LA MANCHE PROVINCIAL PARK:

Located on the east coast of the Avalon Peninsula, north of Cape Broyle and south of Tors Cove, La Manche Provincial Park was named after a community that bordered on a small inlet surrounded by deep hills.

According to material on the Wikipedia site, la manch is French for "the sleeve" and the area was named for the shape of the harbour, "which is long and narrow with high sides".

The area was "probably first used by the French because of its seclusion which offered cover between raids on Ferryland and St. John's".

It is reported that La Manche was settled in the 1840s by a gentleman whose name was George Melvin, who according to local lore, arrived there circa 1840 from nearby Burnt Cove.

Never a particularly big community because the rocky terrain which made it difficult for houses and various buildings needed by the fishermen to be built, La Manche continued to be used as a fishing harbour, albeit small, for many years and was known as one of the best fishing coves on the southern shore.

According to the park website, the following gives a bit of the area's history: The population of La Manche ranged from 7 to 55 over a more than 100-year span. Income was based on fishing. Farming was at subsistence level, some farm animals were kept.

In the mid-1960's the community was under pressure to resettle into larger, nearby towns. The road leading to La Manche was difficult and expensive to maintain, particularly in the winter.

On January 25, 1966 a severe winter storm hit the east coast of the Avalon Peninsula.

An enormous tide washed away all the flakes, boats, anchors and stores of La Manche as well as the suspension bridge which connected both sides of the harbour.

Most of the houses were demolished, miraculously there were no deaths attributed to the storm. The entire economy of the village was destroyed so the residents of La Manche agreed to be resettled by the provincial government.

This community of La Manche should not be confused with the "other" La Manche, an abandoned community approximately 4 km (2.5 mi) south of Southern Harbour on the west side of the Avalon Peninsula, on Placenta Bay.

That La Manche, according to ENL contributors, was originally an inshore fishing community.

However, in 1857 it became the "site of a galena (lead) mine, the ore vein presumably being discovered by men searching for an appropriate location in Placentia Bay to land the first Atlantic cable". The mine never really succeeded and it closed in the late 1870s.

When the town was abandoned, most of the people relocated to Southern Harbour, and since the early 1960s the town was "no more".

La Manche Provincial Park first opened to the public in August 1966. The park area includes Rowsells Hill Pond, La Manche Ponds, a section of the La. Manche River, as well as the abandoned fishing village of La Manche.

The scenic la Manche Valley, with its interesting and varied habitat and vegetation, is the reason behind the park's establishment.

The Park contains a variety of vegetation ranging from boreal forest to peat bog and marsh. The dominant tree species are spruce, fir, larch, birch and alder.

Many species of shrubs and wildflowers can be found within the park boundaries such as honeysuckle, Labrador tea, tall meadow-rue and twin flower.

In terms of wildlife beaver, moose and snowshoe hare can be found in the park at times; mink and shrew are also seen. There is now a trail that allows one to "visit" the remains of the village of La Manche.

While there are only a few remaining house foundations, there is now a new bridge that has been built to span the bay, so that the north and the south sections of the "East Coast Trail" are connected.

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/LaManche