Westport

Westport is a seaside community in White Bay with approximately 325 people. It's latitude is 49 47', longitude is 56 38', and the elevation is 0-100. Westport faces Northwest and it's dominant winds are Northeastern and Eastern. The land is mostly cliff, bog and small hills. There are a few vegetable gardens and some livestock is also kept. There are trees and shrubbery throughout the community intermixed with the houses.

The main employment for Westport residents is the fishery and forestry. There is still plenty of available land for housing expansion both in and around Westport.

Local History

The community of Westport was first settled in approximately 1825 by two families; Mr. Steven Hurley and Mr. William Jacobs. Westport was divided into two sections; Pound Cove and Western Cove. The two sections were divided by an evergreen forest, which made it hard for the settlers to get from place to place. Later on, a path was made to make it easier to get about. Before this they had to row from cove to cove.

The first school was built in Westport approximately 1890-1895 and it consisted of one classroom. The first teacher to come to Westport was a Miss Peddle in the year 1893. People believed they didn't need education, only the basic reading and writing, which made it hard for the teacher to teach. In order for the school to be kept heated, the students were required to bring two or three sticks of wood per day. The students had to use slates to write on. It was wiped clean at the end of the day, so they had to have good memories to remember what they were taught. Because is was thought that education was not necessary, people would drop out of school with grade two or three.

In 1947, a two room school was built due to the increase in student enrollment. The teacher at that time was Charlie Abraham. The school provided more room and modern facilities. In 1960, another classroom was added to this school to accommodate more students. Despite some of the major difficulties, some of the students received a high education and went on to become teachers, doctors, nurses, etc.

One of the major events which have lived on in the lives of the people is "The Great Fire". The fire occurred in 1959 and approximately 225 men took part in the firefight. It burned towards Westport about one and half miles. The equipment to fight the fire was brought in by Bowaters on the tugboat. Coastal boats were sent in to evacuate the people if it became too dangerous.

The other event was the "August Breeze" which occurred in 1935. There were strong winds, high tides and fishing gear was lost. The Breeze didn't take any lives or homes, but it was a frightening experience for the people who lived there at that time.

One of tales that have been pasted down from generation to generation are Treasure at Burden's Cove. It was assumed that a pirate ship became wrecked and there had been treasure on board. One of the men stayed to watch over the treasure. It was said that the one that was chosen had to be shot so he would never leave the treasure unguarded. The other happening is ghost at Clay Cove. The footpath in Clay Cove has never grown over. It was told that Alex Hewitt built a house in Clay Cove on the same spot as the treasure. Strange things began to happen in the house, so he moved to Westport and nothing was heard again.