Port Hope Simpson

Port Hope Simpson, population 412 (2016)[1] is a town located on the southeastern Labrador coast, 215 km (134 mi) from the Quebec/Labrador border in Canada. It began in the 1930s as a company town.[2]

Port Hope Simpson
Town
View over Alexis Bay
Port Hope Simpson
Location of Port Hope Simpson in Newfoundland
Port Hope Simpson
Port Hope Simpson (Canada)
Coordinates: 52°32′N 56°18′W
CountryCanada
ProvinceNewfoundland and Labrador
Settled1934
Area
 • Land32.52 km2 (12.56 sq mi)
Population
 (2016)[1]
 • Total412
 • Density12.7/km2 (33/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC−03:30 (NST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−02:30 (NDT)
Area code(s)709
Highways Route 510 (Trans-Labrador Highway)
Ferry to William's Harbour

The town is connected by ferry to the nearby town of William's Harbour. It has a small regional Port Hope Simpson Airport[3] serviced by Air Labrador.[4] It has a friendly, independent people with a compelling history and a priority of sustainable development in a region of unspoilt wilderness [5] With the completion of the Port Hope Simpson Airport and Trans-Labrador Highway through the region, Port Hope Simpson has benefitted from an increase in tourism.[6]

The nearby Shinneys Water Complex has 2,500 km2 (970 sq mi) of over 1,000 islands rising dramatically above sea level. These protected waters are ideal for all types of boating and the adjoining Alexis River is a popular fishing destination for Atlantic salmon.

History
John Hope Simpson

When the Labrador Development Company left in 1948, paid work in the woods left with it until Bowater arrived 14 years later. The first post office was established on October 21, 1950. The first postmaster was Hayward Green. At the time, the population was 311.

New economic activity took place between 1962 and 1968 as Bowater picked up the pioneering venture laid down by John Osborn Williams, Sir John Hope Simpson and the Labrador Development Company. More trees were felled for their pulp and paper mills at Corner Brook, and in Kent, England. Bowater brought benefits of regular paid employment (though seasonal), 20 mi (32 km) of forest roads and the government contributed by sharing the cost of building a new wharf. But apart from the post office, the general store and the two schools there was no all-year-round paid employment from 1969 to 1970.[7]

From 1970 to 1992 cod and salmon fishing was the economic mainstay of the area but unemployment prevailed most of the year. In 1992 the cod fishery was closed down altogether. However, many local fishermen made a relatively easy transition into crab, shrimp and scallop fishing.

Government funding for the construction works of the Trans-Labrador Highway, the Port Hope Simpson bridge and the Port Hope Simpson Airport has increased the town's accessibility as a tourist destination on the Labrador coast.[8]

From the early 1990s on, Port Hope Simpson's fishing, logging, timber products, transportation, retail and public services, tourist facilities and amenities have contributed to the sustainable growth of the town.[9]

By August 2002, certain facts had been firmly established in relation to the unsolved deaths including the first release in 1996-1998 of "Open" papers by the Public Record Office, London, England [10] which were brought to the attention of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Serious Crimes Unit in St. John's who decided to open-up their own investigation into what had really happened.[11]

This action by the RCMP was the first time in 62 years that the unsolved case files had been located under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice in Canada instead of being kept under the former Department of Natural Resources and Newfoundland Ranger Force.

Population
  • 1945: 352 (Source: Southeastern Aurora Development Corporation);
  • 1951: 252 (S.A.D.C.);
  • 1965: 489 (S.A.D.C.);
  • Mid 1980s: approximately 650 (S.A.D.C.);
  • 1992: approximately 530 (S.A.D.C.);
  • 1996: 577 (Source: Statistics Canada);
  • 2001: 509 (S.C.)
  • 2002: 535 (S.A.D.C.)
  • 2006: 529

References
  1. Census Profile, 2016 Census Port Hope Simpson, Town [Census subdivision], Newfoundland and Labrador and Division No. 10, Census division [Census division], Newfoundland and Labrador
  2. Pritchard L. Port Hope Simpson Historic Logging Town Amazon p.1 2013
  3. Pritchard L. Port Hope Simpson Off the Beaten Path Amazon 2011 p.84
  4. "Port Hope Simpson, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada: Tombstone (Port Hope Simpson Mysteries) [Kindle Edition] by Llewelyn Pritchard p.128"
  5. Pritchard L. Labrador Wilderness, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada Smashwords 2010.
  6. Pritchard L. Port Hope Simpson Off the Beaten Path Amazon 2011 p.14
  7. Pritchard L. The Port Hope Simpson Diaries 1969 - 70 Vol. 2 Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada: Summit Special. The original diaries of Ernie Pritchard. Learn what it was like in his own words to spend Christmas 1969 and beyond in the small isolated community on the Labrador coast.Smashwords 2010
  8. Pritchard L. Port Hope Simpson Off the Beaten Path Amazon 2011 p.1
  9. Pritchard L. Port Hope Simpson Off the Beaten Path Amazon 2011
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2015-07-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. Pritchard L. Port Hope Simpson Historic Logging Town Amazon 2013 p.33
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