small sawmills in Random Sound. There were also mercantile premises at Thoroughfare, supplying fishermen on eastern Random Island and at Ivanhoe, on Ireland's Eye. The population of Thoroughfare declined after 1930, to 50 people in 1945. When a few families left in the early 1950s the community was scarcely viable. The remainder left in 1958 and 1959, except for Moses and Theodosia Brown, whose advancing age forced them to move in 1961.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Wild Cove
Wild Cove (Pop. 1956, 45) is a resettled fishing community located on the southern shore of Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, 2 km. east of Seldom.
The community was first settled in the 1830s by fishermen who became familiar with the broad cove while engaged in a migratory cod fishery out of Conception Bay ports to the Straight Shore and the Wadham Islands. The first two settlers were William Harnett and William Morgan, who are said to have come from the Harbour Grace area. These were the two families recorded there in 1836, when the first census noted a population of 10.
In the 1850s the others settled: John Cumberland (Combden), John Eveleigh and John Budgell - after marrying into the Morgan and Harnett families. The population had increased to 40 by 1869, and thereafter grew slowly by natural increase, to a high of 88 by 1911. Although there was some involvement in the Labrador fishery, for the most part the fishermen relied on fishing the Wadhams or Cape Fogo in bulleys or small schooners. Catches of cod were traded to nearby Seldom, where Fogo merchants had agents. Church was also attended in Seldom after 1891, when a church was built in the east end of Seldom, nearest Wild Cove. Students also had to walk to Seldom to attend school for much of the community's existence.
In later years a one-room school was opened in Wild Cove. Throughout the twentieth century the population of Wild Cove was in decline. By the late 1950s there were only four families left and most of the inhabitants were elderly. The last few people resettled to Seldom in 1960.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
Woody Island
Woody Island (inc. 1963; pop. 1991, 1) is a roughly rectangular island in northwestern Placentia Bay.
At the time of the first government census, in 1836, 93 people were living on Woody Island. A Church of England church was built by 1845 and a growing Methodist congregation had constructed a church by 1869. Apart from the cod fishery, the main industry was a herring fishery conducted in the Reach. In the late 1800s the lobster fishery spurred further population growth, from 128 people in 1891 to 237 in 1901. The population peaked at 341 in 1966, but a decline in the lobster, cod and herring fisheries had prompted many residents to look for work elsewhere.
In 1965 the government assistance program was changed, substantially increasing the sums available to move households and dropping a requirement that for removal assistance all residents would have to agree to move. Soon most residents had applied to resettle to nearby communities such as Arnold's Cove, Garden Cove, North Harbour and Swift Current. However, about 10 families decided to stay on the island, including that of merchant Alec Lockyer.
In the early 1970s Maclean's magazine published an article by Harold Horwood, extolling the virtues of Woody Island and lauding the pluck of the holdouts. Soon, a few outsiders arrived at the isolated island, including the Canadian folksinger Valdy (who attempted to start a commune) and Randy Lieb. While most soon left, Lieb stayed on the island, began farming and keeping small livestock, acquired a lobster license and became the community's postmaster. By the early 1980s there were only 10 residents, and 10 years later only Lieb remained. However, some lobster fishermen continued to fish out of shacks on the island. In the late 1980s some of these shacks were improved to become quite substantial cabins. By 1993 there were about 50 cabins on the island, as well as a "hotel" operated by Island Rendezvous Ltd., which offered overnight accommodations for tourists.
From the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
