Old Pictures of Placentia

Several people have submitted old photos of the area recently, and I'm very happy to post them here for public viewing and comment.

They're all new to me. It's amazing to wonder how many other old photos there might be tucked away in private collections. If you have a photograph of Placentia pre-World War II, you should have copies made for safe-keeping, and maybe consider donating a copy to the Archives (located at the Placentia Public Library). Old photos are treasures!

As always, click on the image to view a larger version.

The first comes from Harry Smith. It shows people drying fish on Placentia beach. I've never seen this before, and it really drives home how different it is to read statements like "the expansive beach at Placentia was used to dry fish" versus actually seeing it done.

Unfortunately, Mr. Smith didn't say when this was taken. If anyone knows, or has a tidbit of information about the picture, email us!



The next series are provided by Chris Newhook, and they relate to the previous blog entry about Southeast. As was said in that entry, Southeast Placentia was a popular resort spot for the well-to-do of St. John's (and sometimes further abroad). This first picture is titled "A Morning's Catch," is dated 1892, and is connected to 'Fulfort's' (or, Fulford's) hotel (one of the many hotels that used to be in Southeast). I assume these are vacationers . . ?





This is the same spot, Fulford's Hotel, 33 years later, in 1925. Such a gathering of automobiles was not a common sight in 1920's rural Newfoundland. This demonstrates how popular Southeast was as a get-away for wealthy families of the day. Also, take note of the chicken standing in the lane.




The following shot is of the Riverview Hotel (labeled as 'Fulfort'). Mr. Newhook has kindly transcribed the caption in the upper right-hand corner, which obviously corresponds to the people standing in the garden.

"1 - James Howley

2 - Angela Lannon (nee Folfort)

3 - J. Brancombe

4 - Mrs. N. Fulfort (nee Power)

5 - Ned Fulfort"

It is labeled 'circa 1908.' As with all of the images above, anyone with extra information is warmly invited to email it to placentiablog@gmail.com --- or write it down and drop it in to the Placentia Library, the blog's headquarters.


The final image comes once again from Harry Smith, and it relates back to a previous entry, showing Mr. Bernard Penney's beautiful hand-carved model of the Jerseyside Placentia train station. This is an image of the station itself, with the coal storage building beside it. I believe the current 'Coalyard' playground on top of Jerseyside Hill gets its name from this?

The Emerald Arm

Ray Miller has been kind enough to send along some pictures of his property in Southeast ('Southeast Placentia,' properly, for those from away). These green grassy summery lawns look especially nice after all the snow and slush we've had over the last few days (Ray informs me the largest lawn area is longer than a football field!). Ray's an artist (more on that in future) and he must draw no end of inspiration from such surroundings. And of course, it's great for weddings or just general portraits.

Considering Southeast's verdant tranquility, it's easy to see why it was the island's favoured vacation spot through to the 1950's (and perhaps later?). I wish I had Olive Power's series of articles on the history of Southeast at hand. The list of luminaries who have vacationed in Southeast (staying in one of several hotels) in the past is astonishing.

Why Southeast? Well, it's sheltered on all sides (so it's always a few degrees warmer!), the arm is usually calm as a pond, and the Southeast River has some of the finest fishing in the province. And let's not forget, before the construction of the Argentia Access Road, the road to Conception Bay and St. John's wound its way along the Southeast Arm, too. Beautiful, tranquil, and accessible.

One has to wonder, if the shamefully neglected Route 91 connecting to Colinet and on to the Salmonier Line were ever properly paved and maintained, would Southeast return to some of its prior prominence? In terms of actual kilometres traveled, that route to St. John's is actually shorter than the Access road. Of course, anyone who has traveled its gravel lengths knows which one is quicker!

Tales of Ghosts, Fairies, and the Supernatural

Perhaps because I've been reading Wonderful Strange, a collection of supernatural stories from Newfoundland collected by Dale Jarvis (of St. John's Ghostwalk fame), but today I'm wondering . . .

Here in the Placentia area, do you have any stories of ghosts? fairies? unexplained or weird events? Or even just a bit of information about a house that you'd heard was haunted?

Please email them to placentiablog@gmail.com or drop them off at the Placentia Public Library (the blog's headquarters). If you're afraid of people saying you're foolish or crazy, we'd be more than happy to respect anonymity if it's requested.

I'll start.

I grew up in and around the Burnt Woods in Southeast (Bond's Path). There were a lot of children in this neighbourhood in the 80's and 90's. Some were adamant that the curve of road just past the turn off for Lannon's Place and Burnt Woods subdivisions (heading away from Placentia) was haunted. A ghost was supposed to appear there at midnight every night.

