To map out the education system in Little Bay we must first start, as we often do with Betts Cove. The mine at Betts Cove officially opened in 1875. However, census data from 1874 gives us a glimpse of the town just before that. It had a starting population of 26 people and of those 15 were under the age of 20. This suggests the need for a school.

The total population number for Newfoundland in 1874 was 158958. The number of people who could read and write was 34005. This allows us to produce a literacy rate of 21%. We don’t know if that percentage is representative of Betts Cove, however, with such a small sample it’s mostly moot. We know that Adolf Guzman oversaw things there until Baron Ellershausen showed up with 30 loyal German families.

What we also know is that the first church service held there was held in the schoolhouse. This indicates that a school was built there before a church. Christ Church wasn’t added until 1877. That first church was headed by a Presbyterian reverend but it was considered a Free Church. The Baron had previously built a Free Church in Ellershouse, his first planned community. The company, under the leadership of the Baron, had funded both the construction of the church and the school but the school appears to have been the priority. The mixed denominational approach to worship services was unusual. It seems quite possible that the first school was mixed denominationally as well considering the context. From this you begin to see how social engineering was involved in creating these communities. This was intentional.

Rev. Harvey described Betts Cove as clean and tidy with a notable lack of drinking and swearing. Rev. Harvey’s orderly picture of Betts Cove is questionable. For from it we’d expect to find that culture again in Little Bay seeing as it was effectively transported there in 1878. However, a Twillingate Sun article presents a contrasting image. The author in reflecting on changes over the subsequent decade claims shabby clothes and shabbier habits were found among the first Newfoundlanders to arrive in Little Bay. He writes of them spitting tobacco on the floor of the church during early services. He mentions the lack of attention to attire. He further points out that there was a complete lack of craftsmenship to be found anywhere in Green Bay before mining brought educated men from far off places to the island. There were boats of poor quality and homes the same.

The first church in Little Bay was called St. Andrew’s. Like Christ Church before it, it held mixed denominational worship at least among the Protestant townsfolk. This was likely under the Baron’s guidance. I think it’s a good guess that the first schoolhouse in Little Bay was denominationally mixed as well. I know its construction, maintenance, and its teacher were paid for by the mining company. This was a Company Town lead by a man with a history of putting effort into the town’s he created. He handpicked the officials, he invested in the higher cultural pursuits, and he used the wealth generated by the mine to educate and raise the living standard of the populous. In such a Company Town if you got hired your children’s education was part of a packaged deal with your employment and your new home.

This town was constructed culture and further a system of power both economic and otherwise. The success of the town was seen as an extension of the success of the company. I suspect this is why there was a photographer employed by Little Bay mine so early. In order to secure investment it was not only the mining operation that had to be shown off. The town itself was likely showcased by way of pictures and accompanying literature. Photography would have aided it but there were measurements of this cultural success taken by those organizing the grand endeavour. The criteria for these social measurements can be found between the lines of media coverage. They show concern for certain issues and behaviours. Higher culture pursuits like theatre were celebrated with coverage. There was much attention paid to the amount of drinking and foul language used in town and there were plans to decrease those. The use of swearing ranked the mine’s manager while combating alcohol became a massive and sometimes dangerous social movement in Little Bay. Newspapers and visiting writers like Jessie Ohman noted stylish changes in the fashion with one writer claiming it could sometimes be taken too far by showoffs and big spenders. The general tidiness of the gardens and houses was held to critique as well. But one social measurement is of particular importance to this piece. What’s relevant to us here today was a public emphasis on reading and not just reading but the increase in the number of people who could do it.

It wasn’t only children who were being educated. The main force behind educating the adults was mine management. In 1880 ads started appearing in St. John’s newspapers asking that books be donated to Little Bay for a floating library. That year Rev. Whittier wrote of the poor literacy among the Newfoundlanders there. He pushed to raise the it. In a letter the following year Whittier announced to the Presbytery that all of Little Bay’s Protestant children attended his Sabbath School.

It was around this time that the Germans sold the mine to an English firm. The new Mine Manger E.C. Wallace demonstrated the problems in the Company Town power structure. Under corrupt leadership the whole thing breaks down. My hunch is that this is when Little Bay joined the rest of the island’s denominationally separated school system. All of Little Bay’s institutions appeared united under the Baron but afterward it looks like the churches and government were called upon. Jessie Ohman noted that that approach hindered literacy during her visit.

By 1883 the town of Little Bay was petitioning the government in St. John’s for funding. Many of which concerned the town’s schools. My suspicion is that the mine’s new owners felt differently about the education of the populous. It looks like a group of the town’s more educated men of high positions stepped up. Efforts to improve the town’s literacy were underway. Rev. Fitzpatrick took charge of the cause. The contributions of Dr. Joseph were also noted as were the efforts of E.R. Burgess. Little Bay’s Reading Room was officially opened by Mr. Crane on August 18th 1883. It could be found in a large room above the Public Hall. It had tables with the various books and periodicals laid out. There was further a large assortment of newspapers. A post in the Twillingate Sun directly states that the Reading Room was expected to raise the intellectual culture.

