Clarenville Weather
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| Who Was Clarence? |
Originally settled by loggers, farmers, and trappers, the community of Clarenville was established in 1891 by the amalgamation of the existing settlements of Lower Shoal Harbour, Dark Hole, Brook Cove, Broad Cove, and Red Beach. In the beginning Clarenville was originally known as Clarenceville. There is some dispute as to the origins of the name. One version holds that the community was named after a son of the then Newfoundland Prime Minister, Sir William Whiteway, who originally suggested the amalgamation of the various settlements.
However, J.R Smallwood's Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador (Volume 1) disputes this, stating tha Whiteway had no son by that name. Instead, Smallwood suggests that the community was named after "the Duke of Clarence, oldest son of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), who died in 1892 about the same time as the community was being formed". Whatever the origins of the name it was quickly amended to the shorter version used today. |
| The Railway |
| The first enterprise to take advantage of Clarenville's location was the Reid Newfoundland Trans-Insular Railway which reached the community from St. John's in 1891. As the railway was built across the island, service terminals were being set up about 140 rail miles apart. With Clarenville's location 131 |
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rail miles west of St. John's, it became the first of five terminals constructed along the rail line. Clarenville's port was also a consideration in this decision as it was the last deep water port along the emerge at Humber Arm on the west coast of the island, 270 rail miles from Clarenville. In 1911, Clarenville's rail role was reinforced by the opening of the Bonavista Peninsula Branch Line which exited the main trans-island line near the community, marking Clarenville as a "hub".
For the first half of the century, population growth was slow (1901-229; 1935-310) but, after 1935, it began to expand rapidly and tripled to 964 by 1945. Although additional industries developed in Clarenville from 1935 onward, it was the railway that dominated and gave the town its distinctive character. It was to remain a boisterous blue collar rail centre well into the 1960's. Thereafter, the railway declined in importance throughout the province but Clarenville remained a terminal until the closing of the rail line in the late 1980's. Throughout the 98 year history, Clarenville witnessed and was affected by many changes in rail transportation. Significant changes include conversion from coal to oil in the 1940's, from steam to diesel in the late 1950's, elimination of the rail passenger service in the late 1960's, and thereafter, a general reduction and down grading until the eventual elimination of the railway in 1989. By this time, the town of Clarenville had developed in a quite different direction.
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| Diversified Economy: Hardwoods, Shipyard, Services |
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The first diversification of Clarenville's economy occurred in the late 1930's when a company called Colas Newfoundland Ltd was set up to produce asphalt for the runways at Gander, St. John's and Stephenville. The plant was sold to Flintcote Company in 1941 and a creosote plant was used to preserve railway ties, initially from wood cut along the rail line through the interior. In 1955, |
the plant was purchased by the Newfoundland Government and renamed Newfoundland and Labrador Hardwoods Limited. a crown corporation. |
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A second attempt at economic diversification occured in 1942 when the Commission of Government established the Clarenville Shipyards. The Shipyard was given the contract for construction of the famous Splinter Fleet - a fleet of ten passenger-freight vessels designed for the coastal service, and so named because they were constructed of wood. In 1946, the Shipyard was sold to private |
enterprise. It has changed ownership several times since but has continued to operate. These two enterprises, the Shipyard and the asphalt/wood preservative plant, triggered the growth spurt of the late 1930s, early 1940's. These firms, together with the railway, provided the industrial base for the entire area including especially, the nearby community of Shoal Harbour. |
| Public Sector Growth |
| The Town of Clarenville was incorporated in 1951 and over the next several decades the population virtually tripled to 2807 in 1976. From about 1950 to 1975, a large number of government departments and quasi-public sector agencies were established in Clarenville to serve the regional population in the immediate area. Amongst the first of these was the Provinical Department of Highways. The area Vocational School was opened in 1963, the Bonavista-Trinity-Placentia Integrated School Board in the early 1970's. Other public sector agencies established or expanded over that period. |
| Private Sector |
| On the private sector side, the construction and opening of the Come By Chance Refinery in the early 1970s created growth and an increased demand for services. The services demands of the existing industrial enterprises, the new refinery and the expanding public sector (and the individuals employed there) resulted in a rapid expansion of the personal services sector over that period. |
From 1976 to 1986, the population increased gradually. However, in comparison with much of the rest of the province which experienced negative growth, Clarenville did grow at an average rate of about 3%. What is more important is that it continued to expand and solidify its role as the service centre for a regional population of about 35,000 people.
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