At the time, the only building on that bit of road was the old abandoned (now restored) cabin. The old schoolhouse just before the curve had been recently torn down; none of the new houses that are there now had been built. I'm sure we were just easily spooked kids and these abandoned old buildings, the lack of lights, and the encroaching woods were to blame. I never saw a ghost anywhere near the Burnt Woods, and older folks who I've mentioned it to are not familiar with the story.

Another possibility is that the story began as an easy way for parents to get their kids to keep curfew. I know for sure there were some nights when you'd be flying on your bicycle or running fit to kill yourself, to make sure you got past the curve and safely home before the witching hour struck.

Now, working at the O'Reilly House last summer, there actually were a number of minor yet unexplained events . . . .

. . . . but I want to hear stories, first. Remember, email them (or anything you'd like to see here!) to placentiablog@gmail.com or drop them to the Placentia Library.

- The Maintainer
(Michael Collins, if you've been curious who's been running this particular ship)

Local Placenames

This is a partial (and perhaps only partially correct) list of local placenames in the Placentia area. If you know any that aren't listed here, or wish to correct one that is, please email placentiablog@gmail.com, or even just leave a comment on this entry.

Some of them are commonly known, others less so. Many seem to be falling out of use.

---

Brulee - The marshy area behind the (new) hospital and the mall.

Swans - An older area of town, around the base of cemetery hill. Does anyone know the approximate boundaries of Swans? Does it extend over to St. Edward's School and the Star Hall, or is it just around The Boardwalk bar and lounge?

Sleepy Hallow - The stretch of homes above the Regatta Grounds.

Bond's Path - From Blockhouse Hill to Smelt River. Thought of as part of Southeast by many, but historically a separate community. Older homes seem to center on the brook that flows in the valley before Burnt Woods. Does anyone know the name of this brook? We grew up calling it Bond's Path River.

Crevecoeur - The cliff facing the ocean, just west of Freshwater.

Herring Cove - On the North East Arm, around the turn-off for Ferndale.

Glen's Cove - The landward side of the brackish pond or barachoix (crossed by a causeway) just past Point Verde. This was a community in the past; the old highroad went around the coast and crossed a small bridge at the brook at the base of the cove/pond.

There are plenty more --- this is just a hastily composed collection. Please feel free to add to it, or correct things that are here!

It's hard not to speed . . .

It sure is hard not to speed on the lovely new asphalt that's just been put down all along the Beach Road and Blockhouse Hill.

I have to confess, sometimes when I glance down I find myself going 70 or more. It's so smooth, it's easy to forget yourself!

I guess we're just reaping the rewards of patiently putting up with all the roadwork this summer. It's going to be lovely when they have the rest of the Town done, I'm sure!

Population Changes

Placentia's shrinking population is a depressing topic, but I just spent an hour with my nose in the 1935 census, and it's interesting to see Placentia suffered a similar population drop in that historical period of economic woe. In short, we've been through this before.

First of all, the Placentia St. Mary's district currently has a population of 11,115. This is obviously down quite a bit from the 70's and 80's, but look at what happened to the District's population in the early part of the 20th century:

1911: 16,099
1921: 8,504
1935: 8,454

It almost dropped by half. Boggling to consider, isn't it? It's also strange to think that more people lived here in 1911 than in 2007.

Similarly, the Town of Placentia's population declined significantly in the first part of the 20th century.

In 1901, its population was listed as 1,509, and it was the 8th largest town in the (then) Dominion of Newfoundland. By 1935, it was 1,140, and was down to 21st largest.

I got curious as to what they considered "Town of Placentia" to be in 1935 (as you still hear echoes of the amalgamation debates, almost 20 years old now). In the community profiles, they break the communities down as follows:

1935 Populations (in order)

Argentia: 477
Placentia: 469
Marquise: 283
Dunville: 261
Southeast: 216
Jerseyside: 161
Freshwater: 33

So, adding that up, what we consider as the modern Town of Placentia actually had 1,900 people in 1935, good enough for 12th largest town in Newfoundland (provided other places like Twillingate and Carbonear still have their 1935 boundaries today).

The communities they must have added together to get the 1935 population of 1,140 are: Placentia, Southeast, Jerseyside, Dunville, and Freshwater. So, in 1935, neither Argentia nor Marquise (nor Point Verde) was considered part of the town, but Dunville was.

So what about now? Well, the numbers on the other side of the century tell as sad a tale.

1991: 5,515
1996: 5,013
2001: 4,426
2006: 3,898

But we can take solace in the fact that our area has been through a cycle like this before. Hopefully the population will stabilize and begin to grow in the years to come, if promised industrial developments come through and the Province continues its economic upswing.