History
of our town...
The Town of St. George’s (In. 1965) located on the Southwest
coast of St. George’s Bay, was originally know as South side
or Little Bay. Sandy Point, a small uninhabited island a few
hundred meters offshore from St. George’s has a great deal of
historical significance to the settlers in St. George’s. During
the 1700’s-1800’s, Sandy Point was the commercial center of
the West coast of Newfoundland, until the railway went through
in 1898. Because of the work that the railway created and the
rapid transportation of goods, many people from Sandy Point
settled at St. George’s around “The Tank” (train station). The
new settlement of St. George’s rapidly became more important
than Sandy Point.
St. George’s began to grow rapidly and soon became a major
center. The town became the distributor of goods for the surrounding
area and the Port au Port Peninsula, while supplies being delivered
to the peninsula by the St. George’s Steamship Company. The
St. George’s Lumber Company and Captain Sam Butt’s Cooperage
operation were strong local businesses. Fishing, lumbering,
and farming were the primary occupations and lobster factories
also operated there. A brewery/distillery operated at Man’O
War Brook for a short time at the turn of the century. The community
also became the sear for the magistrate for the area and a courthouse
was constructed.
St. George’s was the most prominent town in the Bay St. George
area until the early 1900’s. With the coming of the Ernest Harmon
Air Force base in Stephenville in 1941, Stephenville eventually
replaced St. George’s as the market center and Stephenville
crossing became the transshipment point for goods going to Stephenville
by rail.
*The above text taken from http://chrisnkaren.com
© 2005 Jonathan Bennett - All Rights
Reserved.
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