Lower Cove: Like most of the communities, Lower Cove was established in the 1880s. Its name is obviously in reference to its location. The following from the BFN website tells us a bit about what life might have been like, for the women folk, at the turn of the century:

from Travel was by horse and sleigh or cart, and there was little recreation apart spring spinning sprees, when women, mainly from Ship Cove, brought spinning wheels with them to Lower Cove.

They sheared sheep, washed the fleece and spun wool, enjoying the rare opportunity to talk with people who were, at that time, considered distant neighbors.

The population of Lower Cove has waxed and waned over time. From the ENL comes the following: ...Lower Cove's isolation discouraged any significant growth; there were still only 40 residents by 1945.

A small school had been built by 1935, but the community was never large enough to support a church. Residents went to church in Ship Cove, where the area's priest held mass monthly.

During the lean years of the fishery many Lower Cove men worked in the lumber woods and, as the Stephenville area developed in the 1940s, many worked there in construction.

When the government's resettlement program was established in the 1960s, Lower Cove (then with a population of 113, but with little local employment) was targeted as a likely candidate for resettlement.

Over the next years 52 residents received financial assistance to move to other Port au Port communities and the Stephenville area.

The population, however, continued to increase, 151 people living there in 1971.

The fishery, especially the lobster fishery, was the chief source of employment, but many men continued to work away from home. In the late 1980s a limestone quarry was opened at Lower Cove, but the 40 jobs it provided far from solved the area's unemployment problems.

Today the quarry is still in operation and is quite a sight to be seen. From the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources website, come the following description of the quarry:

Atlantic Minerals Limited (AML) is located at Lower Cove on the Port au Port Peninsula and is a leading producer of chemical grade limestone, chemical grade dolomite and construction aggregates.

The Lower Cove Quarry began operation in 1988 and AML has been the owner/operator since 1996. This operation is projected to generate 88 person years of employment in 2020.

Quarry material is drilled, blasted, and crushed; and the product is graded, stockpiled, and loaded onto marine vessels by loading conveyors.

The quarry operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week for nine months of the year. Clients include the power, steel, agricultural and construction industries.

AML plans to extend its quarrying activities into the White Hills area, adjacent to the existing quarry. The project was released from environmental assessment in August, 2016.

The total annual production rate will increase from two million tonnes a year to approximately three million tonnes per year.

The anticipated labour requirements during the construction phase of the quarry extension will be approximately 64 contract workers. The expansion would extend existing operations for approximately 25 years based on the estimated annual production rate.

One would expect with a "virtually inexhaustible" supply of limestone, that employment would be soaring, but according to the BFN website, such is not the case: "... local unemployment has been alleviated only slightly since workers from all over the Port au Port Peninsula compete for the 30 to 40 jobs at the mine.

The population has not grown significantly, although a few houses are being built. There not much more than 22 families in Lower Cove, and, besides working at the mine, most fish or work in the woods".

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/LowerCovePortauPort