Betts Cove was Little Bay’s sister town as they were both founded by the same German Baron. They, along with Ellershouse in Nova Scotia, are the only communities I know to have been created by Baron Franz von Ellershausen. What follows is a timeline of the Betts Cove mine which was discovered in 1865 and ran from 1875 until 1886. This list is drawn near entirely from my existing sources on Little Bay as I just wanted to get my references to Betts Cove into chronological order.
1865
Robert Knight obtained the mining licenses for Betts Cove copper (Martin).
1873
Robert Knight died without the claim being worked (Martin).
1874
Baron Franz von Ellershausen was shipwrecked off Newfoundland’s coast and learned of the island’s new mining operations. He opted the Betts Cove claim that spring. Just after that Christmas 30 of his German miners arrived from Ellershouse, Nova Scotia.
1875
The mine opened at Betts Cove (Moncrieff).
1876
The first smelters were installed (Martin).
1877
Michael O’Driscoll describes a disease peculiar to Betts Cove called “slow fever” in his diary (O’Driscoll).
The first church service was held by Mr. Creelman (Moncrieff).
Construction of a Free Church called “Christ Church” began with the support and assistance of the Company (The Witness, Aug 3, 1878).
1878
Rev. Moses Harvey describes that smelting works were under construction at this time. He mentions the existence of the wharf, tramway, jigging mill, foundry, steam engine, diamond drill, mechanics, policemen, management, mine operations, miner’s culture, horses, houses, churches, and the high-brow social events of the town (Harvey).
A Presbyterian newsletter from Nova Scotia quoting from the Newfoundland Morning Chronicle describes Betts Cove. It mentions that mining had been underway there for two years. It further mentions the Wesleyan Church, the schoolhouse, the hospital, the stores, the tramway, the foundry, the machine shop, and the extensive wharfage located there. The stables are also mentioned and said to accommodate 50 or 60 horses (The Witness, Aug 3, 1878).
Rev. Cruikshank is replaced by Rev. Gunn (The Witness, June 5, 1880).
The population of Betts Cove peaked at 2000 people this year (Martin).
1879
Rev. Gunn praises Baron Ellershausen’s efforts and described Betts Cove as being a busy hive of industry under his leadership (The Witness, June 5, 1880).
Rev. Gunn leaves for Little Bay with the Presbyterians under German invitation (The Witness, June 5, 1880).
I suspect the existence of a Masonic Lodge at Betts Cove by this time (Evans).
Captain Phillip Cleary was present (Roadside sign at Robert’s Arm).
Birth of Mayo Lind at Betts Cove (Inscription on tablet attached to his memorial lectern).
1880
The population of Betts Cove had fallen to 530 by now (Moncrieff).
It is reported that the Betts Cove mine has been little worked of late on account of misunderstandings between shareholders and mine management. An interested American company sent an engineer referred to as Professor Stewart to investigate. He is said to find the quality and quantity of the copper in Newfoundland’s mining region unequaled in his twenty years of experience. This article is an early example of hinting at the need for a railway to connect the lucrative Northern mining region with St. John’s (Twillingate Sun, Sept 2, 1880).
It was reported in a dispatch from Sydney C.B. that Baron Ellershausen had sold the mines at Betts Cove and Little Bay to a New York company. It is said that the mines had previous been worked by a Scottish company successfully for years (St. John’s Evening Telegram, Sept 3, 1880 / St. John’s Terra Nova, Sept 4, 1880 / Harbour Grace Standard, Sept 11, 1880).
The population is described as being excited about the upcoming change of leadership (Harbour Grace Standard, Sept 18, 1880).
The new American company working Betts Cove are said to be moving the smelters to Little Bay. Many Betts Cove families are said to likewise be making the move to Little Bay (St. John’s Register, Nov 19, 1880).
John Duder was the sub-collector for Betts Cove at this time (Twillingate Sun, 1880).
1881
There were no longer any Presbyterians at Betts Cove by now (Moncrieff).
