Horwood is located in Dog Bay, which of course was the
original name of the community. The community of Dog Bay first became
attractive as a winter residence for people from Fogo Island in the mid to late
1800’s. They would come to Dog Bay in the late fall, and live in “tilts” or log
cabins, spend the winter cutting wood to be used for wharves, stages, boat
building and firewood which they would pile on the ice in the bay. When spring
came the firewood and logs were loaded unto Bullys, boats smaller than
schooners, and transported back to various communities on Fogo Island, leaving
Dog Bay virtually deserted for the summer months.
The first people to take up permanent residence in Dog
Bay (now Horwood) were William Cull, John Blakey, Henry Wells and their families
who arrived in the 1890’s. William Cull built the first house (as apposed to a
tilt), which was the first house on the left side of the road as you entered the
community. In recent years the house has been torn down and replaced by a much
newer house, and more modern houses have been built on the same stretch of
land.
John Cater, one of the many residents who came to Dog Bay
in search of timber, was a very astute business oriented person and saw the
great potential for the establishment of a pit-prop operation in Dog Bay around
the year 1900. His business prospered because of the great demand for pit-props
in the mining industry in Buchans, Newfoundland and in Great Britain. But in
1902 the Horwood Lumber Company Limited moved in and bought up Mr. Cater’s
business and he, in turn, went to work for them. That same year the Horwood
Lumber Company Limited was incorporated in Dog Bay with assets of $153,000, a
fair sum of money in those days. By 1912 their assets had increased to $550.000.
By 1904 there was a mill, several bunk houses, a cook house and a wharf. The
company shipped in large numbers of horses each fall for use in the woods’
operation. But the young company suffered a severe set back that same year. Fire
destroyed the mill, the lumber and planks stockpiled in the yard, as well as a
number of other buildings in Dog Bay. When new facilities were constructed the
company added seven or eight new company houses which accommodated from one to
three families each. Also added was a company store with a post office. The
store proved to be a source of confrontation some years later. The company paid
their workers in scrip money which was only redeemable at the company store.
This forced the workers to shop at the company store and tied the workers
completely to the company in almost every way. In 1920 one brave soul, by the
name of Mr. Comer, decided to challenge this type of monopoly and opened his own
store in the community, which by this time had changed its name to Horwood
South, named after the major employer the Horwood Lumber Company Limited.
Mr.Comer didn’t have any shortage of customers but did run into a problem in
that his customers had a shortage of hard cash. He was forced to accept company
scrip from those who shopped in his store but the company refused to redeem it
for cash when he presented it at their office. Mr. Cromer appears to have been a
fighter, for he took the Horwood Lumber Company Limited, to court and the judge
ordered the company to exchange his scrip for cash at their office in Horwood
South. But having won his battle Mr. Comer closed his store, packed his bags,
and left Horwood for parts unknown. Perhaps his victory came too late to save
his business.
From 1902-1954 almost every man and many of their spouses
were gainfully employed by the Horwood Lumber Company Limited. It is not clear
exactly when the community became known as Horwood because in the census of
1911 it was called Horwood East and sometime during World War 1 the name
changed to Horwood South and Horwood North, taking on the Horwood family name,
founders of the Horwood Lumber Company Limited, finally the names were changed
to Horwood and Horwood North
(Stoneville).
The horses used in the woods’ operation were a
never-ending source of antagonism with the women of Horwood. When they weren’t
being used to haul logs, the company had a habit of turning them loose in the
community and they would eat all the vegetables that were set in the gardens by
the women each year. It was anticipated that with the advent of modernization
and the introduction of tractors to replace animals during World War 11 it might
put an end to the bitter battle. But upon hearing of the tractors, one women
from the community is reported to have said, “Yes, another thing to break down
our fences and eat all of our
vegetables.”
Although, the community still bears the company name, the
company has long left, ceasing operations in1954. Since that time some small
family operations have continued operating from Horwood and Stoneville and have
been very successful in the lumbering and logging
business.
Sometime before or shortly after the turn of the century
(1900 ) it was thought that there were commercially exploitable deposits of
copper in the area of Dog Bay Point and two shafts were drilled in the area now
known as Mine Cove but the bottom fell out (pardon the pun) of the copper
market and the operation was abandoned. It is not known if, or where any records
exist of this operation other than local oral history. The shafts still exist as
the only visible record of this
venture.
