English Harbour East

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
English Harbour East
Town
English Harbour East, NL.jpg
Location of English Harbour East
Country Canada
Province Newfoundland and Labrador
Government
 • MayorMaxine Hackett
 • ClerkSheena Bolt
Population
 (2016)
 • Total139[1]
Time zoneUTC-3:30 (Newfoundland Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-2:30 (Newfoundland Daylight)
Area code(s)709
Highways Route 211

English Harbour East is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located on the northeast side of Fortune Bay. Settled first by the Mi’kmaq of Newfoundland which used land on the “Neck” of the Harbour,[2][3] they were joined in the early 1800s,[4] by the English Dodge family[5] and by Irishman Thomas Hynes Sr.[2] European fishermen were first brought to the small community by English merchant family of Newman and Co. based in Harbour Breton, the firm of merchant John Gorman, and the Jersey firm of Nicholle and Co.[4][6] The town had a population of 139 in the Canada 2016 Census.[1]

Geography[]

Its boundaries are established by the Town of English Harbour East Order under the Municipalities Act (Newfoundland and Labrador).[7]

History and Economy[]

Used by the Mi'kmaq in the years prior to European settlement, English Harbour East was permanently settled by the 1830s.[4]In 1831, prominent Newfoundland fisherman Thomas Hynes, who defied the Bait Act, was born in English Harbour East.[2] George Dodge of England and his family were residents by 1835.[5]

English Harbour East’s steady growth in the mid to late 19th century coincided with the success of the cod and herring fishery in Fortune Bay.[4] Its residents were primarily fishermen and planters at the time.[8] English Harbour East also significantly prospered in conjunction with the herring fishery and the sale of bait to United States traders.[4] This was despite laws forbidding such action and the patrol of Fortune Bay waters by wardens who frequently (with little success) warned residents of the law and were on the receiving end of their ire. One such case was where the patrolling officer warned an offender named Hackett and reported in annoyance: “got a fair share of slang (abuse) here from sea-lawyer Hackett; 2 seines, 5 crafts."[9] During this period, a Way Office was established in 1883 on July 1, and a post office was created with the first Postmistress being Annie Hackett in 1891.

Beginning in the 1890s, the lobster fishery (including lobster factories) became a staple of income for many families in the town.[4] In the first two decades of the 20th Century, salmon was also tinned by ambitious merchants.[4] Many people moved to the area from such remote communities as Conne and New Harbour in the early to mid 20th Century.

By the mid-late 20th century, many workers of English Harbour East were forced to commute to work from outside the town. This pushed five families from 1965 and 1975 to resettle to the nearby towns of Harbour Mille, Harbour Breton, and Terrenceville.[4] Road construction to connect English Harbour East to nearby Grand Le Pierre for a distance of 6 miles[10] began in 1970[11] and completed shortly thereafter at an estimated cost of $200,000.[4][12] The community was incorporated as a town in 1973[4] with residents mostly being employed in the fishery and a government wharf was built.[13][4] This coincided with the addition of telephone service to the town that same year.[13] Vandalism became a serious problem in the small town in the mid-late 1990s as the school, several houses, and other buildings were broken into or damaged.[14] In 1996, in response to various vandalism complaints, the community adopted the COPs program which was operated in July 1996 by resident Shirley Kearley.[14] Kearley would patrol around the town and visit various buildings and vacant houses to help deter vandalism in the program which was the first of its kind for the Burin Peninsula.[14] In 2003, a complete waterfront infrastructure project was completed in the town to revitalize the fishing premises and government wharf area. This $600,000 retrofit including a concrete foundation rather than a wooden one.[15]

In the first decade of the 21st Century, several fishing sheds from abandoned communities elsewhere in Newfoundland were moved to English Harbour East and restored.

