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Snook's Harbour

Snook's Harbour
Town
Snook's Harbour
Snook's Harbour
Location of Snook's Harbour On Random Island
Country	Canada
Province	Newfoundland and Labrador
Area
• Total	75.59 km2 (29.19 sq mi)
Elevation	7 m (23 ft)
Population  (2016)
• Total	535
• Density	7.1/km2 (18/sq mi)
	Includes all of Random West.
Time zone	UTC-3:30 (Newfoundland Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-2:30 (Newfoundland Daylight)
Postal code span	AOC
Area code(s)	709
Highways	Route 231
Historical population Year Pop. ±% 1884 65 —     1891 88 +35.4% 1901 49 −44.3% 1911 51 +4.1% 1921 44 −13.7% 1935 51 +15.9% 1945 70 +37.3% 1951 62 −11.4% 1961 61 −1.6% 1971 78 +27.9% 1981 81 +3.8% 2001 562 +593.8% 2006 557 −0.9% 2011 530 −4.8% 2016 535 +0.9% Snook's Harbour United Church Denomination United Church Previous denomination Methodist History Founded c.1927 Architecture Closed c.1989 Snook's Harbour School Information Type One Room Established c.1930 Closed c.1967 Grades K - 8 Building used as a community center for many years after closure

Snook's Harbour is a community on the north side of Random Island, fronting on Smith Sound. Its name is thought to be derived from the name of winter woods workers and the fairly large harbour. While shallow, the harbour is one of the few sheltered locations on the Smith Sound side of Random Island.

The community itself is really a consolidation of three communities, Snook's Harbour itself, but also the outlying Sooley's Brook and Wake's Brook.

History

It is difficult to establish when exactly Snook's Harbour was first inhabited. There were at least two nearby fairly large settlements, as noted above, in addition to the harbour itself. When digging into records for the area, you sometimes see them as separate entities, but at others combined into one.

People lived in the general area, all the way to Grindstone Head, but it is reasonable to assume that based on data we do have, that the original settlers in these three main areas were the Bakers in the 1870s.

Shortly thereafter, we see names such as Belbin, Cooper, Hefford, Jacobs, Loder and Ryan entering the records.

From Wilfred Martin's books, we see that two brothers named James and John Baker lived at Sooley's Brook in the early 1870s. While it can't be identified with certainty their origin, based on records of names and dates, it appears likely they had their origins in Heart's Ease and/or Rider's Harbour.

Later we see that William Cooper, and brother Edward Cooper of Ireland's Eye settled in the harbour in the 1880s, while Elias Hefford, of New Perlican, came around the same time to sail with the Loders.

The Loders themselves appear to be the original family to actually settle in the harbour itself. John Loder, and wife Jane Tilley Smith of Elliott's Cove being the first. John was the son of Silas, a planter from Ireland's Eye.

Church & School

Snook's Harbour Congregational School-Chapel

There was a Congregational school-chapel at Snook's Harbour in the 1880s. It was an outpost of a Congregational church at Middle Lance Cove.

Other sources note the dates as starting in 1878 and lasted into the early 1890s. The Loder family were lay readers at this church, and very involved with it.

In addition to the church, Mona’s father and mother (sic John and Jane) helped to oversee the Congregational School in Snook’s Harbour, writing the denomination’s Training School in St John’s to secure a well-qualified teacher. This school eventually closed and a Methodist one opened in 1895.

— Margot I Duley, Aspects Volume 108 Number 3 2015/16 - Page 48

Snook's Harbour Church of England School-Chapel

A Church of England school-chapel was constructed in the Sooley's Brook/Wake's Brook area in the 1880s. Most people moved from these locations in the 1920s to Snook's Harbour proper or further afield. After leaving, the church was taken down with plans to rebuild it in Snook's Harbour, but that never happened.

Snook's Harbour Methodist/United Church

A school-chapel served the Methodist population of Snook's Harbour during the early 1900s, at which time there were plans for a combined church to be built with Apsey Brook. For whatever reason, those plans fell through, and in 1927, it was reported that the town was building a new church.

Snook's Harbour School

The Methodists opened a school-chapel in Snook's Harbour in 1895, and continued to operate a school till the 1960s. The establishment of this later school is unknown, but expected based on the date of church construction that it was some time after 1927.

Businesses

• Smith Brickyard
• Jane Loder's General Store
• Hefford's Store
• Baxter Baker's Store
• Alan Baker's Store Note: Unsure of correct spelling, or proper name. May have been his wife's name.
• Vicky Smith's Store
• The author thinks there may have been others that slipped his memory at present (September 13, 2021)

Demographics

Snook's Harbour is in Random Island West, Division No. 7, Newfoundland and Labrador.

According to the 2016 Censusfor all of Random Island West

• Population: 535
• Change% (2011–2016): 0.9
• Dwellings: 239
• Area (km².): 75.59
• Density (persons per km².): 7.1

Features, Landmarks, Locations

• Southwest Brook
• Snook's Harbour Pond
• Bailey's Mish
• Baker's Point
• Cable Trail

External links

• Snook's Harbour - Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, vol. 5, p. 226.
• Random Island - Decks Awash, vol. 12, no. 02 (March-April 1983)

92

Communities ( 4 ) Tell us your communities history, the original settlers, landmarks, businesses both current and past Current Random Heights Elliott's Cove Snook's Harbour Apsey Brook Weybridge Lady Cove Robinson Bight Hickman's Harbour Britannia Lower Lance Cove Petley Past Ryder's Harbour Deer Harbour Thoroughfare Ivanhoe Others?	Families ( 5 ) Tell us your family's history, where they came from, how they got to Random Island, and why. Examples Adey Avery Baker Cooper Dean Hart Loder Marsh Pittman Randall Simmons Vardy Walters

Business and Industry ( 1 ) Tell us the story of business and Industry on the Island, both current and past. Examples Brickyards Ivany's Cash Store Sawmill Ship Building All the rest!	Notable People ( 2 ) Stories of people, their achievements, life, works, etc. Martha Loder

Landmarks and Features ( 2 ) Some of the well know and not so well known features of Random Island Examples Bluff Head Grindstone Head Bald Nap Friggins Cove Pond	Other Topics Other ideas? Examples Hurricane Igor