McCallum is a

local service district A local service district is a type of designated place in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. In the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, a local service district is a defined area led by an elected committee responsible for the deliv ...

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 ...

. It is on the southern coast of the island of

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 ...

. It is accessible only by boat or by air, and in appearance and way of life is thought by some to be as close to a pre-20th century community as may be found. McCallum lies in an enclosed harbour and is sheltered between two hills. The community survives primarily on the fishery. Whaling was also a major industry in the late 19th century. It is also about an hour and a half from the nearest road, in a community called Hermitage.

History

McCallum takes its name from Sir

Henry Edward McCallum Sir Henry Edward McCallum, GCMG (28 October 1852 – 24 November 1919) was a British colonial governor. Biography McCallum attended the Royal Military College in Woolwich and began his colonial service career in 1874. He was Colonial Eng ...

, Colonial Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador from 1899 to 1901. The waters around McCallum have been fished since at least the

16th century The 16th century begins with the Julian year 1501 ( MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian year 1600 ( MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar introduced a lapse of 10 days in October 1582). The 16th cent ...

, however no permanent settlement existed until after the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

, after 1816. When the French gained possession of the Islands of

Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...

, the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

on the Islands were forced to find new homes, and looked just north, to Newfoundland's southern coast. It was during this time that

Captain James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

was appointed marine surveyor of

, and mapped out in detail the coastline and waters around McCallum to create a boundary for where the French were still allowed to fish. Aside from the traditional fishery, there is also a lobster fishery. In recent years there has also been

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

in and around the community of McCallum. The lifeblood of McCallum revolves around the sea. McCallum voted on resettlement in 2015 and 2017 but did not meet the 90% threshold required.

Geography

McCallum is in

within Subdivision D of Division No. 3. As a result of resettlement, the community has grown and has taken in people from surrounding communities such as Pushthrough, Muddy Hole,

Indian Cove Indian Cove is a local service district and designated place in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is just off Route 340 on New World Island. It is the last community before crossing the causeway to Twillingate. Before the c ...

, Lock's Cove, Richards Harbour, Great Jervais and

Mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

Demographics

As a designated place 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 ...

, McCallum recorded a population of 45 living in 21 of its 44 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 73. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Government

McCallum is a local service district (LSD) that is governed by a committee responsible for the provision of certain services to the community. The chair of the LSD committee is Everett Durnford.

Infrastructure

McCallum has a public wharf, a fire department, a bed-and-breakfast, local internet access, a ferry service to Hermitage (where the nearest road is located), and distance education facilities. There is only one general store, Fudges Store (there were two for many years until Riggs and Sons Ltd. went out of business). The church is St Peter's Anglican, and the school is St Peter's All Grade School. The school is small with only three students. Distance education is a popular means of education for the high school students (grades 9 to 12). There are now more than four ATV's used for various jobs in the community, such as garbage pickup, hauling freight, and bringing groceries to the shop. Also, ATVs have become popular for residents needing to get various jobs done quicker. Snowmobiles are popular in winter.

References

External links

Ferry ScheduleThe Webpage of the School in McCallum (Archived circa 2007)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mccallum, Newfoundland And Labrador Populated coastal places in Canada Designated places in Newfoundland and Labrador Local service districts in Newfoundland and Labrador Road-inaccessible communities of Newfoundland and Labrador Car-free zones in Canada Fishing communities in Canada