Upper Humber Villages In Existence Before Reidville

Nicholsville
Nicholsville was the first settlement established on the Upper Humber River. It is located at the mouth of the Humber River as it empties into Deer Lake. George Aaron Nichols first settled there during the spring of 1868 . Harriet (Widdon) Nichols and he had nine children; George Aaron Jr., John, William, Norman, Edward, Freddy, Bertha, Lydia and Emma.

Junction Brook
Junction Brook is the only major tributary encountered before reaching the Cache Rapids when moving upstream on the right side of the Humber River. It is approximately 8 kilometers from Deer Lake. During the early 1920's several families from around the province settled at Junction Brook. The 1935 Census of Newfoundland list the following families living there at that time. Isaac and Gertrude Stuckless with 7 children; Samuel Feltham; Nathaniel and Hazel King; Daniel Feltham; Violet Feltham; Charles and Anne Collins; William and Susanna Harding and 2 children; Emma Collins; Florence Collins; William and Margaret Parsons and 5 children; Willis Elms; Garland Burt; Maxwell Burt; Abraham and Beatrice Feltham and 2 children. Later Edward Hounsell settled at Junction Brook, married Mamie Feltham and they had 5 children. Fred Osmond also lived here for a period of time.

Steadman’s Field
Around 1922 Steadman Reid left Neddy (Neddie's) Harbour, Bonne Bay, travelled to Nicholsville and found work with Norman Nichols, son of George Aaron Sr. This was an opportune time to relocate to the Upper Humber area because of the investment into the Deer Lake Power System. With the damming of Junction Brook (Main Dam), the dredging of the Canal, the construction of the Intake, Penstocks and the Power House itself, prosperity was experienced for the next five years. Steadman helped cut huge pine to sell at the sawmill in Corner Brook, guided tourists on hunting and fishing excursions, and cut right-of-way for telephone lines. He met Francis Cook from Grand Falls and they were married around 1926-7. Steadman received a contract to cut pulpwood along the river east of Junction Brook. They settled on this strip of land, cleared it, built their homestead and had a family of six children - Douglas Phillip(b.1927), Annie Florence(b.1928), Muriel Stella(b.1929), Arthur Garland(b.1936), Irene Hilda(b.1946), and Pearl Gladys Lillian(b.1953). During the early 1930's Steadman worked for the IP&P company to maintain its four water gauges. These stretched across the Humber River at various locations from Seal Pond to Birchy Bottom Forks. Once a month he would make his way up river by canoe in summer or by dog team in winter to check the water conditions.

Janes’ Field
About two kilometers down river from the Steadman’s Field settled several other families. Sometimes referred to as Janes’ Field were Harry Janes, George Janes, Roll Janes, Garfield Rumbolt and Cyril Goosney. Harry owned a store and people from the other small communities along the river found some of their goods here. When Harry didn’t have the necessary products they would walk inland to the Junction Brook road which led to Deer Lake and other larger stores.

 
Rocky Brook - Old Bonne Bay Road
When moving upstream on the left side of the Humber River from Nicholsville there are several major tributaries encountered before reaching the Cache Rapids. These include Rocky Brook, Cool Brook, Trout Brook, and The Gulch, respectively. The old Bonne Bay Road met the Humber River west of Rocky Brook. Originally, it was a trail used to travel by horse or oxen from Deer Lake to Lomond. A small barge on the river served to transport people and goods from one side to the other. Today the Humber River Bridge next to the Newfoundland Insectarium is located about one kilometer east of where the barge operated. On the opposite side of the river beginning at the Pine Tree the Junction Brook Road would intersect the Old Bonne Bay Road as it led to Deer Lake. The 1935 Census of Newfoundland list two families living at Rocky Brook during that time; Edward and Maude Janes with 11 children and Elizabeth Hoddinott and her son Ludwick. This settlement was actually located about 5 km North of the river but near Rocky Brook where the COTC building was located. The families here operated a wood camp for Bowaters Pulp and Paper Company.

Johnny White’s Field
Just west of the Gulch were forest of timber that attracted loggers and farmers alike. During the late 1920's and early 1930's several families settled in this area. This included Joseph (Joe) Young, Johnny Young, Isaac Stuckless, Mark Stuckless and their families.

Barr’s Beach
Further west along the river bank several other families set up homesteads at Barr’s Beach. These included Harold Young, Noah Rogers, and Fred Barrow.

Cache Rapids
The Cache Rapids is the first set of white water rapids that make water transportation in boat or tug impassable after leaving Deer Lake. Around the mid 1920's Chesley (Chess) Cross and Norman (Norm) Moss settled on the left bank heading upstream at Cache Rapids. Chess constructed a sawmill and cut logs in the area. The lumber was used for personal use or sold to the NP&P company for construction, Newfoundland Railway as railway ties, poles to the Telephone company or local jobbers for home construction. The area had a tremendous supply of white pine, fir and spruce trees that made the mill a success. Chess, Norm and their families provided for themselves by raising their own animals, growing vegetables, hunting wild game, and fishing the river. However, like the other workers living along the river they would canoe down stream to Janes’ store or Deer Lake to buy goods that they could not acquire otherwise.

Deer Lake
In 1985 Gordon Clarke researched the history of education in Deer Lake. He stated;

"In 1915, during the second administration of Prime Minister Edward Morris, the Newfoundland Products Corporation Limited, originally a subsidiary of Reid Newfoundland Company, did a survey of the Humber Valley with the idea of establishing a chemical mill in the area. However, plans were deferred because of World War I. After the war, during the first administration of Prime Minister Richard Squires, the development of the hydro-electric and timber resources of the Humber Valley became of vital importance to Newfoundland’s depressed economy. As a result, in 1922 the Newfoundland Power and Paper Company Limited, as the company was now called, under the control of the British engineering firm of Armstrong-Whitworth Company Limited, again sent survey crews to the area. A hydro-electric station and a paper mill were to be constructed at Deer Lake. Paper was to be shipped thirty miles by rail to Corner Brook for export. However, a last minute change was made to take advances in the transmission of electricity over long distances. The paper mill would now be constructed at Corner Brook, and the hydro-electric plant would be built at Deer Lake. The electricity produced at Deer Lake would be sent to the mill in Corner Brook by means of transmission lines to be constructed between the two centers.

Preliminary work continued through the winter of 1922-1923, and by July of 1923, while actual construction of the power project got started, Deer Lake was a beehive of industrial activity. Hundreds of men were working in the area, and some workers had already brought their families."

The full report may be viewed on the Elwood High School Web site. People came to Deer Lake and surrounding communities from many outports around the Newfoundland coast. People came from Bonne Bay and the Northern Peninsula, from White Bay, and beyond. To get there, families had to walk miles with their belongings to reach either the Newfoundland Railway or the community they would settle at. In many cases this involved movement with a horse, an oxen, or a dog team and any other domestic animals the family could transport - hens, sheep, goats, pigs and pets (usually dogs or cats). In addition, tools would have to be carried so that a new home could be constructed upon arrival. Generally these tools would include an axe, a buck saw, possibly a hand saw, wooden block plane, hand chisels, spoke shave, drawknife, hammer, boxwood or ivory rule, bit brace, wood auger, and possibly an agricultural plow or furrow. Upon arrival to Deer Lake or the Humber River newcomers usually boarded with another family until they were able to build lodging of their own. Quite often the first shelter was a small log cabin or a "tar paper shack" crudely constructed to house the family. Later a new home may be built or, in many cases, pieces would be built onto an existing structure to accommodate the family.

Web site created by Clifford G. Reid: CGR Webs ©2010.