Winterton: The community of Winterton first appears as "Silly Cove" and later "Scilly Cove" in early documents.

In the movement to get rid of "silly names" (forgive the pun), in 1912 it was renamed in honour of the former Prime Minister, Sir James Spearman Winter, who became the PM in 1893.

In 1990 Winter was defeated in a confidence vote in which three of his party voting against his government. The history behind Winterton reflects the major role it played in the development of the island's fishery.

From the ENL: Winterton was one of the first sites on the northeast coast of Newfoundland to have been settled by English fishermen.... Migratory fishermen were probably frequenting Winterton from the mid-1600s, as an outpost of Old Perlican.

In 1675 John Petten, James Weeksell and Richard Hopkins employed a total of 40 servants there. Hopkins would appear to have been the most important of the early planters, and was again recorded there in 1681 along with Samuel Waxill, John Pollinson, Anthony Burt and 50 servants.

When French forces raided in 1696 they found four dwellings in the settlement and seized a large quantity of fish and livestock.

The number of permanent settlers increased into the 1700s. Missionary James Balfour was unimpressed with their conduct when he visited in 1772, describing the inhabitants of this "most Barbarous Lawless Place" as making it their "usual custom to divert themselves during Sundays, with the music of a Piper carried in parade thro' the place...".

"It would", he continued, "make any well disposed person shiver to hear their horrid conversation of profane cursing and swearing..." (cited in Head).

In order to discourage such behaviour, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel had established a school by 1777.

From about 1700 Winterton was tied economically and socially to the larger fishing and mercantile centre of Trinity, whose trade in turn was dominated by the Dorset port of Poole.

The Poole-Trinity firm of Jeffrey and Street had a branch operation at Winterton from the 1770s and would appear to have brought many of the pioneer settlers of the community there from the Dorset hinterland of Poole.

At the time of the 1836 Census there were 223 residents, most belonging to the Church of England, and this number had increased to 560 by 1869....

After the decline of the Poole-Trinity firms in the early 1800s fishermen from Winterton dealt with Slade & Kelson at Heart's Content or Job Brothers at Hant's Harbour.

The first local dealer was J. Hindy, from about 1890. The shore fishery, largely conducted to the north and east of the community or at Baccalicu Island, was supplemented by some involvement in the Labrador fishery and by fall and winter woods work, either "up the Bay" or across the Bay at St. Jones Without and in Smith Sound.

While the harbour was neither deep nor large enough to accommodate a large schooner fishery, Winterton acquired a reputation as a boat building centre.

A major attraction in Winterton is the Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador which highlight some of the small boats that were built in the community that were "suitable for fishing in near shore waters [and] were constructed using local timber following ancient designs and using implements and tools whose origins can be traced to Saxon England".

The museum also has on display newly constructed boats as well as the tools and axe hewn timbers. The population in Winterton in 2016 was recorded as 450, reflecting a 7.0% decrease from the 484 recorded previously 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/WintertonNL