Mass Exodus to Woods Island, Bay of Islands[]

Between 1897 and 1902, several dozens of families migrated from English Harbour East to Woods Island, Newfoundland and Labrador on Newfoundland’s west coast in search of a better herring fishery and living conditions.[16]

Education[]

A Roman Catholic school was operating in English Harbour East by 1878.[4]

Throughout the later part of the 20th century, the community was formally served by St. George's School, which in 1981 had students from Kindergarten to Grade Nine, and high school students were bussed to the nearby St. Joseph’s school in Terrenceville.[4] St. George’s School closed in 2006.[17]

Culture and Religion[]

Despite beginning in 1836 as a majority of Church of England settlement, by 1874, English Harbour East’s population was of majorly Roman Catholic residents.[4]

In 1975, resident Margaret Bolt explained that once a month the community would have a “time” or party where all of the residents would gather to socialize.[13]

Demographics[]

First reported in the Newfoundland census for 1836, English Harbour East had a population of 19 broken down by 13 Church of England residents and 6 Roman Catholic residents.[4] In 1857, the census breakdown for English Harbour East was 38 residents including 5 families and 2 residents born in England.[4] In 1869, the census breakdown was reportedly 101 including 7 residents born in England and one “foreign” resident.[4]

Census of English Harbour East[18][4][19]
  Population in 2016     139  
  Population in 2011     145  
  Population in 2006     170  
  Population in 2001     220  
  Population in 1996     250  
  Population in 1991     290  
  Population in 1986     300  
  Population in 1945     210  
  Population in 1921     166  
  Population in 1891     138  
  Population in 1869     101  
  Population in 1857 (Including English Harbour West)     38  
  Population in 1836     19  

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (8 February 2017). "Census Profile, 2016 Census - English Harbour East, Town [Census subdivision], Newfoundland and Labrador and Division No. 2, Census division [Census division], Newfoundland and Labrador". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "A Fortune Bay Revolution". People of Newfoundland. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  3. ^ Griffin, Devon (5 May 2017). "Fortune Bay NL". dorothystewart.net. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Smallwood, Joseph Roberts; Pitt, Robert D.W. (1981–1994). Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador (1st ed.). St. John's, Nfld., Canada: Newfoundland Book Publishers. ISBN 9780920508145. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b Seary, E. R. (1998). Family names of the island of Newfoundland (Corr. ed.). St. John's, Nfld.: J.R. Smallwood Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University of Newfoundland. ISBN 9780773517820.
  6. ^ Matthews, Keith. Keith Matthews Name Files, 1500-1850 (PDF). St. John's, NL, Canada: Maritime History Archive.
  7. ^ "Town of English Harbour East Order under the Municipalities Act (O.C. 97-621), Newfoundland and Labrador Regulation 108/97". House of Assembly, Newfoundland and Labrador. September 2, 1997. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
  8. ^ Lovell's Canadian Dominion directory for 1871 : containing names of professional and business men, and other inhabitants, of the cities, towns and villages, throughout the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island ... corrected to January, 1871. Montreal: J. Lovell. 1871. ISBN 9780665091438.
  9. ^ Journal of the Legislative Council of Newfoundland. St. John's, NL. 1879. p. 644. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  10. ^ "A massive roads programme". Newfoundland Bulletin. 4 (2): 10. February 1971. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  11. ^ Annual report of the Department of Social Services and Rehabilitation 1971. St. John's, NL, Canada: Dept. of Social Services and Rehabilitation. 1971. p. 170. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  12. ^ Local Roads Report 1971 (July 15 - October 15 ). St. John's, NL, Canada: Newfoundland. Department of Highways. July 15 – October 15, 1971. p. 10. Retrieved 8 November 2021.CS1 maint: date format (link)
  13. ^ a b c "Mrs. Margaret Bolt, English Harbour East". Decks Awash. 4 (6): 13. December 1975. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  14. ^ a b c "COPs Program". The Express. July 10, 1996.
  15. ^ "Infrastructure Project". The Southern Gazette. December 2, 2003.
  16. ^ Parsons, Robert Charles (1995). Toll of the sea : stories from the forgotten coast. St. John's, Nfld.: Creative Publishers. p. 48. ISBN 1895387515.
  17. ^ "NCARP/Tags: Occupation, St. George's School - English Harbour East - Community Accounts". nl.communityaccounts.ca. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  18. ^ http://www12.statcan.ca/english/profil01/CP01/Index.cfm?Lang=E[bare URL]
  19. ^ "English Harbour East Profile - Community Accounts". nl.communityaccounts.ca. Retrieved 8 November 2021.

External links[]

Coordinates: 47°38′00″N 54°54′00″W / 47.63333°N 54.90000°W / 47.63333; -54.90000


Stub icon

This Newfoundland and Labrador location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

  • v
  • t
Retrieved from ""