It is located about 90 kilometres (56mi) northwest of the provincial capital, St. John's. The town has a population of 2,796 (2021), engaged primarily in fishing and fish processing. The alternative spelling of Harbor Grace was current at one time.[2]
History
Harbour Grace 1940
Harbour Grace was founded in 1517 by the French king Francis I.[3] It was an important port and fishing centre from the earliest days of European exploration of North America. The town was a thriving seasonal fishing community by 1550, with permanent settlement beginning in 1583 (24 years before the Jamestown, Virginia colony, often incorrectly cited as the first permanent English settlement in North America, and two years before the lost colony at Roanoke, North Carolina). The first year-round settler that year was Robert Tossey of Dartmouth, England.[4]
The town was named after Havre de Grâce (now Le Havre), France, although it is uncertain whether the name was given by French cartographers, Francis I of France, or early settlers from the British Channel Islands and West Country who were familiar with Le Havre as a common trade destination for fishermen from the Channel Islands.[4]
In 1610, piratePeter Easton made Harbour Grace his headquarters, and established a fort overlooking the bay. Although it was attacked by the French the following year, the early settlement survived throughout the 17th century, with a permanent, year-round population numbering a few dozen, swelling to several hundred during the fishing season.
In 1618, Bristol's Society of Merchant Venturers received a charter from King James I of England to establish a settlement near Harbour Grace, "Bristol's Hope", and appointed Robert Hayman as its first Proprietary Governor, a post he held for the next ten years. He was back in London at the end of this period in 1628,[4] where he published a work of pithy epigrams called Quodlibets. He had written this in Harbour Grace;[5] it was the first book written in the new world. The Conception Bay area is referred to in the subtitle of his book not as "Conception Bay" but by its original, though now largely forgotten, name of New Britanolia.[6]
The Spirit of Harbour Grace and monument to Amelia Earhart
Over the coming years, control of Harbour Grace became a point of contention between the English and the French. The town, with a population numbering about 100, was razed by the French in 1697,[7] again in 1700, and captured briefly in 1762. Nevertheless, between these attacks, the population grew by 50%. By 1771, the population was close to 5,800. By then, however, other colonial towns along the Atlantic coast had surpassed Harbour Grace in population and influence. The town continued to grow and peaked in population in 1921, when the census was taken at 11,458 residents.[8]
As trans-Atlantic aviation became more popular in the 1920s and 1930s, many aviation pioneers, among them Amelia Earhart and Thor Solberg chose to make their crossing from the nearby Harbour Grace airfield due to its proximity to continental Europe. Altogether, some twenty flights left Harbour Grace from 1919 to 1936 in their attempts to cross the Atlantic.[8]
In July 1941, the Royal Canadian Navy established a High Frequency Direction Finding wireless station on the airfield. Consisting of an Operations Building and a Direction Finding shack, the station had an uninterrupted sweep of the northern Atlantic sector and was able to provide bearings on U-boat transmissions and to intercept enemy radio traffic.[8]
Harbour Grace was one of the first sites that the Royal Canadian Navy was solely responsible for after war broke out. On May 21, 1945, the Canadian Naval Service approved closing down and disposing of its facility at Harbour Grace.[8] There is no evidence of the station today. Following WWII, the airstrip was left to deteriorate. In 1977, through the efforts of the Harbour Grace Historical Society, it was restored to a usable condition. In 1999, after years of being considered abandoned, the airstrip was reinstated to official international airdrome status under the designator of CHG2.[8]
Today, Harbour Grace continues its tradition as a fishing and fish processing centre. In addition, because of its rich history and many historical buildings, including the 1870 customs house, now the Conception Bay Museum, a small tourist industry is emerging. The Gordon G. Pike Railway Heritage Museum and Park (c. 1881–1884) was designated a Municipal Heritage Building in 2006.[8]
