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Current Population: Approximately 260
Location: Cottel's Island in central Bonavista Bay. Travel along Route 310 to Burnside for Ferry location.
Historical Overview
Place Name Origin:
- The name St. Brendan's came from a legendary Irish explorer.
- Formerly called Shoals Cove.
- Before the current name was adopted in the early twentieth century, the settled coves on the island were considered separate communities.
Names and Dates of First Settlers:
- St. Brendan's is one of the few communities to have been settled predominantly by people of Irish descent.
- First settlers were Aylward, Broomfield, Brown, Connor, and Smith from Kings Cove, Keels Cove and Dock Cove in the 1840's.
First Recorded Populations:
- 1956 had a peak population of 829.
- Between 1966 and 1991 the population was approximately down to half.
Major Early Industries: Fishing, seal hunting, construction
Significant Facts about St. Brendan's
- By the 1840s fishermen turned to the migratory fishery of the Labrador coast and the community was soon known as one which relied almost exclusively on the Labrador fishery.
- The fishery collapsed in the early 1950s.
- The ferry service began in 1966.
- St. Gabriel Roman Catholic Church was built in 1881.
- St. Brendan's is the only inhabited island in Bonavista Bay.
Services
Transportation: Ferry Service (Please see Burnside for complete schedule)
Place of Worship:
- St. Gabriel Roman Catholic Church
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