Batteau: Batteau is another town whose name is unknown.

If this coastal town in Labrador was spelt batean, one would simply surmise that early Francophone settlers had named it, as batean translates as "boat"; however, there is no word in the French (or English) language that is spelt with the double "t".

Perhaps it was simply an error in the recording of its name, but historically no evidence shows that that was the case.

As far back as 1775, the name Batteau appeared on charts recorded by George Cartwright, mentioned earlier as the founder of nearby Paradise River.

Predominantly known as a summer fishing station, and later a semi-permanent winter settlement for the northern coast Inuit in the 1770s, the first English settlers arrived in the 1850s were the Dyson brothers who raised their families there.

In the mid 1960s as part of the resettlement program, the entire community was "moved" to Happy Valley and Cartwright.

But slowly, many of the "resettled people" returned and now, according to the most recent census (2016) there were 369 citizens, an increase of 2.2% over a five-year period.

Used with permission from "Uncovering the Origin of 1001 Unique Place Names in Newfoundland and Labrador" 2021 Jennifer Leigh Hill

Address of this page: http://nl.ruralroutes.com/Batteau