Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove

Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, NL, incorporated as a town in 1986, population 2098 (2011c), 1978 (2006c). The Town of Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove is the result of the joining of three former communities on the outskirts of ST JOHN'S.

The names Middle and Outer Cove are descriptive, but Logy Bay has been the subject of some speculation. The term "logy" means lethargic or sluggish, and according to the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador it may refer to the way cod appear "lazy" or lethargic after they have eaten quantities of capelin.

In 1610, the LONDON AND BRISTOL COMPANY was granted land in this area, and it may have been used for fishing in the 17th and 18th centuries. Permanent settlements began to appear in the early 1800s when Irish immigrants were attracted to the area by its combination of good fishing, arable land and proximity to St John's. As roads improved in the later 19th and early 20th centuries, area residents were able to sell agricultural produce, such as dairy products, in St John's. The town is now the site of MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY's Marine Sciences Research Laboratory.