Cuslett: Located on the east side of Placentia Bay, the community was settled in the early 1800s, according to ENL sources, when Irishmen who worked for the firm of Sweetmans in Placentia decided to stay in Newfoundland and settle in the small coastal valleys of the shore south of Placentia".

Interestingly, given its location, Cuslett was settled for its agricultural location, and the early settlers were known to raise beef and dairy cattle, sheep and pigs and to grow hay, potatoes.

However, that was soon to change: Around the middle of the century the cod fishery also became important in the community, by 1857 there were two people operating a fishery from a fishing room on the shoreline at Cuslett.

Nevertheless, full-time agriculture was not abandoned immediately. In the same year, 1857, the three families at Cuslett were tending an average of about 5.5 ha (14 acres) of land each and raising a total of twenty-five beef and dairy cattle, a few horses, a flock of nineteen sheep and a number of pigs.

By 1869 agriculture had decreased in importance, the average family holding being 1.2 ha (3 acres), and the fishery was being prosecuted by only three people.

However, from 1869 the cod fishery grew in importance, and around the turn of the century lobster was also fished briefly.

In 1900, for instance, fifteen cases of lobster were packed in Cuslett at a lobster factory which employed two men and one woman. Her ring was also fished. In 1980 the fishery remained the most important industry in the settlement and handlining for cod was the major activity. Small-scale farming was also carried out.

How the town got its name, however, it is most likely named after an early settler.

According to the Explore NL. "the spelling of its name varied over the years to include Custolet and Custlett. Archbishop Howley provided two more variations of the name, Custlet and Curslet".

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/Cuslett