Reprinted from Decks Awash, Volume 15, Number 6
November – December 1986
Photographs from MUN Digital Archives
(Click on photos to enlarge)
View of Long Beach looking west.
The communities of the Random area were grouped together in early census reports making it impossible to verify family claims that the Vyse family from Ireland settled at Grates Cove, changed their name to Voy and then Vey, and moved to Long Beach around 1836. Ted Vey places the date of arrival of the family from Trinity Bay South at around 1862, with earlier occupancy on a seasonal basis. They were certainly one of the first families in the area, as evidenced by the dominance of the Vey name in the 1884 Newfoundland Directory listings. The A very s most likely came from Devon, arriving in Trinity North in the 1850s and resettling in the Long Beach area before 1894 when several families were listed in the Newfoundland Directory.
The 1904 listing gives the names of 19 fishermen, including 12 Gosses. They probably moved from the Harbour Grace area in the mid-1800s. Durford is possibly a misprint for the Dunfords from Harbour Grace. The Barfitt family probably appeared in the 1860s, with the only concentration of the Barfitt name being in Long Beach.
Long Beach waterfront looking east.
The first census mention of Long Beach is in 1884, when there were 69 residents in 10 mainly Church of England families. A total of 46 men were fishing and 17 lumbering. At least 12 residents travelled to Labrador, and the small-boat fishermen operated 10 boats, 8 nets and seines and a cod trap, landing fish which returned $473. By 1891, a total of 39 inshore fishermen were listed for the community, plus 3 Labrador vessels with 23 men aboard, which landed 1,150 quintals of fish.
There were as many as seven schooners leaving for Labrador from Long Beach, with the Veys the last to continue into the 1940s or 1950s. Among the biggest vessels was the 70-ton Melba, although there were several others about the same size. She was built by Henry Schnare in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, in 1902, and rebuilt in New Bonaventure in 1924. The fishery had declined somewhat by 1911, when there were only 23 inshore fishermen and one Labrador vessel. The small-boat fishermen did land fish which returned $6,222, and the sole Labrador schooner caught 1,220 quintals for the summer.
Long Beach was a major fishing community, but it was also heavily involved in logging, with the Vey sawmill the only one with a tractor, horses being the normal means of transportation. Most goods were brought in by schooner during the ice-free months of the year. Later on, the railway was used during the winter.
St. Mark’s Anglican Church
The Church of England congregation of Long Beach worshipped at a chapel in the school on the hill above the present church. St. Mark’s Church wasn’t built until the 1890s. James Avery, of Deep Bight, did most of the carpentry work, together with John Barfett, who was a lay reader for many years. A new school was built near the beach and later floated down to Island Cove. The third Anglican school was completed in 1949 and became the Long Beach Community Centre when it closed in 1977. A United Church school was built soon after the second Anglican school. By the early 1970s, the Anglican church was ready to be replaced. The cornerstone for the new church was laid on August 22, 1976, by the Reverend David Hewitt, and the church officially opened in December 1977, with its consecration on April 26, 1981. Much of the furniture came from the old church. The bell came from St. Mary’s the Virgin of Hodge’s Cove, but it was soon replaced by chimes and the bell was donated to St. Aidan’s in Queens Cove.
Long Beach United Church
The fishery was again the main economic activity for the population of 132 in 24 Church of England and United Church families in 1935. A total of four vessels with a combined weight of 222 tons went to Labrador, and the local small-boat fishermen set 17 traps and 15 nets, landing cod, herring and caplin to a value of $12,270.
New families have moved in since resettlement, with the last Barfords (Barfitts) having left. The 1981 population was 142 in 39 households. Most local employment is in the fishery, with many residents seeking employment elsewhere as carpenters.
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See also the community history under Communities
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Transcribed by Wanda Garrett
These transcriptions may contain human errors. As always, confirm these as you would any other source material.