St. Shott's: Located at the southern tip of the Avalon Peninsula, approximately halfway between St. Mary's Bay to the west and Trepassey Bay to the east, St. Shott's is notable for being the most southernly town in the province.

The town is known locally as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic", due to the number of shipwrecks in the area that have occurred over the past couple of centuries.

According to material contained on the Wikipedia site, one of the most famous of which, was the sinking of the Dutch Steamship "Anton van Driel", which "ran aground on a foggy day while returning from Newfoundland to Rotterdam in the Netherlands [in 1919].

Of the 30 individuals on board, only three survived drowning after being rescued by a tugboat, and only one body was ever recovered, that of a man named Hajo de Jonge".

According to material included in the ENL entry, St. Shott's Bight, 160 km (99.4 mi) south-southwest of St John's, first appears as a landmark on a European map in 1544, however the encyclopedia, which typically offers information about the derivation of the names of the towns in Newfoundland does not give any background on this particular town.

Originally known as Shott's, most likely after the French term ance or cinche (referring to a 'ragged or shoal ridden coast') and was shown on maps as Chinchette or Cap de Chinette.

According to Brooks (2013) "somehow, the status of sainthood was bestowed on this humble community and it became known as St. Shott's", even though there does not appear to be any known saint with that name.

The population of St. Shott's in 2016 was only reported to be 66, making it one of the smaller incorporated towns in Newfoundland. The population in 2011 was 81, which reflects a significant decrease of 18.5%.

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/StShotts