Halfway Point: Located on the west coast on the Humber Arm, at the Bay of Islands, Halfway Point refers to the mid point for ships that would be sailing from Woods Island at the entrance of the Arm and Corner Brook, most inland.

In the ENL, the history of the area is given as follows: Each settlement boasted a variety of Newfoundland-born, English, French and Acadian residents. The majority of the French and Acadian settlers were residents of Benoit's Cove and Halfway Point where the population was also largely Roman Catholic.

According to J.J. Mannion... the settlement of these Bay of Islands communities occurred in part because of the Labrador stationer fishery. The lumber present in the forested arms of the Bay of Islands and the prospect of winter employment in the herring fishery drew many stationer-fishermen to winter there by the 1860s.

Mannion states that many of these early settlers, who were supplied mainly by English, Labrador-based firms such as Bird and Company, and later the Jersey firm of De Gruchy, Renouf, Clement and Company, came from Conception Bay (especially Carbonear and Harbour Grace), other parts of the Avalon Peninsula and the east coast of Newfoundland, and England, via the Labrador coast.

The spectacular rise of the herring fishery in Humber Arm, which began in the 1850s, by the 1870s had also drawn Acadian settlers from Cape Breton and other settlers from St. George's Bay and the south coast of the Island; French fishermen, some of whom had been winter caretakers of the French premises near the mouth of the Bay of Islands, were also attracted to the area at this time.

Mannion stated that the firm of De Gruchy probably established a room at "St. John's Beach" (John's Beach), attracted by the possibilities in the commercial herring fishery. Merchants and traders, most of whom had connections with Nova Scotia firms, were reported at Benoit's Cove and Frenchman's Cove by 1891.

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/HalfwayPoint