English
Cape Spear, Newfoundland’s oldest surviving lighthouse, has served as the chief approach light for St. John’s harbour since 1836. Constructed by local builders Nicholas Croke and William Parker, it consists of a stone towner . . . — — Map (db m79112) HM
English
In 1940, the American and Canadian Joint Board of Defence decided to protect the approaches to St. John’s harbour by installing heavy artillery at Cape Spear. Gun emplacements, magazines, and shelters were constructed by 1941 as . . . — — Map (db m79463) HM
Near Newfoundland and Labrador Route 10, on the right when traveling north.
Two plaques are mounted on this monument. English:
Near this site stood the “Mansion House” built between 1621 and 1625 by Captain E. Wynne, resident governor of the Colony of Avalon, for the proprietor, Sir . . . — — Map (db m79466) HM
On Newfoundland and Labrador Route 10, on the left when traveling north.
A “Fishing Capital” and Colony
This was one of the first harbours in the New World to be frequented by European fishing ships. From the early 1500s The Pool was well known to the Portuguese, Spanish and French fleets. . . . — — Map (db m79471) HM
Near Newfoundland and Labrador Route 10, on the right when traveling north.
English:
This illustration depicts the burning of a house that once stood at this location and was excavated in the mid-1990s. The large stone fireplace foundation has been left as it was found. The rectangular depression marks the area . . . — — Map (db m79472) HM
English
Gaillardin Redoubt
Built originally of logs and subsequently of drywall masonry, this small enclosure surrounded by a breastwork was intended to keep an enemy from taking possession of Gaillardia Mountain, which overlooked . . . — — Map (db m78970) HM
English
In 1693 the French began construction of Fort Royal to guard the harbour at Placentia. When it was completed in 1703, several batteries and outworks supported the main fortifications. The defences, however, were precariously . . . — — Map (db m78917) HM
English
Welcome to
Castle Hill
National Historic Site of Canada
By 1600, France and England dominated the European migratory fisheries to Newfoundland. Small-scale English settlements began in 1610, and in 1662 France . . . — — Map (db m78919) HM
On Main Street (Route 100 South) close to Orcan Drive, on the left when traveling south.
A fort consisting of a semi-circular redoubt mounting twelve guns, a guard house, barracks and storehouse surrounded by a palisade was erected on this site in 1721 and was named after H.R.H. Prince Frederick, then Prince of Wales.
Although the . . . — — Map (db m78918) HM
English
Built in the Vauban style, Fort Royal was designed to protect against attackers with siege artillery and muskets. It contains three demi-bastions and one full bastion. The overlapping faces of the demi-bastions form a flank that . . . — — Map (db m78935) HM
English
Fort Royal, 1709
Following an English naval attack on Plaisance in 1692 the French decided to erect a hilltop fortification to defend the town’s seaward approach. Fort Royal was begun the next year and completed around 1703. . . . — — Map (db m79009) HM
This memorial is dedicated
by
Canadian Marconi Company
to the government and people of Newfoundland to commemorate an outstanding event in the history of Newfoundland and a new era in world communications
The first transatlantic wireless . . . — — Map (db m78920) HM
On Queens Road at Gower Street, in the median on Queens Road.
This monument includes three panels outlining the history of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. Panel 1:
1729-1870 Policing in a Young Colony
Fishing Admiral Justice
The 15th century fishery off Newfoundland was primarily a . . . — — Map (db m79138) HM
Caption, bottom, left (English / French): The shaded area shows the extent of the 1892 fire. This was the last of several fires that shaped the development of St. John's in the 1800s. / La zone ombrée représente la partie de la ville ravagée . . . — — Map (db m79013) HM
On Duckworth Street close to Soloman's Lane, on the left when traveling north.
This Italianate style building, Newfoundland’s first commercial bank building, constructed in 1849 to the design of Halifax architect David Stirling. The mansard roof was added in 1885. Burnt out and rebuilt after the 1892 fire, it retains a very . . . — — Map (db m79056) HM
English
This hill was the site of the decisive assault by British troops on the French lines, September 15, 1762, in the last phase of the battle in North America between the forces fo Great Britain and France. The victorious attack, led by . . . — — Map (db m78938) HM
Captions, clockwise from the top left. (English / French):
The Cabot Tower’s cornerstone was laid on 23 June 1897 to mark the 400th anniversary of John Cabot’s North American Landfall and the 60th year of Queen Victoria’s reign. The . . . — — Map (db m78971) HM
English
Two adjoining barracks were constructed on this site between 1837 and 1840. The two story complex stretched the length of the present parking lot. It was converted to stores in 1842 because of problems with smoke, cold and . . . — — Map (db m78936) HM
Captions, clockwise from the top right. (English / French):
St. John’s is both a fishing port and a supply base for the fleets of many countries. / Saint- Jean est à la fois un part de pêche et un centre d’approvisionnement pour les . . . — — Map (db m78972) HM
On Duckworth Street close to Soloman's Lane, on the left when traveling north.
