Woody Point was once referred to as La Belle Baie, meaning beautiful bay. By 1818, there were about 30 inhabitants in Woody Point. The permanent settlement started with the first six families coming from Devon. Back in that time, Bird and Company were the major trading company before being replaced by the Jersey firm of Grunchy Runoff. Glement Company was then introduced in the 1850's. Bonne Bay was a summer settlement until the 1840's. The most valued commodity at that time was the salmon fishery.

Shoal Brook

Some of the early settlers in Shoal Brook included the Anderson, Bailey, Brake, Burden, Curnell, McCauley and Matthews families. Their houses were clustered around the mouth of the brook. Luke Anderson, who was a fisherman and a sawmiller, was probably the first settler in Shoal Brook in the early 1880's. Most early residents were fishermen/farmers with fishing premises from Silverton to Shoal Brook. Shoal Brook was largely a Methodist community but also had Church of England, Roman Catholic and Salvation Army residents.

Silver Point

Billy Raiche, who is said to have built the first road, first settled Silver Point.

Silverton Flats

Thomas Young from St. John Island near Port Aux Choix was the first settler around 1860. He built his home away from the beach as protection from the elements and perhaps from French and British warships patrolling the French Shore. Isaac Caines who came from the same area followed his idea.

Winter House Brook

Winter House Brook got its name because it was the winter home for families who maintained summer dwellings close to their fishing wharves and sheds.  Winter House Brook remained a separate community until the Woody Point community was formed in 1960.

Glenburnie-Birchy Head-Shoal Brook

These communities are located near the South Arm of Bonne Bay. Glenburnie-Birchy Head-Shoal Brook is a long, thin community beginning at Glenburnie, near the head of the South Arm and stretching north along the south shore of the South Arm through Silverton to Birchy Head.

Shoal Brook, Silverton and Birchy Head take their names from geographical features; while Silverton and Silver Point were reportedly named for the silver color of many birch trees which were prominent in the area. The name Glenburnie is a testimony to the Scottish origins of its first settlers.

Shoal Brook and Glenburnie are situated on small delta plains formed where hillside brooks spilled into Bonne Bay. Glenburnie marks the only shallow waters in the otherwise deep waters of Bonne Bay. The area is situated along an indraft which is located some distance from the herring, cod and lobster grounds near the mouth of Bonne Bay.

Thomas Young, an English Sea captain based at St. John Islands north of Cow Head was the first permanent settler of Silverton. He was followed by Isaac Caines who came to Silverton in the late 1860's from St. John's. Billy Raiche, an Englishman who was known locally as the man who built the first road, first settled Silver Point. Early settlers in Shoal Brook included the Anderson, Bailey and  Brake families.

Glenburnie was not settled until the last decades of the 19^th century and was first settled by Hugh McKenzie, a Scottish man who had come to Bonne Bay in 1883 from the Bay of Chaleur, New Brunswick. He first came to the Maritimes to cut wood but realizing the agricultural potential of the land he began farming.

Early residents from Glenburnie to Shoal Brook were fishermen and farmers with some commercial farming in oats, potatoes and other small vegetables. Some fishing  was conducted from September to October with the codfish being sold to merchants based at Woody Point and occasionally at Cow Head. The herring fishery, conducted from November to December, was the most important commercial fishery because of its cash return from selling to American coastal vessels.