The census data from 1884 allows us to discern some literacy numbers. The total population of Newfoundland was 193124 that year and the number of people who could read and write was numbered at 89659 making a literacy rate of 46%. If we apply the same math to Little Bay we get a rate of 39%. Meaning the town was 7% less able to read and write than the general population. The following year there was a major set back when the town’s Reading Room fell victim to arson, part of a series of back-and-forth fires. It was likely torched by the town’s tinsmith Robert Malcolm. They once again needed books. Paymaster Henry Lind started a library fund the following year.

In many ways 1888 was the high-water mark for Little Bay. They had a power team fighting for the cause in mine manager Andrew Whyte and E.R. Burgess. Burgess had been president of the Reading Room Club but now represented the district in St. John’s. There was progress in Little Bay’s education and favourable reports made by school inspectors. The Twillingate Sun witnessed such a great rise in newspaper sales in Little Bay that they published an announcement about it. One article spoke about the rise in literacy and intelligence over the ten years leading up to 1888. It also mentioned concern over the number of people who used their new knowledge to openly doubt the scripture. The town was less religious during this period as further evidence when an audience joked about Adam’s missing rib during a lecture on anatomy given there by Dr. Joseph. The author uses this to take a measurement of the culture. He noted also a frivolousness of spending and how many people drank and swore. He speaks of the fancy furniture, stylish clothing, and modern domestic utensils found in the homes there.

In 1891 there was another census. This lets us check in and see if all the social efforts were paying off. We find that the literacy rate for Newfoundland was 32% while in Little Bay we find 50% could read and 37% could write. It’s difficult to interpret these numbers. On the one hand the town was now showing a higher rate than the Newfoundland average but the numbers have dropped across the board. I’m inclined to credit this to reporting issues as 1884’s 46% seemed rather high. I think the fact that Little Bay went from being 7% lower to 5% higher over those 7 years aligns well with the story we’re getting from the town at the time. The 1891 census gives us numbers for men and women separately: 590 men could read, 367 men could write, 477 women could read, and 418 women could write. I suspected a lot of the rising literacy rate came from women. Literacy and Temperance appear to have been connected. I think the fact that higher literacy and lower alcohol use were used as measurements of cultural success contributed to the lack of push back against rising social power among women from conservative and patriarchal forces. Women’s roles were changing. Masculinity in Little Bay was shifting as well as Newfoundland men took on the cultural behaviours of higher educated foreigners. Many of whom were first appointed by Baron Ellershausen. I’ll mention that the Baron hand selected those that oversaw his operations, this extended beyond the mine to the other institutions. I mentioned the reverend and the teacher but also the doctor and many others. These were educated and well-spoken gentlemen from other places selected and collected together by a German Baron with a goal of intentional cultural design.

Mining changed everything rather quickly in Northern Newfoundland in the last decades of the 19th century. The changes are credited to the efforts of the men in charge of the mine and other institutions in town. They were aided by social movements containing educated women. The first petition to the government with women’s signatures on it was signed by women from Little Bay. It’s likely the emphasis on literacy impacted traditional concepts and social roles. Little Bay attracted folks seeking employment but those that arrived adapted to the unique culture being created there. The Newfoundlanders who sought mining work found with it high wages and low cost quality goods. They found luxury, services, technology, and for many of them it appears they also found a love of literature. They sure got an education!

Sources:

• 1874 census
• 1880, Nov – Whittier’s reference to firewood at school (The Witness)
• 1880, Dec – Mine management starting looking for books for a circulating library (ET)
• 1883, Feb – Petition for money for education in Little Bay (SJTNA)
• 1883, April – Petition on the subject of schools (SJP&TN)
• 1883, Aug – Reading Room established (TS)
• 1883, Aug – Description of Reading Room upstairs in Public Hall and reading list (TS)
• 1883, Oct – Mr. Burgess teacher (Wells)
• 1884 – 169 of 696 children attend school 24% (Census)
• 1884, Aug – Reading Room and street rows (ET)
• 1886, Oct – 1884 census information on education (TS)
• 1886, Nov – A school house was sold to Mr. Whyte (Wells)
• 1887, June – The public mind in Newfoundland on education (DC)
• 1887, July – Julia Abraham’s part in Sunday School / women’s roles (TS)
• 1887, Sept – C of E schoolhouse in The Bight (TS)
• 1888, March – Reading Room of the Total Abstinence Society part of Concert Hall (TS)
• 1888, April – Inspection and report on Methodist public school (TS)
• 1888, May – Review of Little Bay school with number of students (TS)
• 1888, June – Newspapers come by the hundreds and bookshelves are introduced (TS)
• 1888, Sept – Dr. Joseph preformed his life’s story to raise funds for Mr. Garland (TS)
• 1888, Sept – Subscriptions increased (TS)
• 1888, Oct – 100 students in Father O’Flynn’s school (ET)
• 1889, Feb – Donations to Reading Room by Dr. Joseph (TS)
• 1889, March – Miss Herbert likely teacher (TS)
• 1889, April – Opening of the Billiards and Reading Room Club (TS)
• 1889, April – Students gave gifts to Mr. Coady (SJC)
• 1889, Sept – Methodist treat / Ohman visit (TS)
• 1889 – Denominational system (Ohman)
• 1890, Jan – Members of club listed on letter to departing Mr. Burgress (ET)
• 1890, May – Petition on education (ET)
• 1891 – 344 out of 834 children attend school 41% (Census data)
• 1891, June – Practical object teaching (ET)
• 1891, July – Marianne Moors teacher (ET)