Trinity: There are so many communities in Newfoundland with the word "trinity" in them it is hard to keep track of them all, however, this "Trinity" is one of the smallest but one of the richest in history. Unfortunately, how the name was chosen and by whom is unknown, which is not surprising giving the fact that "Trinity" is such a common place name around the world.

From Wikipedia comes a bit of Trinity's history: In the 1800s Trinity served as a winter site of logging for fishermen from islands in Bonavista Bay, especially from the Fair Islands. Settlement occurred gradually in Trinity but was started when a merchant from Fair Island, James Brown, built a water powered sawmill in a bay within Trinity in 1894.

His son built a home close to the sawmill so he could manage it. Eventually other members of the Brown family began moving to Trinity. Other people soon followed, such as, Absalom Brown, Israel Gibbons, and Peter Pond.

While it was a common fishing station during the 1500s, it is believed that the actual town was not settled until the late 1500s. Newfoundland's first school, built by the Church of England was opened in 1726.

From the town's website comes this description: Bonavista has approximately 1000 heritage buildings dating from the early 19th century to 1949, more than any other Newfoundland town. In addition there is a complex network or roads and laneways connecting the central area of the town known as the Harbour and Church Street to various sections of the community bearing age-old names such as Canaille, Mockbeggar, Rolling Cove, Red Point, Bayley's Cove and Bakeapple Marsh.

Trinity: Welcome to one of the oldest communities in North America.

Here, history is brought to the present, with provincially and federally declared historic sites, restored buildings, and natural scenic beauty. Many tourists come to Trinity, not only because of its history, but because of its ideal location from which to tour the Bonavista Peninsula.

Take a ten minute walk up Ryder's Hill, known more commonly as "Gun Hill" for one of the best views of Trinity. Reaching the first plateau via military road, look out to historic Fort Point and the ocean beyond, then continue on to the very top of Ryder's Hill for an outstanding view of Trinity Bight.

The town itself hosts a variety of services and attractions. The biggest event that takes place annually is the Summer Theatre Festival, organized and performed by Rising Tide Theatre.

Their most famous performance, the "New Founde Land", portrays the history of Trinity in live, colorful splendor; moving from specific locals throughout Trinity to present the past in a way only Rising Tide can.

Take a walking tour of the Green Family Forge, Interpretation Centre, the Hiscock House and the newly restored Ryan Building.

Walk Church Road and behold St. Paul's Anglican Church. The first St. Paul's was built in 1734 and burned down in 1820. Work started that same year on the second church and was torn down in 1892.

Again construction started on a third church, which still stands today. Then visit the Holy Trinity Catholic Church, the oldest wooden church in North America. Trinity is a haven for photographers and artists, and is an excellent place to spend a family vacation.

This all makes Bonavista a superb place to wander. The importance of Bonavista is clearly demonstrated by the following from the same source: The harbour is anything but ideal, but even without an enviable anchorage, Bonavista became one of the most important towns in Newfoundland.

The primary reason: close access to the rich fishing and sealing grounds to the north of the peninsula..... The cape was a most important navigational point on the island for early explorers and fishermen.

The story of Bonavista can be a pivotal chapter in the story of settlement in Newfoundland. By seeing Bonavista develop, we get a greater appreciation of the province. Bonavista was home to powerful and influential merchants, skippers and clergy. They have left a legacy, a legacy which is ours to visit, photograph and sometimes even touch.

We must remember it wasn't in the best financial interest of any European power to settle Newfoundland. The riches weren't on land, they were in the water.

Sparing the expense of establishing communities on land allowed the governments of the day to benefit from the exploitation of the plentiful codfish.... Capt. James Cook who made Bonavista his headquarters while mapping the coast in 1763, notes the area was settled on or before 1660.

Trinity appears for the first time in the 1901 Census with a population of fifteen. In 1905 with the establishment of a second sawmill, a steam-powered mill, more families came to Trinity.

The new families included the Hunts, Rogers, and Cutlers. In 1911 there were 61 people living in Trinity and by 1935 there were 246. Within ten years the population nearly doubled with 429 people there in 1945, and in 1951 there was a population of 631.

The peak population was over 700 in Trinity, however after a devastating forest fire in 1961 the population dropped to 400 as logging and lumber production was greatly hampered.

Located on a small peninsula, with the Northwest and Southwest arms of the harbour surrounding it, the harbour was described in the 1689 edition of the English Pilot, according to the ENL citation as having "the best and largest Harbour in all the land" and because of its location, size, etc. it was of great importance to the West of England- Newfoundland fishery in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and [it is] because of these ties (and the remarkable preservation of much of its historic character during the century of decline which followed) [that] Trinity is perhaps the most notable "heritage community" in the Province".

The following is from the town's website: Trinity has been a viable North Atlantic community for hundreds of years. Its defensible harbour, with abundant room for the ships of the day and shores well suited for outbuildings, wharves and fish-flakes, made it ideal for the early migratory fishery. Later, merchants from Poole, England, made Trinity the base for a new-world fishery.

