History of Battle Harbour
The mercantile saltfish premises at Battle Harbour were established by the firm of John Slade & Company of Poole, England in the early 1770s. This firm was well established on Fogo Island and expanded its operations to Labrador.
Lying just north of the old , Battle Harbour served as the gateway for Newfoundlanders seeking to fish unmolested in the resource rich waters of Labrador.
Lying just north of the old , Battle Harbour served as the gateway for Newfoundlanders seeking to fish unmolested in the resource rich waters of Labrador.
Merchant Firms
Battle Harbour's location led to the Slade premises becoming the major base for the region's cod and seal fisheries and for the commercial trade that led to the formation of a permanent community.
The local population increased rapidly after 1820 when Newfoundland fishing schooners adopted Battle Harbour as their primary port of call and made it the recognized capital of the Labrador floater fishery.
Battle Harbour remained in the hands of Slade & Co. until 1871, and during this time became a settled community, dominated by the fish merchants, but with its own evolving institutions, especially schools and churches. In 1871 the Slades sold Battle Harbour to Baine, Johnston & Co., Ltd. who operated the site in much the same manner until 1955. The activity of these two firms at Battle Harbour serve as an accurate microcosm of the history of Newfoundland and Labrador's fishery over almost two centuries.
The local population increased rapidly after 1820 when Newfoundland fishing schooners adopted Battle Harbour as their primary port of call and made it the recognized capital of the Labrador floater fishery.
Battle Harbour remained in the hands of Slade & Co. until 1871, and during this time became a settled community, dominated by the fish merchants, but with its own evolving institutions, especially schools and churches. In 1871 the Slades sold Battle Harbour to Baine, Johnston & Co., Ltd. who operated the site in much the same manner until 1955. The activity of these two firms at Battle Harbour serve as an accurate microcosm of the history of Newfoundland and Labrador's fishery over almost two centuries.
In 1955 Baine, Johnston & Co., Ltd. sold the premises to the Earle Freighting Services Co. Ltd who continued the site's operation until the decline in the inshore fishery at the start of the 1990s. At that time the site was generously donated by the Earle family to Battle Harbour Historic Trust Inc.
The community's permanent residents were relocated/resettled between 1965 and 1968 under a provincial government-sponsored resettlement program. Some families however still used their homes on Battle Harbour for seasonal fishing until cod fishery moratorium enforced by the Government of Canada in 1992. Some of the private homes are still maintained on Battle Island by some of the original fishing families as vacation properties. Several homes have been, or are in the process of being, restored by BHHT Inc's seasonal staff, individuals with family ties to Battle Harbour and those from other parts of the world who have been touched by the spirit and history of this former Salt Fish Capital of Labrador.
The community's permanent residents were relocated/resettled between 1965 and 1968 under a provincial government-sponsored resettlement program. Some families however still used their homes on Battle Harbour for seasonal fishing until cod fishery moratorium enforced by the Government of Canada in 1992. Some of the private homes are still maintained on Battle Island by some of the original fishing families as vacation properties. Several homes have been, or are in the process of being, restored by BHHT Inc's seasonal staff, individuals with family ties to Battle Harbour and those from other parts of the world who have been touched by the spirit and history of this former Salt Fish Capital of Labrador.
Community Growth
The level of activity at Battle Harbour resulted in community development that was unparalleled along the rest of the Labrador coast.
The community became the de facto regional capital with the requisite legal, religious, educational and health facilities.
Noted ecclesiastical architect William Grey, under the direction of Bishop Edward Feild, designed the Church of St. James the Apostle for Battle Harbour in the late 1840s. Built in 1852 and restored in 1991, St. James is the sole surviving example of Grey's work. It is also the oldest surviving Anglican church in Labrador. St. James Anglican Church is designated as a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador
Photographer Bruce Lane has posted a very interesting video about this church on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4925TIDJVh8
The community became the de facto regional capital with the requisite legal, religious, educational and health facilities.