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Harbour Grace had a population of 2,796 living in 1,307 of its 1,483 total private dwellings, a change of -6.6% from its 2016 population of 2,995. With a land area of 33.71km2 (13.02sqmi), it had a population density of 82.9/km2 (214.8/sqmi) in 2021.[9]
Handley Page flyer preparing to cross the Atlantic in Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, 1919
The first English account of the capture of St. John's by the French came from Harbour Grace Island in 1708.[citation needed]
Laurence Coughlan, credited as the founder of Methodism in Newfoundland, laid the foundations of Newfoundland's first Methodist movement when he served as an Anglican priest in Harbour Grace from 1766 to 1773.[citation needed]
The Harbour Grace Court House, constructed in 1830, is the oldest surviving public building in the province and a National Historic Site of Canada.[13]
St. Paul's Anglican Church in Harbour Grace was built in 1835, making it the oldest stone church in Newfoundland and Labrador.[14]
The Harbour Grace Regatta, held annually since 1862, is the second-oldest continuing sporting event in North America.[15]
Built around 1867, the Masonic building of Lodge Harbour Grace No. 476 A.F. & A.M. S.C., is the oldest wooden Masonic meeting house in Canada.[16]
The first railway line in Newfoundland was completed to Harbour Grace in 1884.[17]
The first flight by a Canadian from North America to England embarked October 9, 1930, in the plane Maple Leaf (aka Columbia), piloted by Capt. J. Erroll Boyd (1891–1960) and was navigated by the American, Lieut. Harry Connor. This flight was also notable for transporting mail bearing a surcharged stamp as a commemorative overprint.[18] The aviators borrowed a Webley & Scott flare pistol to carry during the flight from Edward Langdon Oke, a former Sergeant with the Royal Newfoundland Regiment in World War I. The aviators had the gun engraved to mark the historic flight and it resides in the collection at the Conception Bay Museum.[19]Amelia Earhart took flight from Harbour Grace on May 20, 1932, to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. The early transatlantic flights from the Harbour Grace airfield were designated Events of National Historic Significance.
The hand-operated, iron "Washington" press, manufactured by R. Hoe & Company, was used in Harbour Grace for more than a century—1850[20] to 1962. The press was purchased from Munn & Oke, Ltd by Memorial University, now named "Pitcher Plant Press", and is on display in the Queen Elizabeth II Library (Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador).[21]
Notable residents
Daniel Cleary (born 1978) is a former NHL winger, notably for the Detroit Red Wings. In 2008, he became the first player from Newfoundland and Labrador to win the Stanley Cup.[22] Danny Cleary Arena is named in his honour.
George Webber (born 1820) was a newspaperman and poet.
Robert John Parsons (1802–1883) was a journalist and politician in Harbour Grace. He was the owner of the Newfoundland Patriot newspaper.
Prof Ian Maclaren Thompson FRSC FRSE (1896–1981), anatomist. Founder and first President of the Canadian Association of Anatomists and President of the Manitoba Museum.[23]
Robert Oke (1794–1870) was the first Chief Inspector for the Newfoundland Lighthouse Service and served from 1855 to 1870. He published several books, including two books of early Newfoundland lighthouse designs in 1860 and 1861, with a revised edition of the latter in 1865.[24][25][26] Oke installed the first light mechanism (from Bell Rock Lighthouse) at the Cape Bonavista Light in 1842, and installed the famous Isle of May light mechanism at the Cape Pine Light in 1850, which was later moved to Harbour Grace Island and finally to Cape Bonavista, where it can be viewed today.
See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harbour Grace.
St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans 446.04 km2 (172.22 sq mi) and is the easternmost city in North America.
Avondale is a town located on Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, which was incorporated in 1974. The community is situated at the southwestern head of Conception Bay in Division 1. It is located 59 km (37 mi) southwest of St. John's and 72 km (45 mi) northeast of Placentia.
Conception Harbour is a town on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is in Division 1 on Conception Bay and can be accessed via Newfoundland and Labrador Route 60.
