There are several communities in Newfoundland called Little Bay. The one I research is located in Green Bay in Notre Dame Bay. It is prominent in media from its beginning in 1878 until the turn of that century. It was the site of a copper boom and was expected to rise. Little Bay was founded by the German Baron Franz von Ellershausen. It is the sister town to another he founded in Nova Scotia called Ellershouse. During the years of its prominence most references to a Little Bay in Newfoundland refer to this Little Bay. However, what exactly is included as Little Bay during the boom years can be unclear. After the boom media coverage of the town stops so there are less media references after 1904 in which Little Bay is mentioned at all. If you’re not from Little Bay you likely came across my research through your genealogical work. I’m going to attempt to help you out by investigating what exactly falls under the name Little Bay in this piece.

Little Bay’s nomenclature is complicated. I’ll do my best to explain it as clearly as I can. I apologize if this is hard to follow. Prior to the start of the Little Bay mine there in 1878 the harbour that is now called Little Bay was referred to as Indian Bight. The nearby bay that is now called St. Patrick’s was referred to as Little Bay. The mine was situated between these two bays. The mine put its loading wharf closer to what was originally Little Bay. The mine took its name from that body of water and so was therefore called Little Bay mines. The first living area for the miners was built on the other side at Indian Bight. As the mine took off it attracted a rapidly growing population and the community expanded populating not only Indian Bight but also the area surrounding the loading wharf. Loading Wharf became a proper title and Indian Bight took the shorthand The Bight. Overtime this caused The Bight to replace Indian Bight as a proper name for that living area. The Bight now referred to the houses while Indian Bight referred to the harbour. Meanwhile a population grew at the water body first called Little Bay that was called St. Patrick’s. The name St. Patrick’s later got applied to that harbour itself and so replaces the name Little Bay for it. The collection of populated areas servicing the mine took on the name of the mine and so the whole area becomes Little Bay Mines. Overtime Little Bay was further applied to the body of water at The Bight. So what was Indian Bight becomes Little Bay and what was Little Bay becomes St. Patrick’s.

I’m sometimes asked about how I’ve concluded that what are distinct town’s today were once parts of Little Bay which I refer to as districts. I’ll attempt to explain how I’ve come to that conclusion. The 1891 census lists the area as Little Bay Mines and gives a population of 2116. The Twillingate Sun confirms this population for the year in an article about the addition of a second post office for the town to be located at Loading Wharf. It is noted in the same article that Loading Wharf hosted the largest population of Little Bay at this time. From this and other sources we can see that The Bight and Loading Wharf comprise parts of the town of Little Bay. Other areas which I know to exist at this time such as St. Patrick’s, Colbourne’s Cove, Stafford’s Town, Little Ward’s Harbour, and Shoal Arm are absent from this 1891 list. Their populations are included with Little Bay Mines. Other sources show they are composed by people employed as miners at Little Bay mines. Oftentimes an area will be referenced in relation to Little Bay such as Shoal Arm, Little Bay. Local businesses, such as the Gillard’s which is located in St. Patrick’s, are advertised as Little Bay. The whole conglomerate falls under the same Magistrate and is provided for by the same resources. Furthermore, while some of those survive as distinct towns separated by some distance today, the 19th century population was such that what is unpopulated between them today was once occupied by people and homes.

The 1898 McAlpine’s directory refers to “Little Bay and vicinity” as one of Twillingate’s districts. It is composed of the following locations: Indian Bight, St. Patrick’s, Woodford’s Cove, Wild Bight, Shoal Arm, Goudie’s Cove, South Side, Benson’s Point, Fry’ Beach, Stafford’s Town, Little Ward’s Harbour, Otter Island, and North Side. I think we can safely remove Wild Bight as a part of Little Bay as it is listed as distinct from Little Bay in the 1891 census. South Side refers to the south side of Little Bay and many of the others are smaller locations found around the same bay.

