St. Chad's: Located on the Eastport Peninsula, the town was formerly known as Damnable or Damn the Bell Harbour, so named because the shallow harbour that made entrance difficult.

The head of the bay contains a comfortably sheltered cove within an area which was once well-timbered, a good place where a few families from Salvage (Hunter, Martin/Crisby, Troke) once overwintered and eventually settled.

They were later joined by families from Sailors Island (Lane, Moss), Wild Cove (Rogers) and Flat Island (Hiscock).

The shore side of the cove is rather rocky and rugged, containing only a few small terraces, gentle slopes and hollows suitable for dwellings and gardens. The relief and physical limitations severely restricted the size of settlement. The name Damnable was changed in the late 1890s to the more pious St. Chad's at the behest of the Reverend T.M. Wilson.

St. Chad was a prominent Anglo-Saxon churchman, who died on the 2nd of March, 672.

According to information included in the Encyclopedia Britannica, "he is noted as having conducted his apostolate zealously, traveling much on foot.

He died of plague, and numerous miracles were reported as having taken place at his tomb. His relics, originally in the Cathedral of Lichfield, were saved by Roman Catholics during the Reformation and transferred to St. Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham".

As one can probably guess, St. Chad's was like many Newfoundland towns that have religious "affiliations", undertook a "name change" at some point.

Its original name was Damnable so one would not be surprised at the change. According to Heritage NL this is the history behind the change:

It was probably named for bothersome navigational conditions in the days of sailing vessels. Other explanations prevail in local folklore. The name, for example, is often pronounced as "Damn the Bell". "Damnable" is usually the written version, though a few sources used the name "Dangerous Bay".

The relief and physical limitations severely restricted the size of settlement. The name Damnable was changed in the late 1890s to the more pious St. Chad's at the behest of the Reverend T.M. Wilson.

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/StChads