During the 1720's Trinity was home to about 30 permanent families and host to 200-300 seasonal fishermen per year. By 1869, the population peaked at more than 800 people. Until recently, the inshore, Grand Bank and Labrador fisheries sustained the community. Lumbering, coopering, shipbuilding and other trades have been prominent.

Historically, education was an important component of the community, with navigation and business education being taught at Trinity's Commercial School. Eventually, this school was merged with the grade school into a general High School.

The teachers who taught in these schools included some of Newfoundland's leading educators and scholars. The preservation of Trinity's cultural and built heritage has made it perhaps the most notable "heritage community" in the province.

Sustainable growth in existing and new businesses, including theatre, is clearly evident as Trinitarians, along with residents of the surrounding communities, play host to thousands of visitors per year.

Trinity is centrally located and generally within an hour's drive of other points of interest on the Bonavista Peninsula. It is about 3 hours by road from the capital city, St. John's.

Trinity is centrally located and is only 270 km (167.8 mi) from the capital of St. John's. It has experienced a considerable "growth spurt" over the past decade. In 2011 there were 137 residents; in 2016 there were 169 (a growth of 23.4%) over a 5-year period.

Trinity Bay: The following description of Trinity Bay comes from the ENL: A major bay of Newfoundland's northeast coast. Trinity Bay extends approximately 100 km south-southwest of The Grates (the northernmost tip of the Avalon Peninsula) and is for most of its length some 20-25 km wide.

Although the tip of the Bonavista Peninsula, north of the Horse Chops, faces the open Atlantic Ocean and can scarcely be regarded as lying within the Bay, Cape Bonavista has long been regarded as the northern limit of Trinity district.

The origin of the name Trinity Bay is not known. Although a suggestion that either the Bay or Trinity Harbour was named by Portuguese explorer Gaspar Corte-Real on Trinity Sunday in 1501 has been widely repeated, there is scant evidence to support it. Indeed, in several sixteenth century Portuguese-derived maps the Bay appears as baye de St. Cyria (or some variation on this).

Historical geographer Gordon Handcock has concluded that the name was most likely of English origin. The major fishing grounds of Trinity Bay are located off Cape Bonavista and the coast of the south side of the Bay, between Hant's Harbour and The Grates.

The headlands of the Bay were frequented by migratory fishermen from Portugal in the early 1500s, but the earliest explorer's account is that of Jacques Cartier who spent 10 days at Catalina qv in 1534.

By 1580 it would appear that Catalina and Trinity were both well known to migratory, fishermen from England, France and Spain. In the early 1600s Old Perlican emerged as a major centre for the English fishery, while the advantages of Trinity Harbour ("the best and largest Harbour in all the land", according to the 1689 English Pilot) also made Trinity an early focus.

In 1612 John Guy went into the inner reaches of Trinity Bay and the accounts of these exploratory voyages out of the Cuper's Cove (Cupids) colony make it clear that at this date the inner Bay was rarely frequented by Europeans and was in fact the site of a number of important seasonal encampments of the Beothuk - presumed to be the southern limit of their usual hunting grounds.

"Trinity Bay is "bordered" on the west by the Bonavista Peninsula, and on the east by the Avalon Peninsula.

Both Peninsula's are "home" to a number of communities, both small and large. Heading southward, down the western shores of the bay one comes across Trinity Bay North (which includes the smaller communities of Melrose, Port Union, Catalina and Little Catalina), Trinity (which is now an amalgamated community known as Centreville-Wareham-Trinity) and Trinity East.

These will be discussed in the section on the Bonavista Peninsula. Other communities, on the eastern shore, including Dildo, Hearts Delight, and Old Perlican, among others, are covered in the section on the Avalon Peninsula.

THIS ABANDONED AMUSEMENT PARK HINTS AT THE TWISTED HISTORY OF THE NEWFOUNDLAND RAILWAY THE GHOSTS OF BETTER DAYS haunt Trinity Loop, Newfoundland and Labrador.

It was once a vital transportation link, and later a beloved amusement park.

Today, its famous train loop, Ferris wheel, and other attractions lie in ruins, damaged by vandals and a devastating hurricane.

Before it became an Amusement park, the train loop near Trinity was part of the Newfoundland Railway.

Trinity is surrounded by steep hills, and the railway looped around a pond to gain elevation to reach the town.

The Newfoundland Railway shut down in 1988, outpaced by improvements in the island's highway and air networks.

After some wrangling over ownership of the land, the site was converted into an amusement park. For many years, its miniature train was the only locomotive still operating on the island.

Locals fondly remember trips to Trinity Loop in the 1980s and '90s, when visitors could ride trains, boats, and ponies, dine in a railcar restaurant, or see the entire pond from the top of the Ferris wheel.

The park also featured live entertainment, miniature golf, a museum, and a petting zoo. When it ceased operations in 2004, the site was abandoned to the elements.

Today, Trinity Loop is a sprawling maze of dilapidated train tracks, graffiti-filled ruins, and ghostly murals.

Vandals have wreaked havoc on the train cars and outbuildings and flooding following Hurricane Igor washed out much of the railway.

People still visit the site to swim, fish for trout, and film amateur horror movies.

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/TrinityNL