Posts - Page 6 of 16 - The History of Little Bay

Sexton

I don’t have very much for the name Sexton. The name is absent from the 1882 Voter’s list and my first record of them in Little Bay appears in the summer of 1888. They were living on the New Line Road about a mile from the shore. I feel it’s safe to assume they’d been there at least one year due to the new road being cut in 1887. This gives them some time to get the house built. Houses in this new area of Little Bay, known as The Valley, were said to be presentable with flowers planted outside t ...

Osbourne

The Osbourne family moved to the mining region from the east coast at the start of the boom. They were composed of the families of brothers Richard and Thomas. It is likely that they arrived by schooner and families arriving together often traveled by their own ship. They appear in both of the Baron’s towns first arriving in Betts Cove before following the German mine managers to Little Bay when the new deposit was discovered there. This would indicate that they had earned the respect of managem ...

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The Fire of 1888

If you’re a descendant of John Joy (1842-1923) I’ve got some bad news for you. I think your ancestor may have killed four people. On December 8th of 1888 he appeared in Little Bay’s Courthouse to answer for starting a brush fire on June 6th which raged beyond control. It was found to have been started in his garden but they were unable to prove that it was he who’d lit it. The blame never fell elsewhere and he remains our prime suspect.Newfoundland was struck by disastrous fires in the summer of ...

Adolph Guzman

I keep learning more about historical mining in Newfoundland as I research Little Bay. I see a lot of ways it could be beneficial today. There are the obvious ways it contributes to Newfoundland heritage and tourism but I think there is untapped potential here for a method to assist current mining efforts, especially with prospecting. I further think we can find some insights into culture. Let’s consider Little Bay’s first mine manager - Mr. Adolph Guzman.Adolph Guzman was born in Germany in 183 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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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