St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador is one of the oldest European settlements in North America. St. John's is a seaport town sitting at the eastern edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The city is a mixture of wooden row houses, imposing churches and trees, lakes and walking trails. Combine this with an eclectic culture, modern buildings and industries and you have stepped into a city that is lively and vibrant.

History

St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador, is the oldest European settlement in North America, founded on the feast of St. John the Baptist, June 24, 1497.

The Italian navigator John Cabot, who sailed under English flag, was the first European since the Vikings verifiably known to have reached mainland America. The 500th anniversary of his landing in what he named New Founde Lande was celebrated in 1997. St. John's became the oldest British colony in North America as, on August 5, 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert took possession of the region for England. The settlement changed hands several times between France and England, until becoming permanently British in 1762 and serving as a naval base during both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

Many of the St. John's earliest settlers came from the Southeast of Ireland, primarily Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny. This would explain the similarity between accents from that part of Ireland and Newfoundland.

The worst disaster to befall St. John's was on July 8, 1892 and is commonly called The Great Fire of 1892. There was another major fire that started in the same neighbourhood on December 21, 1992, destroying over a dozen businesses and leaving hundreds homeless.

It was at St. John's that Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless message, and it was from there that the first nonstop transatlantic flight was made in 1919 by Alcock and Brown.

During the Second World War, the harbour was used by Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy ships used for protecting convoys. It was also the site of a large US Army base called "Fort Pepperrell." This base was established as part of the "Lend-lease" agreement between the UK and USA.

Facts

St. John's is the eastern terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway. (Victoria, British Columbia is the western terminus.)

Geography

St. Johns Newfoundland is located on the northeast coast of the Avalon Peninsula, in southeastern Newfoundland, and on the Atlantic Ocean. In fact, it is the easternmost city in North America. The downtown area exists to the north of St. John's Harbour and the rest of the city expands uphill and to the west, north, and east. The city of Mount Pearl borders St. John's to the west, and is substantially smaller in population, yet only slightly smaller in size.

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