Town History

Located on the northern side of Bonne Bay, Norris Point is named after one of its first settlers, Neddy Norris, who came to the area with his wife and children between 1789 and 1790. The Norris’s apparently disappeared or left the area and consequently there is no official account of their residency.

William and Charlotte Humber from Dorset, England are listed as the first permanent settlers of Norris Point, arriving in 1833. No other families resided in Norris Point until the spring of 1858. At this time, George and Susannah Harding, Matthew and Frances Smith (Harding’s brother and sister-in-law) and other extended family members left Burnt Island and sailed to the coast of Labrador for the summer fishery. Their ship was caught in a heavy gale and they sought shelter at Whales Cove, currently called Wild Cove.

Rather than continue to Codroy when the storm subsided two days later, the Hardings and Smiths continued to Norris Point, where they erected temporary living quarters. In the fall they returned to build permanent houses.

Future residents of Norris Point originated from England, Ireland and Scotland and came mainly because of the fall herring fishery and, like the others, found Bonne Bay to be a convenient location from which to access the coastal waters of Labrador. Their primary sources of employment included the lobster fishery; five local lobster factories and a herring fishery had been established in Norris Point. Although fishing was the dominant industry, fur trapping also provided a supplemental source of income.