Bickfordville is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

province of

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. The community is located in the south of Bell Island in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

's eastern

Conception Bay Conception Bay (CB) is a bay on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The population (in 2011) of people living in municipalities (or unincorporated census subdivisions) located along the coast of Conception Bay was 90,490 making it one ...

History

The place owes its name to the fact that a large part of the population there bears the surname Bickford. Until 1970 there was a local branch of the

Loyal Orange Association The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It a ...

in Bickfordville. In 1947 a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

was held on the island to decide whether or not to grant it a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

status; with "no" as a result. Bickfordville then had 43 adults of which 12 voted for and 31 against. On April 2, 1978, the island was hit by a huge and never fully cleared explosion that came to be known as the Bell Island Boom. Bickfordville was at the epicenter of this event.Historic Wabana
'Unusual Occurrences'
2022. Accessed August 31, 2022.

Geography

The settlement of Bickfordville is located in the south of Bell Island, a large island in

off the coast of southeastern

. The place is located in an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and is located between the hamlets of

Freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

and Lance Cove. The hamlet consists of the houses and other buildings along Bickford's Road and part of Lance Cove Road.Elections NL
Summary of Polling Divisions. Conception Bay East – Bell Island
2022. Map of Bell Island

References

{{coord, 47.601, N, 52.991, W, display=title, region:CA_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Populated places in Newfoundland and Labrador