All of our schools have closed and the children are bused
to various centralized locations. The Salvation Army is the only church that is
opened on a continuous basis. The Orange Lodge has been closed for some time
now, but once had 70 Loyal Orange Lodge members in its “hey” day. We have one
Superette in our community, A& B Quality Mart, which is doing quite well
and carries most of the necessities that we need. Many residents are
self-employed as contractors in various trades, such as, roofing, electrical,
renovations, etc. Several workers travel to Fort McMurray and are employed in
the oil industry and they work the turn around, which allows them usually 3-6
weeks in Alberta and the same amount of time back home, so they have the best
of both worlds.
Horwood is still a very nice place to live, even though
we have lost many of the amenities to which we had become accustomed. But we
have overcome a lot of those hurdles and today we have a fine Recreational
Centre which is the focal point of the community when it comes to recreational
activities, socializing and a place to hold community events. We have a
volunteer Fire Brigade with 20 plus volunteer members. Horwood is governed by
the Horwood Local Service District under the Municipalities Act and provides
fire protection, street lighting and garbage collection. Our local Post Office
is still operating in the community so that we can avail of the regular postal
services. It’s also a meeting place to see your friends and catch up on the
daily happenings around the community The Local Service District has also
received a provincially-funded program that will provide short-term employment
for 3 workers to work on phase (2) of an historical project, the Horwood Lumber
Company “Old Mill Site”. We are in the process of gathering all the historical
data, artifacts, local information, etc. from residents who worked for the
company; hopefully in the near future we’ll turn this milestone into a great
tourist attraction. It will also be a nostalgic and memorable site for our own
residents. We formed a 50+ club, two years ago, with a complement of 22
members, we meet bi-weekly and have a grand time performing light leisurely
exercises, not to mention the comradery we share with each other and the ever
lasting bonding of friendships that exist among us.
Horwood lies along the boundaries of Dog Bay on the South
side of the bay. At the opening of the bay it is approximately five miles
across from Dog Bay Point on the south side of the bay to Farewell Head on the
North side. There is an in-draught of approximately ten miles from the mouth of
Dog Bay to the bottom of Horwood which is now known as Sou’West Arm. If one
were to start at Dog Bay Point and journey up the bay by boat one would see
some of the finest scenery on the Island. From Dog Bay Point one would see the
most breathtaking scenery imaginable along the coastline, beginning with Mine
Cove, Salt Pond, Mine Cove Marsh, (bakeapples galore), Salt Pond Marsh, a
continuation of Mine Cove Marsh, (again bakeapples always plentiful), Little
Fox Cove, Big Fox Cove, (both coves abundant with lots of seabirds), Long
Beach, (beautiful sandy beach and crystal clear salt water), Two Mile Point,
(beautiful trees overlooking a rocky embankment), Island Cove, (the lower part
of Horwood), Horwood, (commonly
known as“Up The Mill”), Garden Cove, (the cove where the company stored booms of
logs), Cull’s Cove, Forky Brooks and finally Sou’West Arm. If one were to
journey along the North side of Dog Bay, which was of course once the boundaries
of Horwood North; from Farewell Head one would also encounter the thrill of a lifetime
by seeing one of the most beautiful and serene coastlines beginning with Hunt’s
Cove, Squashberry Cove, Stoneville, Nor’West River and finally Morris Point.
Very picturesque to view.
There are also many beautiful islands within close
proximity of the Dog Bay boundaries, just to mention a few; Dog Bay Islands,
Gander Bay Islands, Woody Island, Grassy Island, Copper Island, The Barracks
Rocks. The Green Island, The Ridin’ Islands and the Whales Island.
With all of those exhilarating, beautiful, breathtaking
landscapes surrounding us just waiting to be fully explored and enjoyed, why on
God’s green earth, would anyone want to go on a Caribbean Cruise or travel to
Hawaii to feel the warm breezes blowing upon their faces when we have all those
treasures and comforts here at home waiting to be embraced? We should fully
develop our Tour Boat Industry and have all those tourists from down in the
warm climes come here and visit us and really experience the breezes of a
Nor’Easter or Sou’Easter blowing upon their faces in the morning and waking them
up to one of God’s most wonderful creations and the most favorite place in the
world, the Island of Newfoundland and Labrador or better still the experience of
having a gentle Southerly or a Sou’Westerly breeze blowing a fresh, unpolluted
soft soothing warm
wind across their faces, just before they retire for a good night’s rest in their comfortable beds on this
beloved Island of ours.
