Musgrave Harbour is a town and

designated place A designated place (DPL) is a type of community or settlement identified by Statistics Canada that does not meet the criteria used to define municipalities or population centres. DPLs are delineated every 5 years for the Canadian census as the sta ...

in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

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 ...

History

Musgrave Harbour is a fishing community that was originally named Muddy Hole. The name was changed in 1886 in honor of Governor

Anthony Musgrave Sir Anthony Musgrave (31 August 1828 – 9 October 1888) was a colonial administrator and governor. He died in office as Governor of Queensland in 1888. Early life He was born at St John's, Antigua, the third of 11 children of Anthony Musgr ...

. It was visited as early as the 18th century by Europeans. For example, George Skeffington from Bonavista was given salmon fishing rights there in 1723. In the 19th century the migratory fishery took place between Musgrave Harbour and Cape Freels and eventually permanent settlement began. The first family to settle in Musgrave Harbour was John Whiteway, of Western Bay, in 1834. The 1836 ''Census'' show Whiteway's family of eleven living in "Muddy Hole" and five people living in nearby Ragged Harbour. Musgrave Harbour was the administrative and religious center of

Hamilton Sound Sir Charles Hamilton Sound, which has been shortened to and is more commonly known as Hamilton Sound, is a body of water on the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland, between Fogo Island and the mainland to the south, and including (fro ...

by 1900, but due to its poor harbour it failed to be a commercial center. When Tobias Abbott of Doting Cove introduced the gasoline engine in 1909 the Labrador fishery was replaced with the inshore fishery. The people of Musgrave Harbour also became active in the

Fisherman's Protective Union The Fishermen's Protective Union (sometimes called the Fisherman's Protective Union, the FPU, The Union or the Union Party) was a workers' organisation and political party in the Dominion of Newfoundland. The development of the FPU mirrored that ...

movement and the F.P.U established a local council there in 1909. In 1912 a Union Trading Co. store opened in Doting Cove. By 1911 the population was 433 in Musgrave Harbour, 458 in Doting Cove, and 49 at Ragged Harbour.''

Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador ''Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador'' is an Encyclopedia commissioned by Joey Smallwood to capture the people, places, events and history of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Smallwood's view on the purpose of the encyclopedia was ...

1941 airplane crash

In 1941 Dr. Sir

Frederick Banting Sir Frederick Grant Banting (November 14, 1891 – February 21, 1941) was a Canadian medical scientist, physician, painter, and Nobel laureate noted as the co-discoverer of insulin and its therapeutic potential. In 1923, Banting and J ...

, co-discoverer of

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...

, died the following day after a plane crash near Musgrave Harbour. The ''Hudson Bomber'', with crew Captain Joseph Mackey, co-pilot William Snailham, and navigator William Bird, were en route to England when they had engine trouble just after leaving Gander. They attempted to return to Gander, but didn't make it. Captain Joseph Mackey was the only survivor.

Geography

Musgrave Harbour is 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 ...

within Division No. 8. It is on the Kittiwake Coast near the Town of Gander.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Musgrave Harbour had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Religion

The earliest people in Musgrave Harbour were of the Church of England; however, settlers from Bonavista introduced Methodism to Musgrave Harbour. A Wesleyan school opened in 1853, it was closed in 1862 and then reopened in 1865 by John Wheeler. A full-time minister was appointed to Musgrave Harbour in 1874. Doting Cove, Ragged Harbour, and Musgrave Harbour had a combined population of more than 500 by 1884, and almost all were Methodist. The first resident minister in Musgrave Harbour was the Rev. Henry Lewis, and the 1874 church was the first Methodist church in the Greenspond circuit. The Salvation Army came to Musgrave Harbour in the 1890s and by 1930 made up the majority of the population.

Attractions

The local park is named after Sir Frederick Banting, and also has an interpretation center dedicated to Dr. Banting and the crash. The wreckage of the plane was airlifted to the park in 1990. St. Luke's United Church is a sightworthy church in the center of Musgrave Harbour. The War Memorial in front of the post office is worth a look as well. Important early architect William Tuff Whiteway came from Musgrave Harbour.

Education

The first school in Musgrave Harbour was established in 1852 with Charles Harris as the teacher. It was built by the people for the Wesleyan School Society, it opened in 1852 with about 36 children. The school was closed in 1863 but it reopened again in 1865 with John Wheeler as the teacher, and he served for 24 years. The first female teacher was Laura Taylor in 1893.

References

External links

Musgrave Harbour – Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, vol. 3, p. 664-665.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Musgrave Harbour, Newfoundland And Labrador Designated places in Newfoundland and Labrador Towns in Newfoundland and Labrador