St. Alban's. Located at the head of the Bay d'Espoir to the west of the Connaigre Peninsula, St. Albans was originally known as Ship Cove (one of many).

According to the Central NL website, the name "Ship Cove" was to recognize the "practice of American banking vessels mooring offshore in order to purchase bait".

It was renamed to commemorate St Alban, the first Christian martyr of Britain, at the suggestion of the local parish priest, Father Stanislaus St. Croix, who, according to the ENL sources, wanted to "reflect the fact that St. Alban's is one of few predominantly Roman Catholic communities in Newfoundland where the majority are of English (rather than Irish or French) origin".

Father St. Croix served the parish from 1911 to 1946.

The name change took place in 1915. The population of St. Albans, in 2016 was recorded to be 1,186 (a 3.8% decrease from the 1,233 recorded 5-years earlier). The reason for the substantial population is due to a number of factors, according to the Central NL website:

A thriving logging industry was responsible for the increasing population of St. Alban's, and the development of the Bay d'Espoir Hydro Generating Station followed by a growing aquaculture industry is responsible for much of the current economic activity in community. St. Alban's has begun to emerge as the centre for a growing aquaculture industry and it is today the largest site in Newfoundland for farming and harvesting of Atlantic Salmon and Rainbow Trout.

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/StAlbans