Located between Marystown to the northwest and Burin to the south, the two communities (well, actually three communities) amalgamated together in 1976.

The following from the ENL delineates the history behind the merger: In 1976 three existing communities Fox Cove and Mortier in Little Mortier Bay, and Tides Cove, south of the entrance to (Big) Mortier Bay (Marystown) joined together to form the incorporated community of Fox Cove- Mortier.

Within its boundaries from Blow Me Down (the southerly entrance to Mortier Bay) and Western Head (the western entrance to Little Mortier Bay) lie two abandoned sites of settlement, namely Herring Cove (adjacent to Fox Cove in the eastern arm of Little Mortier Bay), and Duricle (called "Judical" in the Census of 1836, and situated in an open cove adjacent to Tides Cove), which were abandoned between 1956 and 1961.

According to M.F. Howley (n.d.), Mortier, called "Little Mortier to distinguish it from Mortier, now Marystown" was locally pronounced "Morteer."

Tide's Cove was pronounced Tite's Cove (the name by which it appeared in the Census from 1857 to 1884), which was "supposed to be a family name."

Howley did not know the origin of the name Duricle but he noted that there was a suggestion of changing the name of Fox Cove as "there are so many places bearing the name all over the coast." Despite this acknowledged fact Fox Cove continued to be called by its original name.

As just mentioned, it is somewhat "odd" that that if one Fox Cove was permitted to keep its original name given the fact goes back historically there were many communities in Newfoundland named after the "wily critter"- today there are two other communities named Fox Cove, both in Labrador.

There is no proof that the "fox" in Fox Cove refers to any settler by the name of Fox, so it is probably safe to conclude it is named after the animal.

Settled around 1850, the various communities were settled by English fishing servants, who, according to ENL contributors were employed by the merchants of Burin and Marystown (eg, Falle and Nicholle and Company) who "with St. John's merchants and Nova Scotia traders, dominated Nineteenth Century in Mortier Bay".

name was chosen for the town has been difficult to uncover, however, there have been several references to Basque fishermen being in the bay of Martier and referring to it as Martiris.

A clue to the mystery may come from research on Marticot Island. The following is from the ENL:

MARTICOT ISLAND.

Approximately 5 km southeast of the entrance to Paradise Sound in Placentia Bay, this small hourglass-shaped island is believed to have been a summer base for Basque fishermen as early as the sixteenth century.

Le Messurier suggested that its name "may be a corruption of a Basque name" (cited in Howley) and Prowse quoted a Basque captain, Martin de Sapiain, who, in the course of giving testimony on the Newfoundland fisheries, mentioned a "Martiris," from which Marticot could have originated.

Le Messurier also suggested that the name may have originally taken the form of "Martre Cote" (sable or marten coast).

So, perhaps this is the connection between Martinis and Mortier, which leads us back to the connection between Fox Cove and Mortier.

In 2016, the most recent census, there were 252 residents, a substantial decrease of 11.4% from the 333 recorded 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/FoxCoveMortier