Bell Island - History

History

Likely settled by Maritime Archaic and/or Dorset people, Bell Island, as with the rest of the island of Newfoundland was likely inhabited by the Beothuk Nation at the time of European discovery.

The first European inhabitants settled during the 18th century and attempted to farm and fish with the island having a subsistence economy throughout much of the 19th century. The first recorded settler was an Englishman, Gregory Normore, in 1740.

The economy expanded tremendously during the 1890s when iron ore mining began near the community of Wabana.

Wabana grew to become the island's largest community and the mine became one of the largest producers of iron ore in northeastern North America. The mine's workings extended beneath the seabed of Conception Bay, creating one of the most extensive submarine iron mines in the world.

Most of Bell Island's ore was shipped from loading facilities to Sydney, Nova Scotia where it was smelted in a steel mill. The steel mill at Sydney and the iron mine at Bell Island were owned by the Dominion Steel and Coal Company (DOSCO), which at one point was one of the largest private employers in Canada.