Ship Harbour is a community in Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 located on the eastern shore of Placentia Bay

Placentia Bay

Placentia Bay is a body of water on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada. It is formed by Burin Peninsula on the west and Avalon Peninsula on the east. Fishing grounds in the bay were used by native people long before the first European fishermen arrived in the 16th century. For a time, the...

.

Adjacent to Argentia

Argentia, Newfoundland and Labrador

Argentia is a community on the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated on a flat headland located along the southwest coast of the Avalon Peninsula on Placentia Bay...

, the waters off Ship Harbour are best known as the site of Atlantic Conference between Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

 and Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

 on August 14, 1941. While the and the were secretly anchored in the entrance off Ship Harbour, various dignitaries and the two heads of state discussed the terms of what would become known as the Atlantic Charter

Atlantic Charter

The Atlantic Charter was a pivotal policy statement first issued in August 1941 that early in World War II defined the Allied goals for the post-war world. It was drafted by Britain and the United States, and later agreed to by all the Allies...

. The Community has a site dedicated to the meeting and also has a museum located in the Community Center.

Ship Harbour has a population of about 200 people. It is 140 kilometers west 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...

 and can be reached on the TransCanada Highway and exiting at the Argentia Access Road.

History

Ship Harbour has at least been settled since 1835 when it was included in the Argentia Parish. By 1845 there were 2 families of 13 people, and the community did not appear again until 1869 when the population moved upward to 38 (Two of the residents being born in Ireland) In the census of 1874 with 6 families and in 1884 it boasted 116 people. By the turn of the century there were 4 lobster factories operating in Ship Harbour and some salmon was tinned. Merchant Alberto Wareham outfitted local fishermen for the lobster and herring fisheries. In the 1921 Almanac of Newfoundland Edward Power is listed as the Post Master in Ship Harbour. Through oral history he is said to have operated out of his home. Ship Harbour's major surnames include Griffin

Griffin (surname)

Griffin was the 75th most common surname on the island of Ireland in 1891. In Wales, Griffin has been established as the 65th most frequent Welsh surname...

, Griffiths

Griffiths

Griffiths is a surname with Welsh origins, as in Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr. People called Griffiths recorded here include:* Albert Griffiths , better known as Young Griffo, boxing champion...

, Power, Meade

Meade (surname)

Meade is a surname, and may refer toActors*Emily Meade , American actress*Garth Meade , South African comedian/actor, active in Australia since 1970*Mary Meade, American film actress of the 1940sArtists and musicians...

, Newman, Norman, Ledwell, and Upshall.

Education and religion

By 1884, there was a school built according to the census that year. In 1891 a Roman Catholic Church was built. By the early 1900s the one-room school-house built before 1884 was still in use with a Ms. Mary Sullivan as the schools only teacher. The community hall was once Little Flower School , that had been built in 1946. When the school was closed, portable classrooms were set up down the road at another site. In 1966 the first group of high school students were bussed to Fox Harbour, a community 12 kilometers away. Two years later a new high school opened in Placentia and both Ship Harbour and Fox Harbour students went to Laval High School. Presentation Sisters taught girls in one wing and Irish Christian Brothers taught boys in the other wing of Laval High School. In 1986 the portable school was permanently closed in Ship Harbour and all students, to this day are bussed to Dunville to St. Anne's Academy for kindergarten to Grade 6 and to Placentia for Grade 7 to Grade 12.