Clarke's Beach

Clarke's Beach is a town on Conception Bay in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. In the 2016 census the town had a population of 1,558.[1] It is the home of a number of well-known Newfoundland artists, and is a favourite place for retirement.

Clarke's Beach
Town
Town of Clarke's Beach
Clarke's Beach
Location of Clarke's Beach in Newfoundland
Coordinates: 47°32′41.00″N 53°16′56.49″W
Country Canada
Province Newfoundland and Labrador
Area
 • Total12.71 km2 (4.91 sq mi)
Population
 (2016)[1]
 • Total1,558
 • Density122.6/km2 (318/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-3:30 (Newfoundland Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-2:30 (Newfoundland Daylight)
Area code(s)709
Highways Route 70
Websitehttp://www.townofclarkesbeach.ca/
A wood carving of the town seal of Clarke's Beach on display at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

History

Clarke's Beach first appears in census records in 1857, with a population of 280.[2] Many of the early settlers came from Bareneed and Port de Grave when these two settlements ran out of space for curing fish and when the Labrador fishery became prominent.[2] The first settlers initially came to the area for timber, then for planting vegetables on the cleared land.[3]

Sawmills

The earliest record of sawmilling activity in the area dates to circa 1611–1620, when the settlers of the John Guy colony in Cupids built a sawmill and pit saws in nearby South River.[4] No further sawmills were built until 1885, when William and Reuben Horwood began a steam-operated sawmill at Clarke's Beach, a partnership which also had business dealings with Colin Campbell, a sawmill operator at Campbellton and Dog Bay, Notre Dame Bay.[5] It employed 112 men in 1891,[2] which, at the time, were nearly all the men in Clarke's Beach.[3]

W.J. Horwood announced in January 1893 that he had sold his "Clarke's Beach Milling Plant" to George C. Jerrett.[6] Jerrett took over the shingle and lumber mill business, producing shingles, laths, lobster cases, matched lumber, and clapboard.[7] In 1895, it was reported that Jerrett's Mill was also producing spruce joisting and studding.[8] From 1894 to 1899 (at least), Jerrett also operated another shingle mill in Shoal Bay, Trinity Bay.[9][10]

In the early 1900s, as the Horwoods moved their operations, at least two other mills opened.[3] One mill was operated before 1909 by George Bussey.[11]

George Wilson established a sawmill in 1943.[2] Another water-powered mill owned by Wilson, but operated by Horwood's, was located on the main road in South River.[12]

By the 1920s, fish casks and drums were being made as a side industry:

"Merchants would have schooner loads and car loads of birch sent here each spring from Bonavista Bay," recalls Garfield Ralph. "Shopkeepers would buy the material and give it out to people, stuff for heads, hoops, and staves. You would get 1,000 staves, enough to make 100 drums, and you would probably make 15 cents on each one. If you worked at it 10 hours a day you could make a dollar. Everybody in Clarke's Beach made fish drums until the '30s, but once the war started nobody would go at it."[3]

In 1960, George Wilson was advertising as a "Lumber Manufacturer" and as a dealer in doors, window sashes, boxes, wallboard, and builder's hardware.[13] By the 1970s it was the only sawmill in operation in the community.[2]

References
  1. "Census Profile, 2016 Census: Clarke's Beach, Town [Census subdivision], Newfoundland and Labrador". Statistics Canada. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  2. "About Us". Town of Clarke's Beach. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  3. "Clarke's Beach". Decks Awash. 15.2: 14–16. 1986.
  4. Robertson, Alexander (2005). Water Power Sawmills in Newfoundland. Alexander Robertson.
  5. "Lumber Company, Horwood". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador. 3. St. John's: Harry Cuff Publications Ltd. 1991. p. 385.
  6. "To My Friends and Patrons". Evening Telegram. 1893-01-17. p. 1. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  7. "Shingle and Lumber Mill". Evening Herald. 1893-01-31. p. 1. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  8. "Local Occurances". Evening Telegram. 1895-11-12. p. 4. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  9. James Ryan Diary. 12 July 1894.
  10. "Marine notees". Evening Telegram. 1899-09-23. p. 4. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  11. "Personal". Harbor Grace Standard. 1909-08-20. p. 1. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  12. Bartlett, Heather (August 2000). "The History of The Town of South River". Town of South River. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  13. "George Wilson". Newfoundland Stories and Ballads. 6.2: 14. 1960.
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