Article

Upper Island Cove

Published Online September 16, 2012

Last Edited January 23, 2014

Upper Island Cove, NL, incorporated as a town in 1965, population 1594 (2011c), 1667 (2006c). The Town of Upper Island Cove was created when two communities (Upper Island Cove and Spoon Cove) amalgamated. The town is located north of SPANIARD'S BAY on the northwest side of CONCEPTION BAY.

Upper Island Cove, NL, incorporated as a town in 1965, population 1594 (2011c), 1667 (2006c). The Town of Upper Island Cove was created when two communities (Upper Island Cove and Spoon Cove) amalgamated. The town is located north of SPANIARD'S BAY on the northwest side of CONCEPTION BAY. The name Upper Island Cove is descriptive and was chosen to distinguish it from Lower Island Cove near Bay de Verde.

History

The nearby area was used by fishermen (BASQUES and Portuguese) as early as the 16th and 17th centuries, and this particular cove seems to have had a long history of permanent settlement. In the late 18th century several families claimed to be occupying land at Upper Island Cove that had been in their families since the 1690s. Cove residents supported themselves with an inshore fishery and some farming. St Peter's Church was built in 1815, and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts operated a school in the community from 1823 on. A Roman Catholic school opened in 1842. In the 1860s the inshore fishery began to decline and residents of Upper Island Cove turned to the Labrador and Grand Banks fisheries.

The area experienced something of a boom during WWII, and wartime projects employed many residents of Upper Island Cove. After the war many returned to the inshore fishery, and more recently with improved roads and the consolidation of coastal communities, residents of Upper Island Cove have been able to find work in a variety of industries around Conception Bay.