Great and Little St. Joseph's: Located on the west side Placentia Bay, these two towns were originally called Great and Little Gallows Harbour. Both towns have since been resettled.

The following from the ENL gives a little history of the area, and the derivation of their original names: The twin harbours are separated by a small tidal island that rises to a height of some 100m (328 ft). The passage between the two harbours, navigable by small boats at high tide, is called Pushthrough and the island itself Pushthrough Head.

While the "bottom" and "basin" of Little St. Joseph's (locally called the lower harbour) is a snug haven for small vessels that can pass over a shallow outer bar.

Great St. Joseph's (the upper harbour) is deep, commodious, and rock-free with excellent holding ground for the anchorage of vessels of any size. Since it was also a ready source of wood, water, ice, and, in season, supplies of herring, capelin and squid, it was a favourite rendezvous for western boats and bankers.

The thickly forested surrounding hills rise steeply to a height of some 200m (656.2 ft) but here and there are broken through by brawling brooks in narrow u-shaped valleys.

Winter slide paths paralleling those brooks give convenient access to firewood supplies and to timber for domestic purposes and for all the uses of a fishing room. It was undoubtedly wood, water and shelter that brought the first winter resident to occupy the site still known as Brown's winter house on the eastern side of Pushthrough Head.

At that time the harbours were called Great and Little Gallows Harbour in recognition so local tradition maintains, of a hanging that had been carried out on the north shore of Barron's Cove just inside Sam's Head.

We do not know when Brown built his winter tilt nor whence he came, although the early years of the nineteenth century and Oderin are likely guesses. Nor do we have firm evidence of when the first permanent residence was established; but the Census of 1836 records four dwellings in Gallows Harbour and Holloway's Passage (2 km to the northwest) with a combined population of 22 Roman Catholic souls.

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/GLStJosephs