Port-de-Grave: Located at the midpoint of a narrow peninsula that juts outs southeast into Conception Bay is the community with an obviously Francophone name, Port-de-Grave.

The entrance to the harbour is protected by the island with the same name. There are a number of other communities on the peninsula, including Bareneed, Black Duck Pond, Blow me Down, Hibb's Cove, Hussey Cove, Otterbury, Pick Eyes, Ship Cove and they are usually considered as part of "The Port".

Most and believe that the Port-de-Grave comes from the French word greve for "beach", which is a possibility given that French fishermen used the beaches in the vicinity to dry their catch.

It is believed that the community of Port-de-Grave was founded before Guy's Cupids, probably as early as 1610, possibly to keep the colonists away from their community. As like many other communities founded by the French, it was destroyed in 1705 during the Queen Ann's War.

The first Irish immigrants started to move into the area around that time. The Irish community continued to grow, and the first Roman Catholic chapel was opened in 1775. Both cod and seals continued to be fished throughout the 1800s and from 1860 to 1885 shipbuilding also became an important activity.

When the cod fishery ended, for a period the fishermen of Port-de-Grave tried to "make a go" of snow crab and turbot fishing, but like cod in time, these were both over-fished to the point that amount landed decreased by as much as 90% by the mid 1980s.

Even with the moratorium, Port-de-Grave is still considered a prominent fishing centre in Newfoundland. In 2016 the population consisted of 928 residents (a 2.9% decrease from 2011).

The following descriptions, each highlighting a different community, come from the Point de Grave website: Port de Graves The Harbour: Port de Grave harbour has gone through many changes since the early days of European pioneers who viewed its sheltered harbour of pebbly beaches as prime real estate for the drying and curing of codfish.

The community known as the Harbour includes the main harbour from which the French name Port de Grave (harbour of the beaches) have long been taken over by buildings and wharfs. Destroyed by the French in 1697 and 1705 the community carried on to become the center of commercial and fisheries related activity for the southern area of Conception Bay in the 1700s and early 1800s.

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/PortdeGrave