The History of Head of Bay D' Espoir

According to Edward Cokes ( February, 1997)

Completed by Grade 5 Students.

Even though Bay D'Espoir is now part of the Town of Milltown - Head of Bay D'Espoir, for three decades it included much of what is now Milltown and all of St.Veronica's. Father Hayes. priest at St.Alban's, renamed the northwester part of Bay D'Espoir, St. Veronica's, in the 1950's.

The first to settle at Head 0 Bay D'Espoir was William Barnes. He was born in Somerset, England and ran away from home at age 14 when he feared being punished for mistakenly cutting down some of his neighbour's hedge. He joined a group of 80 boys enroute to Newfoundland on a Newman Fishing Company ship. William was posted at Harbour Breton where he worked with other "English youngsters" in the fishing industry. These men were hired to do men's work received only half of a man's pay. From there he moved to Gaultois, where he continued working for the Norman's Company. He eventually spent a number of winters as cook for Newmen logging crews in the forest of Bay D'Espoir. It was through these stays that he became familiar with the best sites for farming here.

When he married a Hull from Great Jervis in his late 20's, he decided to leave fishing and relocate to Bay D'Espoir. First he had to get access to his money. Because English law forbid savings be kept in the colony, William had return to England to smuggle his money back to Newfoundland.

Having been employed by his neighbour in England as a farm helper, he wished to rerum farming so he brought dairy cattle to Head Bay D'Espoir in 1866. He eventually built his own schooner and marketed his butter in St.Pierre.

William had a 23 acre farm which took in all the level land around Motel Bay D'Espoir. He retired from farming at the age of 60 but lived to the age of 91.

He had five sons, the youngest of them died at birth, five daughters. The four remaining sons, all of whom married Organ girls from St. Joseph's Cove, were William, Alfred ( who lived in St. Veronica's), John and Thomas. The four oldest Barnes girls married Organ boys from St. Joseph's Cove - two of whom lived in St. Veronica's. The youngest daughter, Mary Jane , married a Bussell and lived about a quarter of a mile north of Motel Bay D'Espoir.

The second family to come to Head Bay D'Espoir was James Leslie. He came in 1872 to operate a telegraph station for the Anglo - American Telegraph Company. The telegraph was direct communications link between Europe and North America. He also operated the post office. Leslie was from New Brunswick and his father was doctor so people in the Bay went to him for medical attention. (When Morgan Roberts saw off all his fingers except the thumb from one hand, he hurried to Mr. Leslie for treatment.)

Leslie was married three times and had twenty-three children. He educated his own children until there was a school built in the early 1890's. He cleared and farmed all the level land locally known as Leslie's Meadow situated at the southern end of Head Bay D'Espoir.

In addition he had a 143 acre grant of land presently occupied by the Greenwood School, The Lion's Club, the Legion and the Upper and Lower Townsites.

Leslie moved back to New Brunswick in 1912. George E. Sutton came from Pushthrough in 1878 to take care of that section of the telegraph line between Head Bay D'Espoir and Bay d Nord, Bay D'Espoir.

He was followed by his brother, Jeremiah, a year later. Jeremiah Sutton bought Leslie 's 143 acre grant for $300.00 in 1912.

Then came Perry who had married one of the Sutton sisters. He was followed by James Willmont who had also married another on of the Sutton sisters.

James was one of the sons of Henry Wilmott (1818-1916) who came from Shaftsbury, England. Henry; who married a Hull from Great Jervis, is buried in the cemetery across from the Vancor Motel. Next came the Robert's family.

The 1891 census list 12 families for Head Bay D'Espoir, four of them lived in what is now known as St. Veronica's, one of them being Neol Matthews on Indian Point. There were two Barnes' by this time. There were no roads but just basically trail linking the various homesteads.

Before John E. Lake started his sawmill in 1885, people replied now a multi- based economy. This included pit sawn planks, rid, barrel hoop, shingles, farming, hunting and trapping.

A year after Lake started his mill, Robert Kearley moved here followed by his brothers John and Charles within a couple of years. About a decade later Roberts sister, Charlotte, who married Tom Cribb Moved here from Little River.

Morgan Roberts and his brother Wilson built a sawmill in 1907. Morgan who later worked in the shipyards of San Francisco returned home and added a ship building industry to his lumbering section. They built a total of 53 schooners. The last one exceeded 130 feet in length and 200 gross tons. (This is volume measurements). It was fitted as a side dragger and used by Spencer Lake in Burgeo.

In 1891 there were 18 school children but none had gone to regular school in the previous year. The first school was a School Chapel and called St.Luke's. It was across the highway from Ralph Coomb's and was built in the early 1890's. Mary Sutton (1887-1973) went to school there for two years beginning at the age of 6. There was no school in Milltown until 1905 at the earliest.