Betts Cove was being worked by Tribute with three big ones being Ferguson, Gilfoy, and Paul. The miners are said to be working in dangerous parts of the mine at this time and under great personal great (Harbour Grace Standard, Feb 12, 1881).
The reports of the American mining expert from the previous year are used to further the case for a railway connecting the mining region to St. John’s (Harbour Grace Standard, April 23, 1881).
The situation in the mining region is described in some detail in an Evening Telegram article. Each mine is said to have its own manager, office, stores, housing, engineering workshops, foundry, and tramway. Everything from bolts to air compressors are constructed on site. The company is said to have a powerful tug. The case is once again made for a railway connecting the mining region to St. John’s. There is attention given to the differences in mining licenses, the movement of goods on chartered vessels, telegraphic communication to St. John’s, the worker’s housing, and the ample wharfage. The Betts Cove wharf is said to be nearly three quarters of a mile long (St. John’s Evening Telegram, June 21, 1881).
It is reported that Baron Ellershausen had sold his mining interest to an English company in contrast to previous talk of Americans (Harbour Grace Standard, Aug 6, 1881).
Baron Ellershausen hosts two English capitalists named Angrove and Magnaic (Twillingate Sun, Sept 8, 1881).
1882
Concerns are raised that the beloved Little Bay could soon fall into the poor conditions at Betts Cove if reckless workings continue (St. John’s Terra Nova, March 4, 1882).
Rev. Whittier wrote that the men who gave tone and society to the place had left by this time. This likely refers to loss of the German Presbyterian population as they had returned to Nova Scotia as well as the departure of the original mine management, many of which were also German. It is interesting to note that they were described likewise as giving tone and society to the place by Rev. Harvey during his visit in 1878. Rev. Whittier harks back to Harvey in another passage when he refers to the unusually tolerant local approach to mixed denominations there with reference to the biblical passage of the lion lying down with the lamb (The Witness, June 17, 1882).
1883
A letter to the editor makes reference to a conspiracy against the financial interests of the Betts Cove and Little Bay Mining Co as well as against the financial interests of the Railway Syndicate (St. John’s Terra Nova, Nov 22, 1883).
I suspect much of the infrastructure of Betts Cove was moved to Little Bay by this time. I place it here as Sergeant Thomas Wells arrived this year and claimed to help move the Masonic Lodge (Wells / The Centenary of Notre Dame Lodge No. 1907). Jessie Ohman pointed out that houses, churches, and halls were moved from Betts Cove to Little Bay by water some years prior to 1889 at a time when the mining operations in Betts Cove had stalled. As an example Little Bay’s Public Hall was once Betts Cove Presbyterian Church (Ohman, 1892).
1884
Ore shipments to Great Britain were falling off due to a loss of value (Mineral Resources of the United States, 1885).
Sergeant Thomas Fennessey was killed at Betts Cove by an avalanche in January (Wells).
Constable Sparks was stationed at Betts Cove (Wells).
A cricket match between the Betts Cove Zulus and the Little Bay Pioneers took place at Little Bay (Twillingate Sun, April 23, 1884).
A mining accident in Betts Cove kills Alonzo Spriggs. This article makes reference to the Masons and mentions the presence of a doctor (Twillingate Sun, Sept 20, 1884).
Two Cushans arrested at Betts Cove that October (Wells).
1885
The discovery of a valuable ore find at Betts Cove is reported on (Harbour Grace Standard, Dec 5, 1885).
In a letter to the editor complaining about the company’s inability to keep water out of the Little Bay mine the situation was compared to Betts Cove mine where it was claimed the water was being successfully pumped out (Evening Telegram, May 26, 1885).
1886
The mining prospects at Betts Cove were said to be good with 200 men employed early in the year and more work was expected that spring (Engineering and Mining Journal, 1886).
However, by the end of the summer of 1886 mining operations at the old Betts Cove mine had finally ceased (Evening Telegram, Aug 11, 1886).