Klondyke construction a proof of trailblazing spirit

The construction of the Klondyke causeway connecting Coley’s Point and Bay Roberts proper, from which the Kloyndyke Days festival owes its name, is a story of pluck and determination.

In the past, folks, along with their cargo, had to be ferried across the harbour to Coley’s Point from the commercial centre of Bay Roberts– or walk around the harbour, which could take hours deepening on where you needed to go. In the 1890s, the government rejected a proposal to connect the two communities, citing a lack of funds. Following this, two Coley’s Point women went door-to-door with a petition, and at a public meeting, residents decided they would build a causeway themselves.

The failure of the Labrador fishery financially affected many residents in the Bay Roberts and Coley’s Point areas. As a result, the government decided to pay men, women and children one dollar a week to collect rocks to build the causeway, which was completed in 1898 and still standing to this day.

The community of Coley’s Point was originally called Cold East Point, the corruption of which eventually led to its current name. It seems to have been settled after the east end of the Bay Robert’s peninsula, but before Shearstown and Country Road. The earliest reference to settlers in Coley’s Point is found in Reverend Martin Blackmore’s 1800 text History of Bay Roberts, in which he mention Coley’s Point residents T.M. Russell and J. Churchill. However, it is likely that fishermen were using Coley’s Point’s beach much earlier than this.

Some notable individuals originating from Coley’s Point include playwright David French, famous for his plays about the fictional Mercer family, and Ted Russell, author of the Tales from Pigeon Inlet.

The Road to Yesterday Museum and Art Gallery, located on Water Street in Bay Roberts, features various artifacts relating to Coley’s Point, with one of its most prominent displays being the forge of William Littlejohn. Littlejohn, a resident of Coley’s Point, started his forge around 1900. He specialized in making wheel rims and sled runners, as well as shoeing horses. The forge remained open until Littlejohn retired in the mid 1960s. Original tools, ashes, brick, and the furnace itself from Littlejohn’s forge are on display at the Road to Yesterday Museum, which anyone can visit free of charge.

The Road to Yesterday Museum provided historical information for this article.