The first recorded birth in Dog Bay was Pamela Simms,
born, to Nancy Simms, out of wedlock and fathered by an English Naval officer
Jeremiah Coughlan around 1776, while she lived with her parents in Dog Bay for
the winter. Jeremiah was sent to Fogo just prior to that date to organize the
fishermen into a fighting force to drive away the French and Americans should
they attack Fogo. Mr. Coughlan
later that year took Miss Simms and the baby, Pamela, to live with him in Fogo
and from there the three of them went to England to live two years later. At the
age of six, Pamela was taken to France where she became a companion for the
children of the Duke of Orleans who wanted a young English speaking girl as
their companion. The Duke’s children and Pamela were educated by a Madame de
Genlis who liked Pamela and went to England to get permission from the girl’s
mother to rear the child as their own, which she was able to do after paying
Pamela’s mother twenty five pounds. Pamela was reared and educated in France.
The Duke had a family portrait painted which included Pamela and this painting
is still hanging today in the Palace of Versailles. When Pamela was a little
older she married Lord Edward Fitzgerald, an Irish patriot, at Tourney in
France. Lord Fitzgerald was later killed in battle and in his will he left
everything to Pamela who later went to the Continent and married the U.S. Consul
to Germany, Mr. Piteairn. Later after their divorce, Pamela entered the convent
in France and died Nov.9, 1831 at the age of fifty-five.
It is not known how long before the birth of Pamela Simms
that people were spending the winter months in Dog Bay but it was not until
1821 that the first permanent settler moved to the area of Dog Bay North (now
Stoneville). This first permanent settler was Robert Hodder who moved to Dog
Bay from Fogo and engaged in the salmon fishery on the Nor’West River during the
summer months. The first recorded death and burial in Dog Bay was Robert
Hodder’s son, John Hodder, who died in 1842 and is buried on Graveyard Point at
the mouth of the Nor’West River and his headstone is still standing today. The
Beothucks were also present in the area at the time because it is believed they
took up residence on Morris Point directly across from Mr. Hodder’s home and
they were constantly a threat to his salmon
fishery.
original name of the community. The community of Dog Bay first became
attractive as a winter residence for people from Fogo Island in the mid to late
1800’s. They would come to Dog Bay in the late fall, and live in “tilts” or log
cabins, spend the winter cutting wood to be used for wharves, stages, boat
building and firewood which they would pile on the ice in the bay. When spring
came the firewood and logs were loaded unto Bullys, boats smaller than
schooners, and transported back to various communities on Fogo Island, leaving
Dog Bay virtually deserted for the summer months.
The first people to take up permanent residence in Dog
Bay (now Horwood) were William Cull, John Blakey, Henry Wells and their families
who arrived in the 1890’s. William Cull built the first house (as apposed to a
tilt), which was the first house on the left side of the road as you entered the
community. In recent years the house has been torn down and replaced by a much
newer house, and more modern houses have been built on the same stretch of
land.
John Cater, one of the many residents who came to Dog Bay
in search of timber, was a very astute business oriented person and saw the
great potential for the establishment of a pit-prop operation in Dog Bay around
the year 1900. His business prospered because of the great demand for pit-props
in the mining industry in Buchans, Newfoundland and in Great Britain. But in
1902 the Horwood Lumber Company Limited moved in and bought up Mr. Cater’s
business and he, in turn, went to work for them. That same year the Horwood
Lumber Company Limited was incorporated in Dog Bay with assets of $153,000, a
fair sum of money in those days. By 1912 their assets had increased to $550.000.
By 1904 there was a mill, several bunk houses, a cook house and a wharf. The
company shipped in large numbers of horses each fall for use in the woods’
operation. But the young company suffered a severe set back that same year. Fire
destroyed the mill, the lumber and planks stockpiled in the yard, as well as a
number of other buildings in Dog Bay. When new facilities were constructed the
company added seven or eight new company houses which accommodated from one to
three families each. Also added was a company store with a post office. The
store proved to be a source of confrontation some years later. The company paid
their workers in scrip money which was only redeemable at the company store.
This forced the workers to shop at the company store and tied the workers
completely to the company in almost every way. In 1920 one brave soul, by the
name of Mr. Comer, decided to challenge this type of monopoly and opened his own
store in the community, which by this time had changed its name to Horwood
South, named after the major employer the Horwood Lumber Company Limited.
