Snook's Harbour
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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 od 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.
Snook's Harbour | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Town | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| • 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Area code(s) | 709 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highways |  Route 231 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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.[8]
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.[9]
The Loders themselves appear to be the original family to actually settle in the harbour itself. John Loder, and wife Jane (Mary) Ann Smith of Elliott's Cove being the first. John was the son of Silas, a planter from Ireland's Eye.[10]
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.[11]
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.[12]
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, Newfoundland Quartery Volume 108 Number 3 2015/16 - Page 48
Snook's Harbour Methodist/United Church=
Snook's Harbour Methodist/United Church School
Businesses
- Smith Brickyard
- 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 Census[5]for 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
References
- ↑ All of Random West
- ↑ All of Random West
- ↑ "Census Profile". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ↑ "2016 Canada Census for Random Island West". Statistics Canada.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "2016 Canada Census for Random Island West". Statistics Canada.
- ↑ "1935 Newfoundland Census for Snook's Harbour".
- ↑ "1945 Newfoundland Census for Snook's Harbour".
- ↑ Martin, Wilfred B.W. (1990). "Pioneers of Present Communities". Random Island Pioneers. Creative Publishers. p. 194. ISBN 0-920021-72-7.
- ↑ Martin, Wilfred B.W. (1990). "Pioneers of Present Communities". Random Island Pioneers. Creative Publishers. p. 195. ISBN 0-920021-72-7.
- ↑ Martin, Wilfred B.W. (1990). "Pioneers of Present Communities". Random Island Pioneers. Creative Publishers. p. 196. ISBN 0-920021-72-7.
- ↑ Martin, Wilfred B.W. (1991). "Random Island Churches". Random Island and Beyond. Creative Publishers. p. 22. ISBN 1-895387-04-3.
- ↑ Duley, Margot I (2015). "NURSE MARTHA ISABEL LODER (1884-1963) AND THE GREAT WAR: From Snook's Harbour to the Somme" (PDF). Newfoundland Quartery. Retrieved 2021-09-19.