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St.Paul's Inlet |
| St.Paul's Inlet 1900 |
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Car Ferry at tickle of
St.Paul's 1955 |
| Construction of
St.Paul's Bridge 1961 |
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St Paul's is a fishing community located on the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. It is 35km north of Rocky Harbour. The first settler to settle in St Paul's was a trapper by the name of Elias Gifford. Mr. Gifford was recorded in the 1874 census as being the only settler in St Paul's.
In the 1880's a Halifax firm, Payzant and Frasher began a lobster factory in St Paul's and by 1888 it was considered to be the most successful lobster factory on the west coast. The factory employed 30 seasonal workers and sent surplus lobsters to the firm's main factory at Woody Point. Most of the employees came from Cow Head and began to settle in St. Paul's. Some of other early settlers were members of the Charles, Benoit, Hutchings, Payne and Pittman families. The census recorded a population of 11 in 1884, rising to 52 by 1901.
These founding families all fished, trapped, hunted, farmed and raised livestock for food and clothing. In the 1920's most of the families built homes on the inlet of St Paul's Bay. Eventually Robert Bennett set up a mercantile business at the inlet which became the center of the community. The Inlet Bridge was completed in 1962, which connected it to many communities on the Northern Peninsula. Logging became a big commercial activity at this time but fishing still continued to be the mainstay of the community. Roads began to improve and with the establishment of the National Park additional employment created many new opportunities at St. Paul's.