The first Anglican church was St.Luke's. It was built in 1927. There was a Roman Catholic church located at Barnes and was built at the turn of the century. There was also a school at Barnes. According to Tom Hull who came to Head Bay at the age of 7, there was Chapel School already in Head Bay. He went to school himself. It was called a School Chapel because it had a roof of a chapel. It was really a school. At age 7 when Tom Hull attended school there, it was weather beaten looking then as it had been it for the first time. It was where Peter Tremblet is now.

There was a Roman Catholic School Chapel at the North End of Bay D'Espoir in the area called "Barnes". The building was constructed around the turn of the century according to Thomas Hull. Eventually it became the church when a school was built nearby just before the 1940's.

The oldest cemetery is in Head Bay D'Espoir. Some of the oldest headstones date back to the 1890's. Milltown's earliest headstone is 1938.

After Milltown and Head Bay D'Espoir were governed by their own community councils in the early 1950s, the boundary between them was Jersey Brook. Head Bay D'Espoir was responsible for the road to that point.

Co-op store started in the early 1950s. It was brought by J.J. Sutton about a decade later and eventually moved to Leslie's Meadow. Now it is J&g Convenience Store.

The oldest house is now in by Rosita Kearley. It was built before 1900 but has been renovated.

The second oldest house is owned by Dorothy Barnes.

The third oldest house, now owned by Llody Diamond, was built before 1914, and it too has been renovated.

A number of houses built before 1940 included those of Stella Roberts, Jane Kearley, Clayton Foote, Olive Cox.

Milltown according to 96-97 Grade V students

Verified by Mrs. Cora Kendell & Mr.George Lee

(February 1997)

- early 1894, a sawmill was built and it was called the West Coast Export Co.

- John E&G Lake

- named after saw mills

- Milltown began with 20 people.

Oldest Building

- Martin Piercey's in 1917/ Harold Squires

- Strickland's Store was opened in 1938

- Marshall's Store was opened 1938

- James Sutton first lived in the oldest building and now Maggie Perry lives there.

- Sid Lake

Oldest Business

1. Marshall's Store 1938- to earn a living

- to supply everything to people

2. Strickland's Store began in 1930's to make stoves and fish barrels

- First church in 1907

- Vincent Fudge- oldest family in Milltown (Farmers)

Lake (Sawmill)

- In 1940-1957, Bowaters pulp and paper came to Milltown to cut pulpwood

- First settled for good timber and boat building

- Townsite was developed in 1964 by NF & Lab Hydro

- 1933- John E. Lake went bankrupt. Then his sons Bert and John P. Lake took over another company in Milltown called Milltown Lumber Company.

- Milltown was a regular stop for coastal boats and only means of transportation before Bay D'Espoir Highway

- Before first sawmill, Milltown had 7 - 8 families.

Other facts on Time Line

1835- Loggers from Nicholas' Firm, Jersey Harbour, Fortune Bay, were staying in log cabins, one mile from the salt water in the Jersey Point area of Milltown. (take from Archdeacon Wix's Journal)

1835- Edward Wix consecrated a piece of land for a cemetery at Weasel Island. (Wix's Journal)

1907- school Chapel built in Milltown

1905-1922- Milltown was shipment point for timber export.

1948- Stan Stickland drove the first truck in Milltown but it belonged to Bowaters.

1949- Third Post Office in Milltown.

1950- First car by Gordon Strickland. Morgan Marshall had first truck.

1952- Community Council formed in Milltown.

1957- Government Wharf was built in Milltown.

1961- Greenwood High School was built.

1965- First telephones in homes in Bay.

Milltown and Head Bay declared a Rural District

Hydro lines energized from temporary diesel power in Swanger Cove.

1967- Greenwood Elementary was built.

Bay D'Espoir Highway opened.

Dowding's Service Station opened.

1967- Hydro Plant officially opened.

1969- Milltown- Head Bay combined into a Local Improvement District.

1973- Southeast Bridge was built.

1975- Highliner Inn/Motel Bay D'Espoir opened.

1978- Christ Church was built.

1979- Milltown's old Church was taken Down.

1980- Head Bay Church taken down.

1990- Town Hall opened in Milltown.

- Senior Citizen's home was built in Milltown.

- RCMP building opened in Head Bay.

First bus landed in Milltown in 1961 by Kendell Strickland. He had 20 passengers. In 1967 Bert went to St.John's and drove the first bus over the highway. In 1962 there were twelve telephones installed in Milltown for the businesses. It was a switchboard, operated by Margaret Strickland at her home from 8 a.m.until midnight. She operated this for 18 months. To make a long distance call Margaret would put the call through. In 1964 phones were installed in homes.