Corner Brook: Located on the western coast of the Great Northern Peninsula, on the southern side of the Humber Arm, Corner Brook, as mentioned before, is Newfoundland's second largest city.

The population in 2016 was recorded as 19, 806, down from a high of 26,309 in 1971. The population is still decreasing but it appears that the amount is negligible (in 2011, there were 19,886 so the town only loss 80 people or 0.4% over 5-years).

Corner Brook is best known for its deep water port that was carved by early glaciers. Ocean-going vessels are able to dock approximately 8 or 9 months of the year, depending on when the water ices up. The name was chosen as it was located beside a "brook" (or stream) which ran down from the low-lying hills.

While fishing has been important to its economy, it has also been a lumbering town, as the forests surrounding the town are prime location for black spruce.

Captain James Cook surveyed this section of Newfoundland in 1768, and at that time there was no permanent settlement in the area, however, in the early 19th century there were white settlers in the Birchy Cove area which was later known as Curling.

Curling, with it fishery, eventually joined with Corner Brook West (which was also known as Humber West or Westside) which was known for its retail businesses,

Corner Brook East (which was also known as Humbermouth and The Heights) which was known for its railway yards and industrial operations and Townsite (which was also known as Corner Brook), which was known as a residential area to house employees of the nearby pulp and paper mill, amalgamated in 1956 to the present town, known simply as the City of Corner Brook.

Curling: Located just west of Corner Brook, Curling was once known as Birchy Cove. The town was renamed, in the early 1900s, at the suggestion of Bishop Howley after Reverend James Joseph Curling to commemorate his thirteen years of contribution to the community;

Cook's Brook: The derivation of Cook's Brook, a stream that runs into Humber Arm, is unknown but Cook did survey the area in 1767, and so it is likely that he named it after himself.

It is known for a swimming basin in the Mount Moriah area that has a 5-Star rating on many websites. At the ocean there is a park which is a favorite of many ocean kayakers.

Humber Arm: Located on the west coast of Newfoundland, the Humber Arm is the southernmost arm of the Bay of Islands.

Humber Arm is the name of the stretch of water - Humber Arm South is the name of the municipality. The Humber River, which flows into the arm, is one of the major rivers on the island, and one of the greatest salmon rivers enjoyed by sport fisherman around the world.

At the mouth is the city of Corner Brook. History records that Captain James Cook first charter the area in the summer of 1767. It has been suggested that it was named for its English counterpart the Humber in Yorkshire, England. The importance of the river is illustrated in the following excerpt:

The Humber River was used for many years to float logs down to the Bay of Islands where a large Bowater pulp and paper mill at Comer Brook turned them into paper products.

Today this mill is owned by Kruger Inc and its logs are transported by truck from the Goose Arm area and the Northern Peninsula and by barge from Labrador and Quebec.

Although the river is mainly used for recreational purposes, the bay still sees active shipping to and from Corner Brook's port, known as Western Terminals and is used by Oceanex and various Cruise lines, most notably the Cunard Line with the supership Queen Mary 2.

The town of Humber Arm South had a population of 1,599 in the Canada 2016 Census, which reflected a decrease of 4.9% from the numbers reported in 2011 (1,681).

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/CornerBrook