St. George's is a Canadian community in the St. George's Bay on the southwest coast 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 ...

of the province 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 community, originally known as ''South Side'' or ''Little Bay'' has its origins in the French fishery of the seventeenth century when the good natural harbour would attract fishermen to spend the summer in the area and return to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

for the winter months. Permanently settled in the eighteenth century, the community remained a fishing village for nearly 200 years until the advent of the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

. As of 2024, a large salt deposit has been found in the region and development proposals are underway.

Mi'kmaq

Mi'kmaq villages in St. Georges Bay and Placentia existed in 1594.Stone, Helen. 1993. Living in time immemorial: Concepts of "time" and "time immemorial": Why Aboriginal rights theory is problematic in the courts and around the negotiating table. Master's thesis, Carleton University. Jeannot Pequidalouet - the eastern Mi'kmaq chief of Cape Breton, who had previously overwintered in Newfoundland - began to create permanent settlements in St. George's Bay and Miawpukek in the 1760s. March 10, 1996, to April 2001 In May 1767 when

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

was mapping Newfoundland coast, he met a tribe of Mi'kmaq in St. George's Bay.

Early fisheries

In the seventeenth century the French fishermen spent the summer months in St. Georges harbour and returned to France for the winter. They began to overwinter in the eighteenth century and St. Georges continued to be a fishing village "for nearly 200 years until the advent of the railroad."

After the railroad

The railroad came to Western Newfoundland in 1898, and because of the work that the railway created, as well as access to many different types of goods, many people from outlying communities flocked to St. George's. The town quickly became a major centre in Western Newfoundland. The town became a distributor of goods to the surrounding area and the

Port au Port Peninsula The Port au Port Peninsula (; ) is a peninsula in the Canada, Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Roughly triangular in shape, it is located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland. Geography The pe ...

. Lumbering, fishing and farming were the primary occupations and lobster plants also opened there. A brewery/distillery also operated there for a short time at the turn of the century. The community also became the seat of the

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

in the area and a courthouse was constructed.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, St. George's 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.

Attractions

St. Georges once hosted an Annual Blueberry Festival every August at Blueberry Hill which ran for 25 consecutive years . Sandy Point, located 3.5 kilometres south of Stephenville, is an uninhabited 2,471-acre (1,000-hectare) island of natural wealth in St. Georges Bay. Black Bank is a black sand beach and former provincial park with tree lined embankments.

References