Fischells: The last town on the coast in this area appears on the map as Fischells, however, it is written in the ENL as Fishells.

While its origin is not known for sure, Seary (cited in the ENL) maintained that Fishell is an "anglicization of the surname "Fusil", meaning seller of steel or flints".

It has been suggested that the area has been called "Fishers Brook", which again is most likely a corruption of the Francophone name.

Originally the town was not connected by road or railway to other communities to the north or the south, and the main livelihood of the inhabitants was the herring fishery, however, over time fishing became less lucrative and with the advent of the railway some people turned to farming and logging.

According to Robert Wells (1960, cited in the ENL) Fishells at that time was "without roads, post office or employment, children to warrant a school.

It was felt these people could better their position by resettling." Although a road did eventually link Fishells to Heatherton, most of the residents of Fishells West and Fishells East gradually resettled.

From Fishells West seventeen households (approximately ninety-four people) received payment under the first Fisheries Household Resettlement Program to resettle in Gallants (one family), Heatherton (eight families), Robinsons (four families) and Stephenville (four families).

Three families moved from Fishell's East to Heatherton, St. George's and St. Theresa's. While some families stayed behind, Fishells is now listed on Wikipedia, as a "Ghost Town".

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/Fischells