Beachside

The community of Beachside, once known as Brookside, was settled in the 1800's, when the mine opened in Little Bay. Beachside, a community surrounded by hills on three sides with the fourth boundary open to the ocean, is a place of amazement in spring. Often one can gaze out over Backcove Hill and see huge masses of ice, in many spectacular shapes, floating across the bay. This area is lush, colorful and beautiful in summer when the flowers are in bloom and the sea is aquamarine, calm and serene. The fishery is definitely the mainstay of the Beachside economy. Since the cod moratorium, many residents have turned to logging and mining to make a living.

Beachside (Wild Bight) is located on the north side of Little Bay . The community is ranged on the west side of the cove at the Bight's bottom, where there is a broad, rocky beach.

Local History

Beachside was used as a summer station by fisherman from Twillingate before it was settled in the 1850's. According to a 1857 Census there were 16 people living there, but, by 1874, this number increased to 55 and remained at this until the mid-twentieth century. The fisherpeople traded their catches to nearby Little Bay Islands where their families attended the Methodist church. Beachside residents also went to the Labrador fishery from Little Bay Island. Some of the men from Beachside found work as miners in Little Bay after 1878, the major impact of the mine on Beachside was the number of miners who returned to fishing after the mine closed in 1900.

In the mid-1920's most younger men left to work on the construction of the pulp and paper mill at Corner Brook, and later as loggers. In 1935 there were only 36 people left in the community. In the 1940's and 1950's the community began to grow again as people moved in from Southern Arm, Springdale, Little Bay or Little Bay Islands. In 1956 there were 172 people.