Located just south of Harbour Mille, obviously the name reflects two communities amalgamated into one. St. Bernard's was originally known as Fox Cove (as already noted a very popular name in Newfoundland).

According to material presented in the ENL listing, the community appears in the first Census, in 1836, with a population of 28. Around 1915 its name was changed but who suggested the change and why St. Bernard's was chosen remains to the research team a mystery.

Most likely, however, as with many other towns in Newfoundland, the change was to make mail service more efficient.

According to Wikipedia contributors, St. Bernard or Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was a Burgundian abbot, and a major leader in the revitalization of Benedictine monasticism through the nascent Order of Cistercians.

In 1994 the community of St. Bernard amalgamated with a nearby fishing community known as Jacques Fontaine. A bit more is known about Jacque Fontaine than St. Bernard, but not a great deal.

According to material included in Wikipedia, the origin of the "name is uncertain, perhaps deriving from an early French settler, although it appears on many early maps as Jack (or Jack's) Fontaine".

There it is also reported that the "earliest known mention of the location is by James Cook during his survey of Newfoundland on July 16, 1765, he recorded in his log: "At 7PM anchored with the best bower in a bight called Jack Fountain, in 10 fathoms water and moored with the small anchor and hawser.

At noon weighed and came to sail.... So, which came first? Was the original name Jacques Fontaine and translated into Jack's Fountain or was the original name Jack's Fountain and translated into Jacques Fontaine?

The first recorded census, just to confuse matters, in 1863 actually labels the community as Tank Fontaine with a population of 33 residents.

Right from inception, the majority of the town folk were employed in the inshore and long liner fisheries. Today the fishery is still the main employer and the main source of livelihood for the community.

The following description of the town from the ENL.com website paints a very pretty image of what one would see: As you walk through our shaded, winding, ancient streets, take a step back in time and be reminded of an era long past, but not lost in our beautiful town.

Stops along the way will let you visit our historic churches, view homes built almost 200 years ago.

See the site of "The Vindicator", where the St. Bernard's - Jacques Fontaine newspaper was printed at the turn of the century, the Convent of Mercy, built in 1860, the Orange Lodge, the Jubilee Club (now the library), the meeting place of the "Merchant Princes of St. Bernard's - Jacques Fontaine" from the late 1800's to the mid 1900's.

The most recent census showed that the amalgamated town had a population of 433 in 2016, a 7.9% decrease from the 470 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/StBernardsJacquesFontaine