Roberts Arm is a small
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
located near Crescent Lake,
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 ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in
Division No. 8, Newfoundland and Labrador
Division No. 8 is a census division on the north coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It has a land area of 9,314.57 kmĀ² (3,596.4 sq mi) and had a population of 33,940 at the 2016 census. ...
. It is found on the northern part 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 ...
. Roberts Arm boasts of its Lake Monster,
Cressie
In Canadian folklore, Cressie is the nickname given to an eel-like lake monster said to reside in Crescent Lake, Robert's Arm, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The name is a portmanteau of Crescent Lake and Nessie, the nickname given to the ...
, which is claimed to be living in Crescent Lake. Recent years saw the development of a majestic hiking trail which encompasses the end of the lake nearest to the community,
Hazelnut
The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus ''Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according t ...
Adventure Trail.
History
''Roberts Arm is listed on the British Admiralty map of Notre Dame Bay, dated March 1883.''
''Post office Directory 1887, 1891, 1892, notes Roberts Arm.''
''Supreme Court Central Circuit notes Roberts Arm in 1886''
''Supreme Court Northern Circuit notes Roberts Arm in 1879''
''Newfoundland census of 1891 notes Rabbits Arm.''
''The Hilda Wooden Schooner built at Roberts Arm in 1877.''
-------
"Until the early 1900s Roberts Arm was known as Rabbits Arm because of the abundance of snowshoe hare in the area. Local
rabbit
Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...
was sold to a factory located in South Brook. John Roberts, who was an influential member of the community, owned a large quantity of land in what is now called the
subdivision
Subdivision may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Subdivision (metre), in music
* ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009
* "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2)
* ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005
* "Subdivisions" (song), by Rus ...
. He is believed to be the inspiration behind the name Roberts Arm. When people first came to this area, they would stay only for the winter months to
trap
A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research.
Trap or TRAP may also refer to:
Art and entertainment Films and television
* ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...
, and return to their homes on the outlying
Baie Verte, Newfoundland and Labrador
Baie Verte ( 2021 Population 1,311) is a town located on the north coast of the island portion of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador on the Baie Verte Peninsula.
The French named the area for its greenness, "green bay."
Geography ...
Green Bay islands in the spring.
"It was
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.
Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
, however, that was to be the economic backbone of Roberts Arm. Between 1930 and 1935 Peter Parsons from Long Island was contracted to produce
pit prop
A pit prop or mine prop (British and American usage, respectively) is a length of lumber used to prop up the roofs of tunnels in coal mines.
Canada traditionally supplied pit props to the British market. As coal mining declined in importance and ...
s for the overseas market. The wood was driven via a brook to Tommy's Arm (a shipping depot for pit prop and
pulpwood
Pulpwood is timber with the principal use of making wood pulp for paper production.
Applications
* Trees raised specifically for pulp production account for 15% of world pulp production, old growth forests 9% and second- and third- and more gener ...
located about three miles outside of the community) and loaded on ships to be taken to its destination. William Faulkner from
Point Leamington
Point Leamington is a town of about 590 people located north of Botwood and Grand Falls-Windsor in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enu ...
also produced pit prop, working from Tommy's Arm during the
Depression years. Both operations were small scale and short term. By 1935, 45 residents lived in the community. By 1966 there were 978. Mark Rowsell was the local merchant, but many residents traded at
Pilley's Island
Pilley's Island is a town located on the island of the same name in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located in Division No. 8, Newfoundland and Labrador.
History
The island is known to have been frequented by Dorset ...
or
Little Bay Islands
Little Bay Islands is a vacant town in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It consists of Little Bay Island, Macks Island, Goat Island, Harbour Island and Boatswain Tickle Island. The highest mount is high Campbell Hill, which is located in Not ...
. In 1937 Roberts Arm became a major center for pulpwood.
Bowater
Bowater Inc. was a paper and pulp business headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. It merged with Abitibi-Consolidated in 2007, and the combined company went on to become Resolute Forest Products.
History
The North American assets of Bow ...
came to town under the supervision of A. J. Hewlett who was born and raised there. Men from other communities working in Tommy's Arm moved to Roberts Arm with their families. The population was on the rise ... "
Shortly after Bowaters started operation in Tommy's Arm, the men went on strike due to bad camp conditions and low wages. Hewlett was paying which was much less the per cord that other loggers in Newfoundland were getting. What was known as the Roberts Arm Strike was short lived when Sir Eric Bowater stated that he would shut down operation. A representative of the strikers apologized to Bowater and Hewlett and stated that they would gladly return to work for $2.00 per cord. To this, Bowater responded that operation would continue.
Excerpts from ''Moments in Time'', by the Green Bay Economic Development Association 1994.
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 ...
, Robert's Arm had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of .
[Canada 2016 Census]
Community Profile
Statistics Canada. Accessed February 6, 2018 With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
See also
*
List of cities and towns in Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the ninth-most populous province in Canada, with 510,550 residents recorded in the 2021 Canadian Census, and is the seventh-largest in land area, with . Newfoundland and Labrador has 278 municipalities, including 3 ...
References
External links
Roberts Arm Facebook pageMike Anthony Photography; Roberts ArmKavorka Designs; Roberts ArmKavorka.me; Roberts Arm's very first social media network. Operated and based in Roberts Arm, and owned by "Kavorka Designs(Mike Anthony)"Pansy's Flower & Gift Shop; Roberts Arm's owned flower & gift shop, located in the center of the town(24a Main Street). Owned by "Pansy Roberts"Roberts Arm Cap SiteRoberts Arm LibraryRoberts Arm - Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, vol. 4, p. 606-607.
{{Subdivisions of Newfoundland and Labrador, towns=yes, ICG=yes
Populated coastal places in Canada
Towns in Newfoundland and Labrador
Logging communities in Canada