Georgetown: Located south east of Bay Roberts, the first questions to ask is "So who is the 'George' of Georgetown?"

Well, there are two possible contenders, take your pick. The first is George Chalker, who, according to the material presented in the ENL was a prominent resident of Second Pond, near Brigus.

He ran a Labrador schooner fishery out of Brigus and also owned a large tract of forested land in the community; the second is the politician, George W. Gushue of Brigus who reputedly drew up a grant for almost half of Georgetown and for whom Gushues Bridge over the main river was named.

He won a by- election in Trinity as a Liberal, in 1984 and remained in politics until 1909 when he was narrowly defeated, at which point he became a manager of the stationery department of the Reid Newfoundland Company, the company that operated the railway across the island.

In 2016 there were 229 residents, an increase of 35.5% from the earlier census of 2011, when there were only 169 individuals. Why such an increase? Its location, in Conception Bay, may be the reason.

Like the other communities in the Conception Bay area, many of residents living in communities like Georgetown commute to jobs in the nearby service sector of the Bay Roberts - Harbour Grace - Carbonear areas.

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/GeorgetownNL