The Codroy Valley is a valley in the southwestern part of the island of
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
in the
Canadian province
Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...
of
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...
.
The Codroy Valley is a
glacial valley formed in the
Anguille Mountains, a sub-range of the
Long Range Mountains which run along Newfoundland's west coast fronting the
Gulf of St. Lawrence. The valley runs inland at a perpendicular angle from the coast along a bearing of 45° (northeast), carrying the Codroy River and its tributaries to the gulf.
The mouth of the Codroy Valley at the coast is extremely windy and is the location of
Wreckhouse, so-named by employees of the historic
Newfoundland Railway for the wind's ability to blow railway cars off the tracks.
The area was settled families of
French,
Irish,
Mi'kmaq,
English, and
Scots. The Scots were
Highlanders who arrived between the 1840s and 1860s, most of them secondary migrants who had been living on
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada.
The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...
in
Inverness County,
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
. Of the roughly 171 households at Codroy Valley in the 1880s, 67 (38%) belonged to people of Scottish descent. The
Scottish Gaelic language was once commonly spoken here, with some families continuing to speak Gaelic at home until the 1960s.
See also
*
Stormy Point, the headland just north of the valley's mouth
Further reading
*
Margaret Bennett, ''The Last Stronghold: Scottish Gaelic Traditions in Newfoundland (Canada's Atlantic Folklore-folklife series)''. Canongate Books Ltd, Breakwater Books Ltd, 1989 / - , -
References
External links
Community Accounts - Codroy Valley - Well-Being Account
Valleys of Newfoundland and Labrador
Canadian Gaelic
European-Canadian culture in Newfoundland and Labrador
Mi'kmaq in Canada
First Nations in Atlantic Canada
Scottish diaspora in Canada
*
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