New Chelsea-New Melbourne-Brownsdale-Sibley's Cove-Lead Cove - Brownsdale

Tradition has it that John Brown, who had migrated from Old Perlican around 1820, was the first settler in Brownsdale. He had established a sawmill there and was Brownsdale's first merchant. The original name of Brownsdale, Trinity Bay was Lance Cove South; the name was changed around 1910 to provide distinction from the other two Lance Coves on the island.

Brownsdale's first school was built in 1856 to accommodate twenty pupils. The village's first church was Wesleyan, constructed in 1870; the current church, the United Church of Brownsdale, was built in 1892. In 1958 a new high school was built and named for Newfoundland poet E.J. Pratt.