Renews–Cappahayden is a small fishing town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 on the southern shore of Newfoundland, 83 kilometres south of St. John's

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...

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The town was incorporated in the mid-1960s by amalgamating the formerly independent villages of Renews and Cappahayden.

Renews–Cappahayden had a population of 421 in the Canada 2006 Census

Canada 2006 Census

The Canada 2006 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16, 2006. The next census following will be the 2011 Census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897...

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Renews

The village was first settled by migratory fishermen and then by colonists. The colony was first proposed in 1610 by the London and Bristol Company

London and Bristol Company

The London and Bristol Company came about in the early 17th century when English merchants had begun to express an interest in the Newfoundland fishery. Financed by a syndicate of investors John Guy, himself a Bristol merchant, visited Newfoundland in 1608 to locate a favourable site for a colony...

, which had previously started an English colony

English colonial empire

The English colonial empire consisted of a variety of overseas territories colonized, conquered, or otherwise acquired by the former Kingdom of England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries....

 at Cuper's Cove

Cuper's Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador

Cuper's Cove, on the southwest shore of Conception Bay on Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula was an early English settlement in the New World, and the second one after the Jamestown Settlement to endure for longer than a year...

, but settlement was delayed by the presence of the pirate Peter Easton

Peter Easton

Peter Easton was a pirate in the early 17th century who operated along the Newfoundland coastline between Harbour Grace and Ferryland from 1611 to 1614...

. In 1615, the territory was sold to William Vaughan who initially sent settlers to Aquaforte. Around 1617, Governor Richard Whitbourne

Richard Whitbourne

Sir Richard Whitbourne was an English colonist, author and mariner.Richard Whitbourne was born near Teignmouth in Devon, England. Whilst apprenticed to a merchant adventurer of Southampton, he sailed extensively around Europe and twice to Newfoundland. He served in a ship of his own against the...

 moved six remaining colonists to Renews, but they had left by 1619. Vaughan soon sold land that crossed the Avalon Peninsula

Avalon Peninsula

The Avalon Peninsula is a large peninsula that makes up the southeast portion of the island of Newfoundland.The peninsula is home to 257,223 people, which is approximately 51% of Newfoundland's population in 2009, and is the location of the provincial capital, St. John's. It is connected to the...

, including Renews harbour to Henry Cary

Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland

Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland ; son of a Hertfordshire knight; said to have studied at Oxford; served abroad; gentleman of the bedchamber to King James I; K.B., 1608; controller of the household, 1617-21; created Viscount Falkland in the Scottish peerage, 1620; lord-deputy of Ireland, 1622;...

, 1st Viscount Falkland

Viscount Falkland

Viscount of Falkland is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1620 for Sir Henry Cary, although he was actually English and had no connection to Scotland. He was made Lord Cary at the same time, also in the Peerage of Scotland. His son, the second Viscount, was a prominent statesman...

 who named the territory South Falkland

South Falkland

South Falkland was an English colony in Newfoundland established by Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland, in 1623 on territory in the Avalon Peninsula including the former colony of Renews. Cary appointed Sir Francis Tanfield, his wife's cousin, to be the colony's first Proprietary Governor. Tanfield...

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According to a popular local legend (and shown to be completely unsubstantiated by all the eye-witness source materials of the 17th century ), the Mayflower

Mayflower

The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...

landed at Renews in 1620, where it picked up water and supplies before sailing on to Plymouth Rock

Plymouth Rock

Plymouth Rock is the traditional site of disembarkation of William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620. It is an important symbol in American history...

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Loyola Hearn

Loyola Hearn

Loyola Hearn, PC is the Canadian Ambassador to Ireland. He served as a Member of the Canadian House of Commons from 2000 to 2008, and as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans from February 6, 2006 to October 30, 2008....

, Canada's former Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, is from Renews.

Cappahayden

Cappahayden, once called Broad Cove, can date inhabitants located there in the late 18th century. Its location was reported by William Vaughan as early as 1626 when it was noted on a map as Vaughan's Cove. The name Cappahayden was given by Father John Walsh after his birthplace, Cappahayden, Kilkenny. The name Cappahayden was approved by the Newfoundland Nomenclature Board in 1913.

Just south of Cappahayden is the site of the tragic sinking of the SS Florizel

SS Florizel

SS Florizel, a passenger liner, was the flagship of the Bowring Brothers' Red Cross Line of steamships and one of the first ships in the world specifically designed to navigate icy waters. During its last voyage, from St...

at Horn Head Point (46°50′56"N 52°56′20"W), near Chance Cove Park

Chance Cove Provincial Park

Chance Cove Provincial Park, is a provincial park located approximately 20 km south of Renews-Cappahayden, Newfoundland and Labrador. Chance Cove was once the site of a small settlement of approximately 50 people in the mid-19th century, and is home to many shipwrecks of the Atlantic Ocean....

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