Argentia

Picture above. The Mahier Plantation, 1714. The exaggerated scale revels an idealised layout of formal gardens, including a private chapel, Our Lady of the Light. Le Sieur Charles Mahier or Mayer, born at St. Malo 1658; married Guillemette Devaux at St. Malo 1676, sister of Francois Defaux; resident at the Grande Greve since 1693; storekeeper, seven shallops; wife and family in France in 1698-9; described in 1714 as "Encien habitant de colonie de Plaisance"; died 1710 as Naval Receiver, colonel of the militia, and planter at Little Placentia.

Situated on a small peninsula on the east side of Placentia Bay, Argentia was the site of a Canadian National Marine Terminal, a United States Naval Facility and a small industrial park.

Settled about the same time as Placentia during the late 1600's, Argentia was first a small French fishing village known as Petit Plaisance.

The settlement changed hands in 1713 under the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht. Soon after 1713 the British fishery began to slowly expand into Placentia Bay. Little Placentia (as the settlement of Petit Plaisance was now called) endowed with a good harbour, large beaches and strands of timber, soon became a British fishing station. At first it was merchants from Barnstaple, Bideford, and North Devon, who were interested in operating a fishery from Little Placentia. Their efforts in doing so, however, were hampered by the Lieutenant-Governor of nearby Placentia, Samuel Gledhill, who was stationed at Placentia during this time and seized a large number of the best fishing rooms in Little Placentia for his own use. This problem was overcome and by 1727, there were a number of ships from Poole and the Channel Islands operating in Little Placentia. The fishing station subsequently assumed a certain degree of importance and within three years a constable and Justice of the Peace were stationed there.

From what can be gathered from the few official reports of the 1700's which included information on Little Placentia it may be assumed that Little Placentia was an important fishing station and center of trade. There were a number of various British mercantile establishments stationed there at various times throughout most of the eighteenth century.

Around 1836 a school and a church had been built in Little Placentia. Law and order were maintained by a constable who had been appointed in the previous decade by the Newfoundland Legislature. A post office and customs office were built in the next decade.

Around the turn of the century the name Little Placentia was changed to Argentia, to celebrate the existence of a silver-lead deposit in the area.

In the 20^th century most of the men in Argentia continued to fish. The fishery was carried out in a variety of vessels ranging from small boats to sailing vessels of up to 60 tons, by 1830 motor dories were also being used.

The history of the community of Argentia came to an end in late 1940's when the United States Government acquired a large portion of land on the small Peninsula from the Government of Great Britain and Newfoundland and began construction of the large United States Naval Base. In order to make way for the base, the 477 people living there were resettled to various other communities in the area in the winter of 1940-41.

Employment History

Most of the residents in Little Placentia were engaged in the cod fishery. The majority fished for cod near Argentia, but a large number were engaged in the more prolific fishery off Cape St. Mary's. The herring fishery was also a lucrative pursuit in Placentia Bay during this period as a ready market for herring existed in the French banker fleet based at St. Pierre. Information on the trade in herring with the French was not given freely, because the sale of bait to the French was illegal for much of the first half of the nineteenth century. In the 1850's (by which time the trade, though restricted by tariffs, was legal) the Newfoundland Government began researching the extent of this trade, Little Placentia fishermen were involved in it. It is not known exactly when the trade between the settlement and St. Pierre ended but it did continue at least through the 1860's. The sale of herring was quite important to these fishermen. Local merchants who were opposed to it did not become involved in it. Instead the fishermen caught the bait and sold it themselves either to bank-fishing vessels which arrived at southern Newfoundland ports looking for bait, or to merchants in St. Pierre. In effect this provided the fishermen with an income which was not tied to the truck system. It also provided them with the means to buy cheaper goods in St. Pierre and it offered some relief to the fishermen during bad cod-fishing seasons.

The cod fishery remained the most intensively prosecuted fishery in Little Placentia throughout the nineteenth century, supplying the fishermen and several mercantile establishments in the settlement with the main source of their livelihood. As well as the inshore fishery near the settlement and off Cape St. Mary's, cod fisheries on the Banks of Newfoundland and off Labrador were conducted from Little Placentia in the late 1800's.

In the early 1880's mining began to contribute a small amount to the local economy when an argentiferous galena (silver-lead) mine was opened at Broad Cove Creek Canyon, close to the community. Producing approximately 1814 tons of lead ore and several tons of concentrates the mine was opened sporadically until 1925 when it was finally closed due to lack of lead.

Cod continued to be the main species fished, a short-lived lobster fishery was also developed in the early 1900's.

In the late 1930's the herring fishery was revived. A United States company from San Francisco became interested in the herring fishery of the community and in 1937 it built a herring-meal and oil plant there.

Another source of employment was created in 1918 with the establishment at Argentia of the Placentia branch railway terminal. Thereafter Argentia also became a terminal for the south-coast passenger-freight steamers.

In 1941 the United States Government began construction of the Naval Base at Argentia.

Since 1968 Argentia has also been the site of a Canadian National Marine Terminal for a summer ferry service between the Avalon Peninsula and North Sydney, Nova Scotia.

After the downsizing and finally the closure of the Naval Base, the Newfoundland Government began subleasing some land in the area and began attracting businesses to it, such as Nova Marine, Argentia Freezers, a mushroom growing plant, exercise facility, Public Works Canada, etc.

Population Counts of the Argentia Area.

In 1687 the population of Petit Plaisance was 35. In 1762-1763 there were approximately 130 people in Little Placentia during the winter. In 1797 the winter population had more than doubled to 266, the majority of which were Roman Catholic. During the early 1800's a large number of Irish came to Little Placentia and by 1845 the population stood at 573.