English
This Italianate style building recalls evolution of banking in Newfoundland, Designed by Halifax architect David Stirling for the Bank of British North America, it opened in 1850 at a time when British investors controlled banking . . . — — Map (db m79034) HM
On Water Street close to Job Street, on the left when traveling south.
English
This remarkable building served as the headquarters and terminus of the Newfoundland railway system. Begun in 1881, the railway played a significant role in the development of the island. Its benefits were evident by the eve of . . . — — Map (db m79109) HM
On Water Street close to Job Street, on the left when traveling south.
This plaque is dedicated to the memory of
Herbert J. Russell, C.B.E.
Mr. Russell began his carrer with the Newfoundland Railway on September 12, 1906, as an express messenger and stenographer. He rose quickly through various management . . . — — Map (db m79111) HM
Captions, clockwise from the top left. (English / French):Pack Ice, frozen sea water up to 70 cm (27in.) thick, can be present in the waters off St. John’s from February through April. The worst conditions occur in . . . — — Map (db m79011) HM
On Forest Road close to Taaffe's Lane, on the right when traveling west.
English
Educator, suffragist, and prominent nursing leader, Mary Southcott led the campaign to professionalize nursing in early 20th-century Newfoundland. Trained in London, England, she founded the St. John’s General Hospital School of . . . — — Map (db m79031) HM
On Cathedral Street close to Gower Street, on the right when traveling west.
Built to replace the Long’s Hill Temple destroyed by fire in 1892, the cornerstone of this building was laid by Sir William Whitewall on August 23, 1894. The Temple is the largest brick fraternal lodge in the province, and with its classical revival . . . — — Map (db m79057) HM
English
For at least 150 years, the arrival of noon hour in St. John’s has been announced by the firing of a gun on Signal Hill. It began as a military time signal, but the practice was continued by the colonial government after the British . . . — — Map (db m79012) HM
On Water Street close to Beck's Cove, on the right when traveling north.
This building was constructed for Richard O’Dwyer, a prominent merchant from Waterford, to house his officies and retail stores, but also to accommodate other merchants. With its classically-detailed, granite block facade, the building would have . . . — — Map (db m79061) HM
Caption, top, left (English / French): The importance of Signal Hill to St. John’s goes beyond its guns, signal masts and hospitals. Poet, songwriters and artists alike have celebrated the Hill’s timeless strength. It has become a proud . . . — — Map (db m79014) HM
On Water Street close to Job Street, on the left when traveling south.
This plaque is dedicated to the memory of
Sir Robert Gillespie Reid
(1842-1908)
Sir Robert Gillespie Reid was a bridge builder and railway contractor of international fame. Many of the structures that he engineered throughout the United . . . — — Map (db m79110) HM
On Church Hill close to Gower Street, on the right when traveling north.
English
Begun in 1847, under the direction of Bishop Feild, this cathedral was designed by the noted British architect George Gilbert Scott and is an internationally important monument of the Gothic Revival style. Its historical . . . — — Map (db m79058) HM
On Water Street close to McMurdo's Lane, on the left when traveling north.
English
The St. John’s Court House, built 1900-1094, is by far the most striking and elaborate courthouse in the province. Set into a steep hill it commands a dramatic view of the harbour. The Romanesque Revival building was designed by . . . — — Map (db m79032) HM
Captions, clockwise from the top right. (English / French):
Processing seal pelts, St. John’s around 1900. / Transformation des peaux de phoques, Saint-Jean vers 1900.
From 1793 to the early 1980’s, the departure of sealing ships . . . — — Map (db m78974) HM
On Water Street close to Beck's Cove, on the right when traveling north.
Built after the 1846 fire, this structure housed a wide range of enterprises including Lash’s Bakery, the Railway Hotel, and McNamara and Thompson, both jewelers. Constructed with a timber frame, stone foundation and a brick exterior, it was among . . . — — Map (db m79059) HM
This marker is composed of two side-by-side plaques, one in English and the other in French. (English)At Signal Hill on 12 December 1901, Guglielmo Marconi and his assistant, George Kemp, confirmed the reception of the first . . . — — Map (db m78937) HM
On Duckworth Street at Cathedral Street, on the left when traveling north on Duckworth Street.
English
Born in Scotland, Carson came to Newfoundland as a physician in 1808, and became an ardent advocate of social and political reform. He was leader in the campaign for an elected legislature, established in 1832, and helped bring . . . — — Map (db m79033) HM
On unnamed dirt road close to Trans-Canada Highway (Route 1), on the right when traveling south.