My justification for the list of Little Bay’s districts found below is based on method. I have included those which have evidence for their inclusion and have sought and failed to find evidence to remove those I’ve included. A few such as Goudie’s Cove and Woodford’s Cove are absent simply due to a lack of information about them.

I’ve not included any based on singular references and believe it was important to disregard some references due to the spotlight on Little Bay at the time. During Little Bay mine’s boom years media covering the area can be found referring to other places in the wider area as Little Bay. The most egregious of these is Pilley’s Island. I think we can safely remove Pilley’s Island as a media mistake. It’s simply too far away and no official sources confirm this claim. I feel what’s going on here is that at the time those not living in the area would be aware of Little Bay due to media coverage but unlikely able to name other nearby locations causing Little Bay to become shorthand for other Northern mining locations in some reporting.

Today, the name Little Bay refers only and officially to The Bight. This is a result of a series of historical events. At the turn of the twentieth century the mine collapsed causing a mass exodus to the mine at Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. In 1903 The Bight burned down. In 1904 a forest fire devastated the rest of the area that was once Little Bay Mines. Many relocated for mining work at Bell Island or paper mill work at Grand Falls. The population dropped from one of over two thousand to one of only a few hundred in a very short period of time. Many of Little Bay’s districts failed to rebuild after the fires due the loss of its industry. There was no reason to rebuild as so many people had left the area. The parts of Little Bay that did rebuild were now smaller and further apart due to the population decline. As such they took on distinct identities. By the 1911 census Little Bay, St. Patrick’s, Little Ward’s Harbour, and Woodford Cove are clearly listed as different communities.

With the loss of the population went the media coverage and with the fires went most local records. The once prominent Little Bay Mines which was once known to the public with media nicknames of “the gem of the island” and “the el’ Dorado of Newfoundland” became a forgotten memory. Further complicating both the public memory and the complexity of the area’s naming conventions was the subsequent rise of the nearby and closely sounding community named Little Bay Islands.

I know, it’s a lot. I hope this helped!

Districts of Little Bay Mines (19th century):

• Indian Bight (The Bight) – Founded in 1878. The townsite was completed within months of its start largely due to the fact that most of it was simply relocated from Betts Cove. This area is destroyed by a fire in 1903 but rebuilt. It is the current site of the town of Little Bay.
• Loading Wharf – Likely founded in 1878. Industrial operations were certainly underway in that first year. By 1891 this was the most populated area of Little Bay. It is destroyed by fire in 1904. It likely saw some use during subsequent mining operations in the 1960s. It is unoccupied today.
• Otter Island – Likely founded in 1878 as a substantial pier was built there in the first year. However, it may not have had people living on it until the following year when its most prominent family the Bensons arrived. It was destroyed by fire in 1904 and remained afterward unoccupied.
• St. Patrick’s – Likely founded in 1879. It appears to have served as a Catholic working class neighbourhood. It was destroyed by the 1904 fire save one house belonging to the Delaneys. It was rebuilt and remains populated. It is currently a different community from Little Bay.
• Colbourne’s Cove (Coffee Cove) – Likely founded in 1878, however, as the Colbourne family out of Wild Bight (Beachside) originally discovered the Little Bay deposit and made use of the area as a hunting ground prior to the start of the mine it is possible this area was settled earlier in a seasonal capacity. It remains populated and is now a different community from Little Bay.
• Stafford’s Town (Chemist Cove / Shimmy Cove) – Likely founded in 1880 with the arrival of Little Bay’s first surgeon Dr. Stafford. Afterward this area takes on a harder reputation. It was likely burned out in the 1904 fire. This area was no longer populated.
• Shoal Arm (The Wastes) – Founded in 1878. The most prominent family living there were the Boyles. The town became a tailings pond for the mines in the 1960s. The people were relocated to Little Bay. The last to leave were the Simms family. The levy holding the tailings broke in 1989.
• Little Ward’s Harbour (Ward’s Harbour) – Earliest reference 1884. Peak population 173. This location consisted of farm land which served the mine. The last record of people living there is found in 1945. The last to leave were Bennetts.