Norman's Cove-Long Cove / The Osprey Trail
Town

Phone : (709) 592-2490
Your Host(s) : Municipality

Norman's Cove-Long Cove, NL (Nearby: Chapel Arm, Long Harbour-Mount Arlington Heights, Chance Cove, Whitbourne, Whiteway)

  • Detail
  • The Ospray Trail

10 Hilltop Lane
Norman's Cove-Long Cove, A0B 2T0


Newfoundland Tourism Region : Avalon


Norman's Cove-Long Cove: How either of these communities got their name is a bit of a mystery.

Who the "Norman" is that the cove is named after is unknown, and for that case was Long Cove named after its length or did an early settler have the family name of "Long"? This much we do know - Norman's Cove was settled before Long Cove, probably a case of too many people in one cove, with the consequence of some moving to the next.

According to history presented in the ENL, at the turn of the 19th century, ships were being built, primarily at New Harbour, which is located approximately 10 km (6.21 mi) to the northeast across from this region at the bottom of Trinity Bay and the primary shipwright of note was a man by name of Charles Newhook.

Working under him, was a younger brother (or possibly a son?), James, who started a shipyard at Norman's Cove (and according to "his" family was the original "settler" of the community).

It should be noted that neither the father's nor the son's first name was "Norman", however, it is known that the family name "Newhook" comes from French Huguenot name "Nuik" and that Charles was of "French extraction, possibly from the Normandy region of France (mind you, it is possible, according to ENL sources, that the original Charles Newhook was actually born in England).

So, according to some Norman's Cove is not named after a person called Norman (which would make imminent sense given the apostrophe) but rather a person whose forefathers might have come from Normandy.

If such is the case, why wouldn't it be called Normandy Cove or Norman Cove? However, there is another "conundrum' regarding how the community became "Norman's Cove".

Another family in the area has maintained that James Newhook was not the original settler, and that in fact it was a fellow who went by the name of George Temple, an Englishman - who was not named "Norman" nor was he from Normandy.

Interestingly when you look at a detailed map of the area, the actual cove named Long Cove is not only much shorter in comparison the bodies of water to the directly to the west (i.e., Collier Arm) or to the east (i.e., Chapel Arm).

Records, as cited in the ENL, reported that by 1874 there were 147 residents at Norman's Cove (which probably included the residents of nearby Chapel Arm and that Long Cove was first noted as a "community" in 1881 and first appears in the Census of 1884, however information on the census could not be corroborated.

The Census of 1891 gives information on two Long Coves (unfortunately it does not differentiate between the two), both in Trinity Bay: Long Cove - I had 42 residents; and Long Cove II had 22, compared to the 192 found at Norman's Cove, and by 1901 there were 41 in Long Cove and 206 in Norman's Cove.

The town was incorporated in 1970 and the combined population by the 1990s was over 1,000. The 2016 Census population for Norman's Cove - Long Cove was 665, this represents a decrease of 7.6% since 2011 (when there were 702 residents).

ROUTE 201: "THE OSPREY TRAIL" This route, also known as the "Osprey Trail", is, according to information presented in Wikipedia, one of only three "Loop roads designated with a route number that starts and ends at the Trans-Canada Highway".

The road, 28 km (17 mi) of spectacular views of the water passes through a number of small communities. Heading north Route 201- 16 takes one to the communities of Bellevue Beach and Chance Cove.

Heading south it passes through the communities of Bellevue, Thornlea, Norman's Cove, Long Cove and Chapel Arm before it returns to the TCH. These communities are on the Trinity Bay side of the Isthmus

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/NormansCove



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