Contents |
History
Early Families
A fishing-farming community located southeast of Stephenville Crossing, Barachois Brook takes its name from a brook running into St. George's Bay. Barachois Brook was apparently settled in two phases: first by the Carter and Joe families (the latter Micmac guides who moved to Conne River) and second by French and Scottish families such as Fillatre, MacLean and Messervey who moved to Barachois Brook from Sandy Point[1].
The first phase of settlement was roughly from the early 1900s to the 1930s. The List of Electors (1928) lists only the Carter and Joe family names. Barachois Brook is first recorded in the Census of 1911 with four people and the population stayed at about five people until 1935 when twenty-four residents were recorded. The population of Barachois Brook climbed rapidly after the 1930s as people moved from Sandy Point and other isolated communities on the tip of the Port au Port Peninsula to be nearer the railway which extended to Stephenville and Stephenville Crossing. The predominance of families from the former community of Sandy Point earned Barachois Brook the nickname "Litle Sandy Point." The early economy of Barachois Brook was based on fur trapping and fishing, mainly cod, salmon and herring. The fertile land of the region also attracted farmers, and the proimity of fine forest stands also allowed logging. By 1911 alone over fifty acres were cultivated, with mainly root crops such as potato, tumip and cabbage being grown. A road was built through Barachois Brook by 1922 over the Gut Bridge and by the late 1930s a school-chapel had been built. The building of the Ernest Harmon Air Base at Stephenville in 1941-1942 and later projects at Stephenville, such as a liner board paper mill and the operations of Abitibi-Price and Bowater, attracted many workers from Barachois Brook and the pattem of commuting to work outside the community was firmly estabhshed by the 1950s.
Census 1921
Newfoundland Census, Barachois Brook[2].
| Dwelling | Family | Surname | sex | rela | Status | Age | birthplace | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 258 | 278 | Carter | Cornelius | m | head | married | 41 | Essex, England |
| Carter | Ida M. | f | wife | married | 30 | Lingan, CB | ||
| Carter | Marjorie | f | daughter | single | 8 | Halifax, NS | ||
| Swyers | Molly | f | single | servant | 16 | Main River | ||
| 259 | 279 | Dennis | Henry | m | single | head | 52 | Barachois Brook |
Resources
Sources
- ↑ Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 1, Extract: letter B. Page 128. Smallwood, Joseph Roberts, 1900, Pitt, Robert D. W., 1953, Newfoundland Book Publishers (1967) Ltd, St. John's. Memorial University of Newfoundland, electronic collections. Accessed 2020.
- ↑ Newfoundland's Grand Banks website. Newfoundland 1921 Census, Barachois Brook, Bay St. George District. Wayne P. Bennett, 1998. Accessed 2020