Aillik ( , archaic: Ailik) was a fishing and trading settlement located north of

Makkovik Makkovik (Inuit languages, Inuit: ''Maggovik'') is a town in Labrador in eastern Canada. It had 365 residents in 2021. The main industry is snow crabbing and there is a fishing cooperative. Makkovik is only accessible by air or sea. History The ...

Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...

, Canada. The community is named after the bay on which it is located. ''Aillik'' is an Inuit term meaning "a place having sleeves", so named because Aillik Bay is shaped with two branches at its head. The Ailik Islands also take their name from the bay.Place Names of Atlantic Canada
William Baillie Hamilton. University of Toronto Press: 1996

History

Archeological finds at Aillik indicate that the site was seasonally occupied by the

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

, possibly as early as 1500 CE. A

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

, also known as Eyelick or Eyeleck, was established in around 1838, with George Mackenzie as

factor Factor (Latin, ) may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, such a factor is a resource used ...

. The post was used for

seal hunting Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of Pinniped, seals. Seal hunting is currently practiced in nine countries: Canada, Denmark (in self-governing Greenland only), Russia, the United States (above the Arctic Circle ...

, salmon fishing, and trading, but was abandoned in 1840-1841 due to poor returns. It reopened in 1855, operating seasonally until it closed for good sometime between 1875 and 1878. The location continued to be used as a summer settlement for cod and seal fishermen who came from nearby Kaipokok Bay. In 1921, it had a population of 15, seven fishing boats, and one sailing vessel of 50 tons. It grew in importance in the 1930s, with a trading post ran by a family of independent traders. In 1938, a church was built by Pentecostal pastor William Gillette, who moved to

Postville Postville is a city in Allamakee County, Iowa, Allamakee and Clayton County, Iowa, Clayton counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. It lies near the junction of four counties and at the intersection of U.S. Routes U.S. Route 18 in Iowa, 18 and U.S. Ro ...

a few years later. In 1945, it had a population of 16, and had regular boat service to other Labrador and Newfoundland ports at that time. In 1949, Gillette opened a store in Postville, which would serve Aillik from then on. The first postmaster (established July 2, 1952) was William John Pilgrim.

References

{{reflist Ghost towns in Newfoundland and Labrador Hudson's Bay Company trading posts

History

See also

References