Mr.Comer didn’t have any shortage of customers but did run into a problem in
that his customers had a shortage of hard cash. He was forced to accept company
scrip from those who shopped in his store but the company refused to redeem it
for cash when he presented it at their office. Mr. Cromer appears to have been a
fighter, for he took the Horwood Lumber Company Limited, to court and the judge
ordered the company to exchange his scrip for cash at their office in Horwood
South. But having won his battle Mr. Comer closed his store, packed his bags,
and left Horwood for parts unknown. Perhaps his victory came too late to save
his business.
From 1902-1954 almost every man and many of their spouses
were gainfully employed by the Horwood Lumber Company Limited. It is not clear
exactly when the community became known as Horwood because in the census of
1911 it was called Horwood East and sometime during World War 1 the name
changed to Horwood South and Horwood North, taking on the Horwood family name,
founders of the Horwood Lumber Company Limited, finally the names were changed
to Horwood and Horwood North
(Stoneville).
The horses used in the woods’ operation were a
never-ending source of antagonism with the women of Horwood. When they weren’t
being used to haul logs, the company had a habit of turning them loose in the
community and they would eat all the vegetables that were set in the gardens by
the women each year. It was anticipated that with the advent of modernization
and the introduction of tractors to replace animals during World War 11 it might
put an end to the bitter battle. But upon hearing of the tractors, one women
from the community is reported to have said, “Yes, another thing to break down
our fences and eat all of our
vegetables.”
Although, the community still bears the company name, the
company has long left, ceasing operations in1954. Since that time some small
family operations have continued operating from Horwood and Stoneville and have
been very successful in the lumbering and logging
business.
Sometime before or shortly after the turn of the century
(1900 ) it was thought that there were commercially exploitable deposits of
copper in the area of Dog Bay Point and two shafts were drilled in the area now
known as Mine Cove but the bottom fell out (pardon the pun) of the copper
market and the operation was abandoned. It is not known if, or where any records
exist of this operation other than local oral history. The shafts still exist as
the only visible record of this
venture.
All of our schools have closed and the children are bused
to various centralized locations. The Salvation Army is the only church that is
opened on a continuous basis. The Orange Lodge has been closed for some time
now, but once had 70 Loyal Orange Lodge members in its “hey” day. We have one
Superette in our community, A& B Quality Mart, which is doing quite well
and carries most of the necessities that we need. Many residents are
self-employed as contractors in various trades, such as, roofing, electrical,
renovations, etc. Several workers travel to Fort McMurray and are employed in
the oil industry and they work the turn around, which allows them usually 3-6
weeks in Alberta and the same amount of time back home, so they have the best
of both worlds.
Horwood is still a very nice place to live, even though
we have lost many of the amenities to which we had become accustomed. But we
have overcome a lot of those hurdles and today we have a fine Recreational
Centre which is the focal point of the community when it comes to recreational
activities, socializing and a place to hold community events. We have a
volunteer Fire Brigade with 20 plus volunteer members. Horwood is governed by
the Horwood Local Service District under the Municipalities Act and provides
fire protection, street lighting and garbage collection. Our local Post Office
is still operating in the community so that we can avail of the regular postal
services. It’s also a meeting place to see your friends and catch up on the
daily happenings around the community The Local Service District has also
received a provincially-funded program that will provide short-term employment
for 3 workers to work on phase (2) of an historical project, the Horwood Lumber
Company “Old Mill Site”. We are in the process of gathering all the historical
data, artifacts, local information, etc. from residents who worked for the
company; hopefully in the near future we’ll turn this milestone into a great
tourist attraction. It will also be a nostalgic and memorable site for our own
residents. We formed a 50+ club, two years ago, with a complement of 22
members, we meet bi-weekly and have a grand time performing light leisurely
exercises, not to mention the comradery we share with each other and the ever
lasting bonding of friendships that exist among us.
