New Perlican
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People have been living in New Perlican for over 300 years. The earliest records we have for New Perlican, come from letters written by Thomas Rowley. Thomas had been living in Cupers Cove since at least 1612. In 1618, he replaced Henry Crout as Sir Percival Willoughby's agent in Newfoundland. Thomas planned to settle on Sir Percival's land in Trinity Bay. He chose New Perlican as the place he would settle.
Report from Thomas Rowley - Winter 1619 - 1620
New Perlican Harbour. (Photo: Joe LaFitte)
Thomas told Sir Percival that the fishing in New Perlican was “as good as any in the land”. He planned to move there in 1620 and build a house. He said that once he was settled he would make his living by fishing, farming and trading with the Beothuk. Thomas must have spent some time in New Perlican and may have fished there but we don't know if he ever moved there to live.
The Hefford Family
William Hefford Headstone. (Image by William Gilbert. Reproduced with permission from the Baccalieu Trail Heritage Corporation.)
New Perlican was settled by 1675. A census of Newfoundland taken in that year says that two planters were living there. Their names were Edward House and William Hefford. Edward was single but William was married and had one son.
William seems to have made a good living at New Perlican. The 1677 census says that he owned one dwelling house, nine store rooms and lodging houses, and two boats. Some of the lodging houses were probably occupied by his six servants. He may have rented some of the other houses to the migratory fishermen who came to New Perlican every summer. Other planters came and went but the Heffords stayed on. Many Heffords still live in New Perlican and in other parts of Trinity Bay and Conception Bay.
Attacked by the French
New Perlican was attacked by the French on February 9, 1697. Abbe Baudoin, who called the settlement Nieu Perlican, said it contained 60 men, 9 planters, 11 boats, and 6600 codfish. He said: “This harbour of New Perlican is very nice, big ships can enter it. There are nine inhabitants and quantities of cattle” .
When the French arrived only two people were left in New Perlican. The rest had gone to Heart's Content where the English settlers had fortified a house. The French burned all the houses in New Perlican and moved on to Heart's Content.
Archaeology at New Perlican
New Perlican. (Image by William Gilbert. Reproduced with permission from the Baccalieu Trail Heritage Corporation.)
Despite all the problems faced by the early settlers at New Perlican, the town survived. In 2001, archaeologists from the Baccalieu Trail Heritage Corporation went to New Perlican to do a survey. After about a week the archaeologists found the remains of William Hefford's plantation. It was on the north side of the river that flows into New Perlican harbour. Since then thousands of artifacts have been found at the site.
In 2004, the archaeologists uncovered a pit that was once inside a 17th century building. They found burned wood at the bottom of the pit. This showed that the building had burned down. This may be one of the buildings burned by the French in February 1697.
Links
Cupers Cove ? Early English Settlement
The Building Blocks of a Colony
Cupers Cove's First Laws
A Year in the Life of a 17th Century Newfoundland Planter
Crout's Way
Journey of the Indeavour
John Mason in Cupers Cove
Squanto in Cupers Cove
John Berry's Census
Cupers Cove - Later Settlement
Using Archaeology to Understand the Life of a 17th Century Newfoundland Planter
Bay De Verde
Brigus
Bryant's Cove
Heart's Content
New Perlican
Old Perlican
Winterton (Scilly Cove)