Nipper's Harbour: Located at the end of Rte. 415, Nipper's Harbour is one of the oldest English settlements. The name is thought by some to come from its abundance of "nippers", a term for those nasty little biting mosquitoes.

The DNLE refers to "nippers" as being "garnippers" or "gallynippers" It has been reported that Bishop Edward Field wrote in 1854 that "the name is rather an alarming one, particularly to this skinned Southerners, as the Nipper is the largest and most formidable of the mosquitoes".

Some, however, believe that the name comes from the surname the French or Basque surname, Nippard. An additional possibility, raised in the 1992 edition of Decks Awash (Vol. 21, No. 4) refers to the shape of the harbour, "nippers" being a term used to refer to a pair of pliers.

Nipper's Harbour is a small town of only 85 at last count (2016) and that number reflects a huge 33.6% decrease from the census of 2011 when there were 128 residents, however it has a rich maritime history.

From the Central NL website: In 1804, John Noble from England settled on the present Nipper's Harbour site and made a living fishing salmon. Fifteen years later Thomas Starkes, also of England, settled there.

Today, Starkes and Noble are still the most prominent family names in Nipper's Harbour. One of the larger and more prosperous towns in the area, even in 1904, it boasted a population of 250 and was one of the few places with a hotel.

Due to the importance of the inshore fishery and the abundant supply of codfish, turbot, and salmon found within the waters of the area, the settlement of Nipper's Harbour was developed.

For many years in the past, fish were collected from fishermen living in other places up and down the coast and exported through Nipper's Harbour.

The cod was salted and dried and exported overseas in casks on foreign vessels from countries like Russia and Norway. A factory which canned salmon and seal for export began in the late 1920's.

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/NippersHarbour