Port Hope Simpson
Town
View over Alexis Bay
View over Alexis Bay
Port Hope Simpson is located in Newfoundland and Labrador
Port Hope Simpson
Port Hope Simpson
Location of Port Hope Simpson in Newfoundland
Port Hope Simpson is located in Canada
Port Hope Simpson
Port Hope Simpson
Port Hope Simpson (Canada)
Coordinates: 52°32′N 56°18′W / 52.533°N 56.300°W / 52.533; -56.300
CountryCanada
ProvinceNewfoundland and Labrador
Settled1934
Area
[1]
 • Land32.52 km2 (12.56 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
 • Total403
 • Density12.7/km2 (33/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC−03:30 (NST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−02:30 (NDT)
Area code709
Highways Route 510 (Trans-Labrador Highway)

Port Hope Simpson is a town located on the southeastern Labrador coast, 215 km (134 mi) from the Quebec/Southern Labrador border in Canada. In 1944 it was named after John Hope Simpson as a company town.[3]

With the completion of the Trans-Labrador Highway that crosses the region, the town has benefitted from an increase in tourism.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7]

The town previously served as a ferry port for the nearby town of William's Harbour.[8] William's Harbour was entirely resettled in 2017.[9] The town has a small air-strip, Port Hope Simpson Airport.[10][11] As of March 2017, Port Hope is not listed as a scheduled destination in the Air Labrador flight schedule.[12]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Port Hope Simpson had a population of 403 living in 159 of its 186 total private dwellings, a change of -2.2% from its 2016 population of 412. With a land area of 32.02 km2 (12.36 sq mi), it had a population density of 12.6/km2 (32.6/sq mi) in 2021.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (February 8, 2017). "Census Profile, 2016 Census - Port Hope Simpson, Town [Census subdivision], Newfoundland and Labrador and Division No. 10, Census division [Census division], Newfoundland and Labrador". www12.statcan.gc.ca.
  2. 1 2 "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Newfoundland and Labrador". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  3. ↑ Pritchard L. Port Hope Simpson Historic Logging Town Amazon p.1 2013
  4. ↑ Pritchard L. Port Hope Simpson Off the Beaten Path Amazon 2011 p.14
  5. ↑ 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
  6. ↑ Pritchard L. Port Hope Simpson Off the Beaten Path Amazon 2011 p.1
  7. ↑ Pritchard L. Port Hope Simpson Off the Beaten Path Amazon 2011
  8. ↑ "The day the lights went out in William's Harbour - Macleans.ca".
  9. ↑ "William's Harbour residents agree to relocate, says province". CBC.ca. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. August 15, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  10. ↑ Pritchard L. Port Hope Simpson Off the Beaten Path Amazon 2011 p.84
  11. ↑ "Port Hope Simpson, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada: Tombstone (Port Hope Simpson Mysteries) [Kindle Edition] by Llewelyn Pritchard p.128"
  12. ↑ "Air Labrador Route Map". Archived from the original on 2017-03-02. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
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