St. George's, Newfoundland Labrador, is a charming Canadian community nestled in the St. George's Bay on the southwest coast of Newfoundland. This community, originally known as South Side or Little Bay, has a rich history dating back to the seventeenth century French fishery and has evolved into a vibrant town with a variety of attractions.
The history of St. George's, Newfoundland Labrador, is deeply intertwined with the Mi'kmaq people. In 1594, Mi'kmaq villages were established in St. George's Bay and Placentia. Jeannot Pequidalouet, the eastern Mi'kmaq chief of Cape Breton, began to create permanent settlements in St. George's Bay and Miawpukek in the 1760s. In May 1767, when James Cook was mapping the Newfoundland coast, he encountered a tribe of Mi'kmaq in St. George's Bay.
The seventeenth-century French fishermen spent their summer months in St. George's harbour and returned to France for the winter. By the eighteenth century, they began to overwinter, and St. George's continued to be a fishing village for nearly 200 years until the advent of the railroad.
The arrival of the railroad in Western Newfoundland in 1898 brought significant changes to St. George's, Newfoundland Labrador. The town quickly became a major centre in Western Newfoundland due to the work opportunities created by the railway and access to various goods. Many people from outlying communities flocked to St. George's, transforming it into a distributor of goods to the surrounding area and the Port au Port Peninsula. The primary occupations became lumbering, fishing, and farming, and lobster plants also opened there. A brewery/distillery also operated there for a short time at the turn of the century. The community also became the seat of the magistrate in the area, and a courthouse was constructed.
According to the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, St. George's, Newfoundland Labrador, had a population of 1,139 living in 543 of its 611 total private dwellings. This represented a change of -5.3% from its 2016 population of 1,203. With a land area of 25.71 km2 (9.93 sq mi), it had a population density of 44.3/km2 (114.7/sq mi) in 2021.
St. George's, Newfoundland Labrador, is not just a historical town but also a place of natural beauty and cultural events. The town once hosted an Annual Blueberry Festival every August at Blueberry Hill, which ran for 25 consecutive years. Sandy Point, located 3.5 kilometres south of Stephenville, is an uninhabited 2,471-acre (1,000-hectare) island of natural wealth in St. George's Bay. Black bank is a black sand beach with beautiful tree-lined embankments, offering a unique experience for visitors.