English:
On December 11th, 1985, Arrow Air Flight MF1285R. a Douglas DC-8-63, US registration N95OJW departed Cairo on an international charter flight to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, USA, via Cologne, Germany and Gander, . . . — — Map (db m79477) HM
Near Newfoundland and Labrador Route 430, on the left when traveling north.
These are critically endangered microbial structures. Thrombolites-building micro-organisms resemble the earliest form of life on Earth. These organisms were the only known form of life from 3.5 billion to 650 million years ago. These are some of . . . — — Map (db m79656) HM
Near unnamed road close to Newfoundland and Labrador Route 430.
English:
In 2000, the global stratotype for the boundary between the Cambrian and Ordovician systems was designated here at Green Point by the International Commission of Stratigraphy. It is located within a bed of shale and limestone . . . — — Map (db m79654) HM
Near Newfoundland and Labrador Route 436 close to Newfoundland and Labrador Route 430.
English:
Discovered in 1960, this is the first authenticated Norse site found in North America and could be Leif Ericsson's short-lived Vinland camp. Some time about AD 1000 Norse seafarers established a base here from which they . . . — — Map (db m79611) HM
Near unnamed road close to Newfoundland and Labrador Route 43.
English:
Following clues in the ancient Icelandic sagas, and the writings of Viking scholars and enthusiasts, Norwegian writer and explorer Helge Ingstad arrived at L’Anse aux Meadows in 1960. When he asked whether there were any unusual . . . — — Map (db m79650) HM
In 1912, a light was established at the south entrance of St. Anthony Harbour replacing the original harbour light placed there in 1906.
The white occulting light was installed in a cast-iron light tower. It exhibited 20.5 meters (67 feet) above . . . — — Map (db m79667) HM
On West Street close to Hospital Road, on the right when traveling east.
English:
Born in England and trained in medicine, Grenfell gave 50 years of service to the people of northern Newfoundland and Labrador, and became a legend in his own time. He and those he inspired brought medical, spiritual and . . . — — Map (db m79610) HM
St. Anthony Haven
By tradition St. Anthony harbour was named by French explorer Jacque Cartier in 1534. Indeed, it is probable that the long, deep and sheltered harbour was already well-known to fishermen of the French province . . . — — Map (db m79668) HM
English:
From 1763 to 1767 Captain Cook. R.N directed a survey embracing the greater part of the coast of Newfoundland. The charting of this coastline was the first scientific, large scale, hydrographic survey to use precise triangulation . . . — — Map (db m79672) HM
These five panels outline Captain James Cook’s experiences in Newfoundland. Cook comes to Canada Captain James Cook took his first voyage to Canada as a Master on the vessel ”Pembroke” in February . . . — — Map (db m79676) HM
On L'Anse Amour Branch Road close to Trans-Labrador Highway (Newfoundland and Labrador Route 510), on the right when traveling south.
English:
This mound of rocks is the earliest known funeral monument in the new world and marks the burial place of an Indian child who died about 7500 years ago. The Maritime Archaic people, to whom the child belonged, occupied this area . . . — — Map (db m79551) HM
Near L'Anse Amour Branch Road close to Trans-Labrador Highway (Newfoundland and Labrador Route 510), on the right when traveling east.
The concrete foundations near the beach are the remains of a huge diaphone - a fog signal which produces a blast of two distinct tones. When it was installed (in) 1906 the diaphone was the latest in technology. It was operated by compressed air and . . . — — Map (db m79554) HM
On L'Anse Amour Branch Road close to Trans-Labrador Highway (Newfoundland and Labrador Route 510).
The concret ruins which you see here are the remains of the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Station that was built in 1904. Originally constructed for the benefit of trans-Atlantic shipping, the telegraph station became the first major communication link . . . — — Map (db m79552) HM
Near Trans-Labrador Highway (Newfoundland and Labrador Route 510), on the right when traveling north.
Tracey has been home to several generations of the Moores Family since the mid-1800s.
This monument marks the location of Ellis & Lillian Moores’s family house. — — Map (db m79543) HM
English:
In the 16th century, the Labrador side of the Strait of Belle Isle emerged as the world's largest producer of whale oil. At its peak, whaling on this coast attracted nearly 2000 Basques annually from Spain and France, and Red Bay . . . — — Map (db m79527) HM
On Main Street close to Blanfords Lane, on the left when traveling east.
Slade’s Room
In the early 1700s a few English fishermen began to settle at Twillingate Harbour, as the French fishery began to concentrate on the area north of Cape S. John (referred to locally as Cape John). In about 1750 John Slade of . . . — — Map (db m79478) HM
On Trans Canada Highway (Newfoundland and Labrador Route 1), on the right when traveling south.
English:
A century of ferry service between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia
SS. Bruce first sailed from this port to North Sydney on 30 June 1898.
French:
En commemoration d’un siècle de service traversier entre . . . — — Map (db m79677) HM