Division 1, Newfoundland and Labrador is a census division covering the entire Avalon Peninsula including the Isthmus of Avalon of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Like all census divisions in Newfoundland and Labrador, but unlike the census divisions of some other provinces, the division exists only as a statistical division for census data, and is not a political entity.
Channel-Port aux Basques is a town at the extreme southwestern tip of Newfoundland fronting on the western end of the Cabot Strait. A Marine Atlantic ferry terminal is located in the town which is the primary entry point onto the island of Newfoundland and the western terminus of the Newfoundland and Labrador Route 1 in the province. The town was incorporated in 1945 and its population in the 2021 census was 3,547.
Grand Bank or 'Grand Banc' as the first French settlers pronounced it, is a small rural town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, with a population of 2,580. It is located on the southern tip or "toe" of the Burin Peninsula, 360 km from the province's capital of St. John's.
Carbonear is a town on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It overlooks the west side of Conception Bay and had a history long tied to fishing and shipbuilding. Since the late 20th century, its economy has changed to emphasize education, health care, retail, and industry. As of 2021, there were 4,696 people in the community.
Old Perlican is a fishing village on the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. Incorporated in 1971, it is one of the oldest fishing communities in Newfoundland; it served as the major fishing station in Trinity Bay for migratory fisherman from England in the 17th century.
Trepassey is a small fishing community located in Trepassey Bay on the south eastern corner of the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was in Trepassey Harbour where the flight of the Friendship took off, with Amelia Earhart on board, the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.
Port Hope Simpson is a town located on the southeastern Labrador coast, 215 km (134 mi) from the Quebec/Southern Labrador border in Canada. In 1944 it was named after John Hope Simpson as a company town.
Brigus is a small fishing community located in Conception Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Brigus was home to Captain Bob Bartlett and the location of his residence Hawthorne Cottage.
Brigus South is a local service district and designated place in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador on the Avalon Peninsula.
Bay Bulls is a small fishing town in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Bay de Verde is an incorporated town in Conception Bay on the northern tip of the Bay de Verde Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The first recorded inhabitants at Bay de Verde arrived in 1662. Bay de Verde became an incorporated town in 1950.
Bay Roberts is a town located on the north shore of Conception Bay on the northeastern Avalon Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The growth of the local economy can be connected to the town's proximity to other major Newfoundland markets, by road and by water.
North River is a town on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was incorporated as a municipality in 1964.
Cape Bonavista Light is a lighthouse located on Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland. The lighthouse, which operated from 1843 until 1962, is now a provincial museum, containing an exhibition about life in a lighthouse during the 1870s.
William Austin Oke was a newspaper publisher, politician, and District Court judge in Newfoundland. He represented Harbour Grace in the Newfoundland House of Assembly for three terms, from 1898 to 1908, as a Liberal.
Bristol’s Hope is an unorganized subdivision on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is in Division 1 and contains the unincorporated community of Bristol's Hope.
Robert Oke, H.M. was the first chief inspector for the Newfoundland Lighthouse Service and served from at least 1848 to 1870. Oke installed the first light mechanism at the Cape Bonavista Light in 1842, and installed the famous Isle of May light mechanism at the Cape Pine Light in 1850, which was later moved to Harbour Grace Island and finally to Cape Bonavista, where it can be viewed today.
↑ William Barker, "Hayman, Robert (bap. 1575, d. 1629)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004; accessed January 31, 2018.
↑ Fitzgerald, Jack (4 August 2015). "Harbour Grace regatta operates since 1862". St. John's: The Telegram.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
↑ Staff (March 23, 1963). "History of Press to be Taught". The Muse. St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador: Memorial University. 13 (18): 14, 20. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
↑ Oke, Robert (1854). A Rudimentary Treatise on the History Construction and Illumination of Lighthouses. St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
↑ Oke, Robert (1865). Plans of the several light houses in the Colony of Newfoundland. Attributions and conjectures. Taken from authentic documents by G.F. Baillairge at St. John's NF from 23 to 30 Oct 1865. St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Canada 
Newfoundland and Labrador 
