Red Bay is named for the reddish cliffs found
along the local shoreline. Between 1550 and
1600, Red Bay was the site of Buttes, a major
Basque whaling station. A whaling ship, the San
Juan, lost in 1567 in Red Bay Harbour, is the
oldest shipwreck north of the Caribbean and one
of the best preserved. After 1600, the whaling
station was abandoned mainly due to the
reduction of the whale stocks.
In the 18th
century, Red Bay was a Canadian fur trading
post. Red Bay became a Newfoundland fishing
station in the 1800s. The first census was in
1856, and it showed 72 people settled in Red
Bay; it increased to 152 by 1891. Dr. Wilfred
Grenfell helped to establish the first
co-operative at Red Bay in 1896.
In the 1950s and 1960s, many families
moved to Red Bay from outlying fishing stations, and in the 1960s the first road was constructed. By the 1970s,
archaeological work began and this led to Red
Bay becoming an historical site and making tourism an important industry for the town. Red Bay was incorporated as a town in 1973.
Copyright © 2010, BNE-Web-Creations
Home ::
Avalon ::
Eastern ::
Central ::
Western ::
Labrador ::
Getting Here ::
Pictures ::
Contact Us ::
Site Map ::
Privacy Policy ::
Disclaimer ::
Terms Of Use