Turks Cove: Located just past New Perlican, one would expect the name of this cove would be written as "Turk's Cove", however an "apostrophe" is not missing (which would be the case if it was named after a person with the name "Turk).

However, the term instead refers to a group of Barbary pirates known as Turks or Corsairs.

These pirates, from the Barbary coast of North Africa, were known to frequent the waters off Newfoundland and were known for their ruthless raids on merchant boats, coastal towns, etc. during the 1600s. The ENL provides a bit of early history:

Permanent European settlement at Turks Cove appears to have begun in about 1800, when John Antle and Manuel Carberry were recorded as living there.

By 1835 the families of John and Joseph Antle, James Carberry, Philip Hearty, Thomas Peppy and Isaac Samson were resident.

The following year, in the first Census of the settlement, there were 69 people recorded. The shore fishery supported the small community, along with subsistence gardening.... The population peaked at 112 in 1857.

The Labrador fishery employed some people from the community from the 1860s until it collapsed in the 1920s. Thereafter most of the younger people moved away from the community to find work, and by 1951 there were only 22 people left.

According to information contained in Wikipedia, "The Community has never had more than 60 people and now, due to the job opportunities in Alberta, population stands at less than 30".

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/TurksCove