Cook's Harbour: Located on the Great Northern Peninsula, east of Cape Norman along the barren, exposed shores of Neige Bay, there is a large harbour, where Captain Cook, the great explorer took shelter in 1766. The "adventures" of Captain Cook will be described in detail later, but at this point it is sufficient to say, that Cook had a penchant for naming places after him, friends, his ships, and even his crew. The Northern Economic Development Corporation website gives a good history of how Cook's Harbour grew over time:

With its excellent beaches and proximity to the coast of Labrador, Cook's Harbour was fished by the French and the English in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries and was possibly used as a fishing station. Its position close to the path of the annual seal migration also made it an excellent base for a land- based seal hunt as well as for a ship-based seal hunt station.

Cook's Harbour is reported in the 1869 Census with a population of forty-three. In 1872 the population was about 50 adults consisting mostly of men who had gone to Labrador to catch seal and cod. Cook's Harbour was first supposedly used as a summer fishing post only, with inhabitants wintering at a place called Billie's Harbour.

By the 1920s and 1930s Cook's Harbour had grown to a sizeable community on the strength of its early Labrador seal hunt and later its inshore cod fishery, which was consistently among the best in White Bay.

By 1951 the population had reached nearly three hundred as families moved from Flowers Cove and the St. Anthony area to live at Cook's Harbour. The settlement had developed as a supply and marketing depot and fish were brought there from smaller settlements along the coast to be shipped to St. John's. By the 1950s there were two churches and a school in Cook's Harbour and several mercantile establishments.

A co-operative had also operated in the community for a short time. Because of the stripped soil and barren land, there was very little forestry or agriculture; residents maintained that the trees were all cut by early settlers.

The fishery, principally herring and cod, remained the main source of employment in Cook's Harbour, supplemented by seasonal logging, sawmilling and road construction. Cook's Harbour, which was formerly accessible only by sea and supplied by coastal steamers and traders, was linked by road to St. Anthony and Flowers Cove by the early 1970s.

By 1950 there were over 300 residents who were making a living off the fishing industry (principally herring and cod), but seasonal logging, sawmilling and road construction keep "alive".

Today however, there are only just 123 residents, a whopping decrease of 30.1% from 2011, when there were 178 registered.

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/CooksHarbour