Horwood lies along the boundaries of Dog Bay on the South
side of the bay. At the opening of the bay it is approximately five miles
across from Dog Bay Point on the south side of the bay to Farewell Head on the
North side. There is an in-draught of approximately ten miles from the mouth of
Dog Bay to the bottom of Horwood which is now known as Sou’West Arm. If one
were to start at Dog Bay Point and journey up the bay by boat one would see
some of the finest scenery on the Island. From Dog Bay Point one would see the
most breathtaking scenery imaginable along the coastline, beginning with Mine
Cove, Salt Pond, Mine Cove Marsh, (bakeapples galore), Salt Pond Marsh, a
continuation of Mine Cove Marsh, (again bakeapples always plentiful), Little
Fox Cove, Big Fox Cove, (both coves abundant with lots of seabirds), Long
Beach, (beautiful sandy beach and crystal clear salt water), Two Mile Point,
(beautiful trees overlooking a rocky embankment), Island Cove, (the lower part
of Horwood), Horwood, (commonly
known as“Up The Mill”), Garden Cove, (the cove where the company stored booms of
logs), Cull’s Cove, Forky Brooks and finally Sou’West Arm. If one were to
journey along the North side of Dog Bay, which was of course once the boundaries
of Horwood North; from Farewell Head one would also encounter the thrill of a lifetime
by seeing one of the most beautiful and serene coastlines beginning with Hunt’s
Cove, Squashberry Cove, Stoneville, Nor’West River and finally Morris Point.
Very picturesque to view.
There are also many beautiful islands within close
proximity of the Dog Bay boundaries, just to mention a few; Dog Bay Islands,
Gander Bay Islands, Woody Island, Grassy Island, Copper Island, The Barracks
Rocks. The Green Island, The Ridin’ Islands and the Whales Island.
With all of those exhilarating, beautiful, breathtaking
landscapes surrounding us just waiting to be fully explored and enjoyed, why on
God’s green earth, would anyone want to go on a Caribbean Cruise or travel to
Hawaii to feel the warm breezes blowing upon their faces when we have all those
treasures and comforts here at home waiting to be embraced? We should fully
develop our Tour Boat Industry and have all those tourists from down in the
warm climes come here and visit us and really experience the breezes of a
Nor’Easter or Sou’Easter blowing upon their faces in the morning and waking them
up to one of God’s most wonderful creations and the most favorite place in the
world, the Island of Newfoundland and Labrador or better still the experience of
having a gentle Southerly or a Sou’Westerly breeze blowing a fresh, unpolluted
soft soothing warm
wind across their faces, just before they retire for a good night’s rest in their comfortable beds on this
beloved Island of ours.
The first recorded birth in Dog Bay was Pamela Simms,
born, to Nancy Simms, out of wedlock and fathered by an English Naval officer
Jeremiah Coughlan around 1776, while she lived with her parents in Dog Bay for
the winter. Jeremiah was sent to Fogo just prior to that date to organize the
fishermen into a fighting force to drive away the French and Americans should
they attack Fogo. Mr. Coughlan
later that year took Miss Simms and the baby, Pamela, to live with him in Fogo
and from there the three of them went to England to live two years later. At the
age of six, Pamela was taken to France where she became a companion for the
children of the Duke of Orleans who wanted a young English speaking girl as
their companion. The Duke’s children and Pamela were educated by a Madame de
Genlis who liked Pamela and went to England to get permission from the girl’s
mother to rear the child as their own, which she was able to do after paying
Pamela’s mother twenty five pounds. Pamela was reared and educated in France.
The Duke had a family portrait painted which included Pamela and this painting
is still hanging today in the Palace of Versailles. When Pamela was a little
older she married Lord Edward Fitzgerald, an Irish patriot, at Tourney in
France. Lord Fitzgerald was later killed in battle and in his will he left
everything to Pamela who later went to the Continent and married the U.S. Consul
to Germany, Mr. Piteairn. Later after their divorce, Pamela entered the convent
in France and died Nov.9, 1831 at the age of fifty-five.
It is not known how long before the birth of Pamela Simms
that people were spending the winter months in Dog Bay but it was not until
1821 that the first permanent settler moved to the area of Dog Bay North (now
Stoneville). This first permanent settler was Robert Hodder who moved to Dog
Bay from Fogo and engaged in the salmon fishery on the Nor’West River during the
summer months. The first recorded death and burial in Dog Bay was Robert
Hodder’s son, John Hodder, who died in 1842 and is buried on Graveyard Point at
the mouth of the Nor’West River and his headstone is still standing today. The
Beothucks were also present in the area at the time because it is believed they
took up residence on Morris Point directly across from Mr. Hodder’s home and
they were constantly a threat to his salmon
fishery.