Springdale was originally called Wolf Cove.

The name was changed in 1898 when the post office was opened and there were problems with duplication of all the other "Wolf Coves" on the island.

It was named after a natural spring from which workers at a local sawmill would obtain drinking water. Today the spring is non-functional, however there is a plaque near the site showing where it was located.

In a 1988 article published in Deck Awash, a bit of interesting folk lore is recounted: Springdale started as Mill Island, Burnt Island and Dock Point, although Micmacs were already at Wigwam Point, Dock Point and Beachy Cove. Although there was no harbor at Springdale.

The settlement was very sheltered and the Indian, West and South Brooks were important salmon rivers..... The first Micmacs were the Joe and Bushy families at Beachy Cove who settled in the early 1880s, Llewellyn (Uncle Lon) Peters told a story of the legendary Micmac, Levi Joe, who was a speedster on skates:

One morning Levi got up, lit his fire and put the kettle on; he couldn't find any tea in the house, so he skated to Little Bay Island, got his tea, skated back home just as the kettle boiled, and had his breakfast, the round trip being 20 to 25 miles.

Other older residents of communities around Hall's Bay still attest to Levi's phenomenal skating prowess. Uncle Bill Hayes of St. Patrick's remembers Levi Joe as a mail carrier who used to carry the mail on his back from Glenwood to Tilt Cove.

He was quite a character, a tall man living across Hall's Bay at Wigwam Point, and everyone knew him well. Bill can remember Levi Joe skating to mass at Indian Bight Bill's wife Rita adds, "If he was alive today, he'd be in the Olympics for sure.

Bert Parsons of Lushes Bight reports that Levi was skating Grand Lake the day he died, determined to prove that he could skate it in an hour. He was close to the end of the lake in 58 minutes when he slipped on a plug of tobacco embedded in the ice. Levi unfortunately never recovered from the fall and died at the Corner Brook hospital.

The population of Springdale in 2016 was recorded to be 2,971, which reflected a 2.2% increase from the 2,907 reported five years earlier 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/SpringdaleNL