Noted ecclesiastical architect William Grey, under the direction of Bishop Edward Feild, designed the Church of St. James the Apostle for Battle Harbour in the late 1840s. Built in 1852 and restored in 1991, St. James is the sole surviving example of Grey's work. It is also the oldest surviving Anglican church in Labrador. St. James Anglican Church is designated as a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador
Photographer Bruce Lane has posted a very interesting video about this church on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4925TIDJVh8
In the years of Baine, Johnston & Co., Ltd., activity at Battle Harbour attracted the interest of the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen (later to become the International Grenfell Association). Dr. Wilfred Grenfell arrived in Battle Harbour in 1892 and a year later built a hospital in the community, the first hospital in Labrador.
Further institutions attracted to Battle Harbour as the region's natural centre of operations included the Canadian Marconi, the Newfoundland Ranger Force -- who chose it as the location of one of their Labrador detachments -- and later, after confederation, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Further institutions attracted to Battle Harbour as the region's natural centre of operations included the Canadian Marconi, the Newfoundland Ranger Force -- who chose it as the location of one of their Labrador detachments -- and later, after confederation, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Polar Explorers
The community's amenities and communications services also made Battle Harbour a port of call for polar explorers.
Commander Robert E. Peary was a familiar figure in Battle Harbour and it was from there that in 1909 he called a press conference, utilizing Battle Harbour's Marconi Station wireless services, to share details of his reaching the Pole to the outside world. These two press conferences, attended by news correspondence from as far away as New York, were instrumental in touching off the great controversy between Peary and Fredrick Cook as to who exactly had reached the Pole first, if at all. The controversy occupied the front page of the New York Times for ten days and is still under debate today.
Commander Robert E. Peary was a familiar figure in Battle Harbour and it was from there that in 1909 he called a press conference, utilizing Battle Harbour's Marconi Station wireless services, to share details of his reaching the Pole to the outside world. These two press conferences, attended by news correspondence from as far away as New York, were instrumental in touching off the great controversy between Peary and Fredrick Cook as to who exactly had reached the Pole first, if at all. The controversy occupied the front page of the New York Times for ten days and is still under debate today.
Courtesy: Archaeology Office, Dept of Tourism, Culutre & Recreation
(larger version)
Archaeology
As of 2009 there are 34 known archaeological sites within a 20 kilometre radius of Battle Harbour. They range in age from millennia old Maritime Archaic Indian sites to a World War II era aircraft wreck. Most of the other known precontact aboriginal groups which occupied Labrador, including various Palaeoeskimo, Recent Indian, Inuit and Innu groups also called this area home.
The precontact period sites are little more than artifact spot finds or scatters of lithic (stone) flakes typically used by such groups to make artifacts.
The Innu and Inuit sites are represented by boulder depression storage sites and housing sites.
The European sites in the area include a Basques whaling site, a cemetery, Captain George Cartwright's first merchant station dating from the late eighteenth century and various small European sites associated with cod fishing.
BHHT Inc is supporting additional field work in the Battle Islands area being conducted through the "Understanding the Past to Build the Future" project. See project details at http://www.mun.ca/labmetis/background.html
The precontact period sites are little more than artifact spot finds or scatters of lithic (stone) flakes typically used by such groups to make artifacts.
The Innu and Inuit sites are represented by boulder depression storage sites and housing sites.
The European sites in the area include a Basques whaling site, a cemetery, Captain George Cartwright's first merchant station dating from the late eighteenth century and various small European sites associated with cod fishing.
BHHT Inc is supporting additional field work in the Battle Islands area being conducted through the "Understanding the Past to Build the Future" project. See project details at http://www.mun.ca/labmetis/background.html
Terms
Terms used on this page:
Saltfish is codfish that has been cleaned, split, salted and dried. "Splitting" refers to removal of the backbone. The cleaned and salted fish was spread on "flakes" -- wooden platforms -- to dry in the sun.
The French Shore was a coastal section of Newfoundland where the French held fishing rights. Originally defined in 1713 under the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht, the French Shore remained in effect until 1904.
