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Trail sign ideas

Her Lady of Carmel Parish Her Lady of Carmel Parish stood on this site. Final construction of the church was completed in 1881. The final money to pay for its construction was collected by way of a public performance in St. John’s in 1885.  The church had a bell named St. Patrick. It was forged in Little Bay on St. Patrick’s Day in 1889 and likely the work of the blacksmith John Conway. The townsfolk tossed coins from their pockets into the molten metal for the bell which it was said could ...

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Prominent Visitors

I was working on ideas for Little Bay heritage signs when a rather obvious idea struck me. What better way to demonstrate the town's significance to Newfoundland history than by presenting some of its most prominent 19th century visitors.Little Bay, Newfoundland saw many fancy visitors many of which stayed at the Little Bay Hotel.I've included pictures for the ones I think present the best options and only brief lines for others but these can all easily be expanded upon. There are also others of ...

Little Bay

The town of Little Bay has recently established a Heritage Society and built a walking trail under their Waking Trail committee. I'd encourage you to pay attention to the goings-on in Little Bay as the historic mining town has a lot to offer local tourism and the community is working toward establishing that role. I was asked to put together some ideas for heritage signs to be included with the walking trail. You'll find those below. I'd welcome your suggestions and criticisms on my outlines for ...

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Dr. Henry Eales

I’ll warn you that this article includes an image that’s more than a tad racist. I’ve put it at the bottom. I’m hoping that your journey through this article will put its inclusion in context.I didn’t plan to write this one. I was looking for information on the old loading dock for a walking trail sign in the journals of James Howley. Howley, as you may know, was the man who mapped Newfoundland. In 1878 he was in the area of Little Bay mine working toward that map. I was looking for an old wharf ...

Pay Day at the mine. Likely taken around 1886. My guess on the photographer is Otis Boyden. The house in the background was the home of the Lind family.

Mine Manager Andrew Whyte

I am going to tell you about Andrew Whyte, Little Bay’s third mine manager. I’d like to put his position in its proper context first so let's explore the mine manager job itself.Little Bay was a company town. It had a company store and the miners were paid in company script. This was seen by those in charge as a compassionate form of capitalism. A worker could move to town and there get a job and a home. Their children would get an education and as long as the industry kept running they would ev ...

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McGrath

The tailor Richard J. McGrath arrived in Little Bay from St. John’s in 1886. His business’s first location in the mining town was found above the Redden Brother’s shop. He wasn’t satisfied with renting his workspace and had acquired his own location by 1888. It was located “on the ridge” in the Bight and double in function as his family’s dwelling. He employed several “tailoresses” and acted as an agent for Singer Sowing Machines. His tailor and outfitter shop offered “a full line of cloths, twe ...

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Selby Dow

Selby Allan Dow (1844-1893) Selby Dow (sometimes recorded as Dawe) was born in 1844 at Harbour Grace. He was the son of a doctor and likely educated as he was working as a bookkeeper between 1864 and 1871. He was first employed by the Mining Company in Little Bay as a bookkeeper or accountant. I’m not sure when he first arrives in Little Bay but he was reported to have worked the accountant job for a number of years and it appears that he lost his position with the mine by early 1886. His subse ...

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Little Bay Mine cave-in

I was recently asked to put together signage for a Little Bay walking trail. Unsurprisingly, one of those signs was requested to cover the cave-in. If you’ve ever been to Little Bay you know the town hosts a sizeable hole in the ground from a fairly massive mine collapse. I remember asking my grandmother about it as a child and I remembered her saying it happened before her time. This was backed up during my own investigation into the late 19th century mining operations. Mineral reports on the a ...

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The rum-runners McLean: a Christmas story

“Oh Wells, you are a hard man! The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have their nests, but you hath not a friend anywhere. Wells, your name is a terror to me.” - Mary McLeanIn tonight’s tale I will tell you about the exploits of Michael and Mary McLean - the husband and wife bootlegging team who ran the rum trade in Little Bay during the 1880s. We will consider their operation as it relates to changes in the Christmas season in Little Bay over the course of the late 19th century. We’ll ...

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Curran

Patrick Curran (1845-1930)I am trying to flush out the Curran family. This one was challenging. The references were few and far between and what I have I really had to dig for. I have a lot figured out but there are still some holes in this story. I’m posting what I have mostly as a call for help. I can tell you that Patrick Curran was born in Ireland in 1845 and arrived in Little Bay in 1883. He was traveling with William Curran. I suspect this is his brother. Unusually, they seem to have come ...