Located north of Placentia very close to the head of Placentia Bay, in the ENL listing Fox Harbour is described as a "cluster of large settlements in the Placentia area".

Fox Harbour is the last community before one heads into the Isthmus of Avalon and the Burin Peninsula. It is the consensus of some historians (eg, E. R. Seary) that the name of the harbour comes from the "wily critter", as is the case with Fox Cove, rather than from the common sumame, Fox.

From the ENL: Local tradition maintains that it received its name for the foxes in the area which "were so plentiful they were known to come down and cat fish drying on the flakes".... This study also claims that the original name of Fox Harbour was "Little Glocester, given the village because of Yankee traders from Glocester [sic]. New England".

The name Fox Harbour is said to be relatively recent although the community has appeared in the Census since 1836 as Fox Harbour.

Cod fishing was the primary source of income, herring, salmon and lobster fishing were also important on a smaller scale. There is also some history of sawmilling it is reported that a Mr. Healey built a water-wheel in the early 1900s and harnessed power for use by town folk.

In addition there were a couple of interesting financial "endeavours":

According to D.W. Prowse (1895, p. 581) smuggling was also an activity undertaken in Fox Harbour.

In July of 1890, the schooner Mary, owned by a "Mr. Deady" of Fox Harbour was caught shipping cod and roe in exchange for liquor: the cargo was confiscated and the offender was fined.

The settlement also had a resident blacksmith named Dick Davis whose talents extended beyond the forge: Davis reputedly set bones, sewed cuts and built houses and boats.

While the population grew to 765 with employment being available at the near-by US Naval Base in Argentia, with its phase-down in 1971 people started to leave and it slowly diminished over time.

The most recent census, taken in 2016, indicated that there was a total of 252 residents, down 6.7% from the 270 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/FoxHarbourNL