Southern Harbour. The area around the head of Placentia Bay was surveyed in 1770 by Michael Lane and was noted by him as being known as South Harbours.

Settled in the early 1800s, in the census of 1836, the community consisted of 33 persons. According to the ENL sources, in the 1960s, during the resettlement program, more than 400 people were resettled to Southern Harbour from Placentia Bay communities such as Bar Haven, Davis Cove, Red Island, Port Royal, St. Annes and Petite Forte.

The most recent of 2016, indicated that there were 395 residents in the community, an astonishing decrease of 26.0% from 2011 when 534 were recorded.

However, it should be noted that in a footnote the following appeared: "Use with caution. After the release of the 2016 or 2011 Census population and dwelling counts, issues affecting the data are occasionally uncovered", so one would have to question the validity of the data. From the Discovery Trail website comes the following:

While the resettlement program of the 1950s and 1960s affected the entire Province, perhaps none felt the move so acutely as the tiny communities on the islands of Placentia Bay.

Many residents of these islands and surrounding coves moved to Southern Harbour, Arnold's Cove or Come By Chance.

If the rocks could talk, they'd have many tales to share from that time of houses being floated across the bay and families carrying all their worldly possessions aboard their boats to their new homes.

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/SouthernHarbourNL