Pinsent's Arm: Located a bit further north, on a secondary Rte. 514 that goes first to Charlottetown, and then onto the coast by means of Rte. 515, this community is much younger than many in Newfoundland and Labrador.

But talk about confusion regarding the history of the town's name. From the ENL: Settled year-round from the late 1950s, in 1992 it still did not appear on some maps while others identified it as "Penson's" Arm. The Arm (and Pinsent's Island to the east) may in fact have been named for Andrew Pinson, an early trader on the Labrador coast.

The modern spelling was used by a Church of England missionary at Battle Harbour in the winter of 1863-64, when he noted three winter homesteads there.... However, 1863 was also the year in which R.J. Pinsent was appointed judge of the Labrador coast and the Battle Harbour missionary may have adopted this spelling of an established local name.

From the 1940s to the 1970s the site was usually known as Penson's Arm (perhaps in honour of Commissioner J.H. Penson). Looking at Census data for 2016, it appears that the population of Pinsent Arm is included with the nearest community, Charlottetown.

At that time there were 290 people registered, a 5.8% decrease from 2011.

Charlottetown: Located northeast of Port Hope Simpson, it had a different name when it was first settled.

Known as "Old Cove" when Ben Powell and Clarence Perry started a logging operation there in 1949, Powell made the following comments in the ENL about its name change:

"I should put some name on our settlement that we hoped would grow from what it was at that time - one little store... and one big pile of lumber ... so I thought that maybe this place would be the capital of the bay the same as Charlottetown is the capital of Prince Edward Island. I got a can of paint and a brush and on a board, I spelled out what I thought was Charlottetown. There I marked in small letters beneath it 'In God We Trust.'"

According to the Community Profile, on the Labrador Coastal Drive website, Charlottetown was originally "a winter place for summer fishing stations such as Square Islands, Seal Islands, Hawke Harbour, Dead Islands, Triangle, Tub Harbour, Venison Tickle, and Pinsent's Arm.

These summer fishing stations were populated by families from Carboncar and Harbour Grace in Conception Bay, who fished for salmon in the summer and trapped in the winter".

In 1986 an airport was constructed, thereby connecting Charlottetown "with the rest of the world". In 2016 the population was recorded as 290, a 5.8% decrease from the 308 recorded in 2011.

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/PinsentsArm