 The community of Baie Verte is located on the Northeast coast of Newfoundland and Labrador on the Baie Verte Peninsula in White Bay. Baie Verte existed as a small community in the late 1800's and early 1900's but with the discovery of asbestos and other ore bodies of copper, lead, zinc and gold in the mid 1950's the town flourished. With the subsequent development of the mining industry,
the population grew from approximately 1000 in 1960, to 2500 by the late seventies. However, with the decline in this same mining industry, and the unfortunate out-migration of many of the trained miners and their families, the population as of the 2001 census is 1492 down from 1708 in 1996 census.
It exists today as a somewhat rural Newfoundland and Labrador community. However, it differs significantly in that it has a substantial recreational and industrial infrastructure inherited from its period of industrial growth from 1960 to 1980.
Baie Verte is an incorporated community (1958) with conventional water and sewer systems, a 16-kilometer paved street system and a connecting all-season paved highway (64km) to the Trans Canada Highway system. The town’s infrastructure includes:
Baie Verte Peninsula Health Centre
Dental Clinic
Acute Care
Chronic Care
X-Ray and Ultrasound Dept.
Visiting chiropractic and physiotherapist clinic
Outpatient Clinic
Public Health Nursing
Federal Government Departments
RCMP Detachment
Fisheries & Oceans
Human Resources & Employment
Provincial Government Departments
Works, Services, Transportation
Forestry & Wildlife
Recreational Facilities
Artificial Ice Stadium
5 Pin Bowling Alley
Heated Outdoor Swimming Pool
Soccer and Softball Fields
Tennis Courts and Playgrounds
Walking Trail (Blagdon’s Memorial Trail, Rattling Brook Trail)
Education Facilities
Copper Ridge Academy (Grades K-12)
College of the North Atlantic (Post-Secondary)
Accommodations
Baie Vista Inn
Dorset Country Inn
Post Office (3 employees, postal boxes at no cost to residents)
Bank of Nova Scotia
Insurance Companies
Emerald Business Development Corporation
Baie Verte Peninsula Economic Development Association
Volunteer Fire Department (28 firemen, fire alarm system, pagers)
Town Council Office and Public Library
Senior Citizens Homes (2)
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| Industry in Baie Verte |  Unlike many of the smaller surrounding communities, Baie Verte is not a fishery based community. Only 35 of its residents hold a fishing license-7 full-time and
28 part-time. Thirteen of these people are members of a fishing union. A total of 26 registered fishing vessels, ranging in size from below 19 feet up to 64 feet are owned by different people. There are no boat building facilities, processing plants, community stages, or marine service centers in Baie Verte. Any fishing activity carried on by the fisher people usually takes place in other communities. There are between 8-10 private wharves and stages scattered around the community.
Fisher people can obtain fishing supplies in Baie Verte, but as for a bait supplier, Marine Service Centre, etc. they travel to La Scie (52km by road). The only type of gear storage available is the fisher people’s own personal buildings.
Easterly and Northerly winds create harsh harbour conditions during storms. There are nine miles of usable shoreline around the long narrow harbour. The harbour is large enough for an icebreaker to maneuver. A leading light exists to guide ships/boats into the harbour.
Approximately six sawmills are in operation on the Baie Verte Peninsula during the months of June to November. Some of the mills are located in the town. There are also a number of logging contractors who cut wood for Kruger and Abitibi Price (pulp and paper companies).
Baie Verte’s economic base is not presently dependent upon mining. At present one mining company is operating on the Baie Verte Peninsula. Richmont is operating at Nugget Pond, which is located between Snook’s Arm and Nipper’s Harbour, and they are mining for gold.
Baie Verte has a varied business sector. The town has generally been the commercial and service centre for the nearby communities. During the 1980's with the closure of the town’s major employer and the cod moratorium of the early 1990's there was an understandable down turn in the business sector. In the last few years, with a measure of economic regrowth being experienced in the area, new businesses are opening to meet the needs of the region.
Presently, there are approximately seventy businesses, from sales, services and industrial sectors operating from the town of Baie Verte. |
| History of Baie Verte |  Baie Verte was first settled by the French in the late 1600's. English settlers arrived in the late 1870's but the French controlled the area until 1904.
In 1911, with a population of 68, there were lumbers, fishermen, mechanics, miners, a few trappers (beavers) and one office worker.
In 1939, Mrs. Ella Whalen opened the first post and telegraph office. The following year, planes were used instead of dog teams to deliver mail in winter. Boats were used during the summer months. A Bank of Nova Scotia opened in
1957. The next year, in 1958, the town was incorporated with William Eaton appointed as Mayor.
In 1891, Baie Verte had a population of 13 people. By 1911, there were 68
residents. The large increase from 282 people in 1945 to 650 people in 1946 was attributed to a rash of land sales by Bowater. Statistics show a steady increase in population to 2692 residents in 1981. However, by 1986 it had begun to decline with 1900 in 1995.
In the late 1930's, Baie Verte became a depot for Bowater Pulp and Paper Company. Thus, forestry became the most important industry. Bowater employed over 600 men, not all residents of Baie Verte. The company built a staff house, manager’s house, clinic, warehouse, and store. The first manager of Bowater was Ronald Porter, followed by Roy Johnson and John Bulley.
A first aid man ran the clinic during its first few years of operation. Then a nurse and doctor (Dr. Howse) took over.
During the 1850's, the Terra Nova Mine, a copper/sulfur mine, opened. The mine was in operation until 1916 and, while in operation, employed approximately 200
men. It is believed that the mine was sabotaged by a German official in 1915. Whether or not this story is true, the mine closed a year later due to the fact that no further deposits could be found.
In 1955, George McNaughton and Norman Peters discovered asbestos in Baie Verte. Asbestos became a very valuable mineral and was very high in demand. Advocate Mines Ltd., owned by John Mansville, was in operation mining asbestos in 1963. It was an open pit mine which employed 500 people. There was a week long shutdown in 1981 and another for three months the following year. Baie Verte Mines Inc. reopened the mine in 1982. After that time, there were several temporary shutdowns. In 1991 Teranova took over the mine. It
then changed from a dry to a wet processing mine. In turn, the number of employees decreased to between 70 and 80. Teranova Mines closed permanently in 1995.Consolidated rambler Mines Ltd. opened in 1964. It employed approximately 200 men. This mine closed in 1982. |
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