The Placentia Area Historical Society
Placentia's first historical society was founded in 1937 by a group of concerned citizens who wanted to preserve and promote the local history. It was one of the first historical societies in Newfoundland. Over the years members of the Society researched and collected the local history. The members of the Historical Society strongly influenced the restoration of the ruins at Castle Hill. The present day Placentia Area Historical Society was incorporated in March 1972 and includes all the local communities from Ship Harbour to Point Verde.
The Society is active in:
Sponsoring research and restoration projects
Lobbying to protect historically significant sites
Sponsoring archaeological studies and surveys
Hosting traveling exhibits
Producing an exhibit - Resettlement - A House Divided (opened in 1995)
In the mid-seventies a group of Society members opened a temporary community museum. Members were later successful in establishing and operating a community museum, "O'Reilly Heritage House" (take a tour - Faces and Places).The Society gives individual or group tours, and provides information of a historical nature. This service is available to school children on a regular basis.
The Society is a member of:
Newfoundland Historical Society Canadian Museum Association
Canadian Heritage Society
Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador Association
Genealogical Society of Newfoundland and Labrador
Under a heritage conservation plan for the Placentia area, the Society supports the following groups in their initiative to preserve our history:
The Atlantic Charter Committee
The Argentia Exhibit
The Argentia: American Presence Exhibit
Placentia Theatre d'Heritage Committee
Fox Harbour Memories Book.
The Placentia Area Historical Society's latest initiative is is an ongoing project with the Placentia Public Library.
The "Placentia Area Heritage Collection" consists of:
"The Print Collection" contains more that 500 articles and books on the area, catalogued on a database for easy identification.
A "Digital Picture File" - a collection of historical pictures from all communities in the area from Ship Harbour to Point Verde is also available at the library.
"Placentia - the Early Years" - This web page is a product of the print material collected on the local history. This is a digital directory on the early history of the area up to the early 1800's and a brief history of the local communities from Ship Harbour to the Cape Shore. The history of Resettlement Program is also accessible.
An interesting extra of the collection is a genealogical database of baptism, marriage and cemetery from some communities in the area which is available for in-person (only) searches on family histories at the Placentia Public Library.

The executive of the Placentia Area Historical Society:

Joan Fleming - President

Kenneth Flynn - Vice-president

Charmaine Cooney - Secretary

Rita Pomroy - Treasurer

Please e-mail your comments to: pahs37@hotmail.com