St. Bernard's-Jacques Fontaine, Newfoundland and Labrador

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

St. Bernard's-Jacques Fontaine
Fox Cove
St. Bernard's-Jacques Fontaine (Newfoundland)
St. Bernard's-Jacques Fontaine
St. Bernard's-Jacques Fontaine
Location of St. Bernard's-Jacques Fontaine in Newfoundland
Coordinates: 47°31′35.90″N 54°56′35.90″W / 47.5266389, -54.9433056
Country Flag of Canada Canada
Province Flag of Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador
Settled Early 1800's
Incorporated (town) 1967
Amalgamated 1994
Government
 - Mayor Alice Parrott
Area
 - Town 16.44 km² (6.3 sq mi)
Population (2006)
 - Town 525
 - Density 31.9/km² (82.6/sq mi)
 - Metro 1,088
  Metro population calculated by adding populations of all surrounding towns
Time zone Newfoundland Time (UTC-3:30)
 - Summer (DST) Newfoundland Daylight (UTC-2:30)
Area code(s) 709

St. Bernard's-Jacques Fontaine is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The town had a population of 525 in the Canada 2006 Census.

[edit] History

The town of St.Bernards-Jacques Fontaine was amalgamated in 1994 from two small fishing communities.

St. Bernards Incorporated as a town in 1967, the community was known as Fox Cove until 1915. The name was changed to differentiate it from two other communities with the same name. St. Bernards appears to have been settled in the early 1800's by the Johnson, Stewart and Whelan families. These were primarily Anglican fishermen and as with many Newfoundland communities, as Roman Catholic fishermen began to settle there the populations diverged. St. Bernards became predominently Roman Catholic, while the nearby communities of Jacques Fontaine and Bay L'Argent became predominently Anglican.

Jacques Fontaine Incorporated as a town in 1986, this small fishing community is located near the base of the Burin Peninsula on the east side of Fortune Bay approximately 3km east of Bay L'Argent. The origin of the name is uncertain, perhaps deriving from an early French settler, although it appears on many early maps as Jack (or Jack's) Fontaine.

Earliest know mention of the location is by James Cook during his survey of Newfoundland on July 16th 1765, he recorded in his log: At 7PM anchored with the best bower in a bight called Jack Fountain, in 10 fathoms water and moored with the small anchor and hawser. At noon weighed and came to sail.

The earliest know settler was a Rueben Buffett. His two children Charlotte and Ambrose were baptised in 1825 and listed as living at Jack Fontaine, Fortune Bay according to the Grand Bank Methodist Church Records.

The first recorded census in 1863 labels the community as Tank Fontaine with a population of 33 residents. In 1935, there were 125 residents, noting the most common family names as Johnson, Pardy, Allen, Harris and Brushett. In the early 1980's, the population of Jacques Fontaine reached 200, most people finding employment in the inshore and long liner fisheries.

[edit] See also

Coordinates: 47°31′35.90″N, 54°56′35.90″W