St. John’s, Newfoundland: North America’s Oldest City

One day I realized that I hadn’t been anywhere in Canada for a while. As I thought more about it, my attention was drawn toward the east, toward Labrador and Newfoundland. Logistics to Labrador were tricky. Newfoundland is easy to get to, has a city to stay in, and is beautiful, rugged and remote. It’s a bit off the tourist trail for U.S. visitors. And it’s a long way away, about half way to London for us east coasters. A long way from the rest of Canada, too.

What finally drew me there? Partly, it might have been that remoteness, that being on the edge. And maybe it was an old Audubon magazine with an article about puffins. They are so cute and the largest North American colony of Atlantic puffins is off Newfoundland. Then there are superlatives. Newfoundland is the easternmost tip of Canada. St. John’s is the oldest city in North America. I like the north. All these things came together over a few days and I decided to go.

The Oldest City in North America – a Few Facts

St. John’s is the capital of the Canadian Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It’s remote, but then not so remote. From St. John’s to New York, it’s a four-hour flight. But it’s also only four and a half hours’ flying to London or Dublin. St. John’s is the easternmost city in North America. Cape Spear, just down the road is the eastern tip of Canada. It’s where they say Canada begins or ends, depending on which way you’re going.

St. John’s harbor

There is wildlife to see – there are those puffins and much besides, especially the moose that can wreck your car. So watch out. And don’t forget the dogs. Someone said when I told them about my trip, “There’s a dog named Newfoundland, isn’t there?” This is the very homeland of the Newfoundland dog! And the Labrador dog (yes, it’s from Newfoundland, not Labrador)! It’s hard to beat a pair like that.

As far as European settlements in North America go, St. John’s and Newfoundland are likely the oldest. After Columbus stumbled into the Americas in 1492, the English hastened to get into the action. In 1497 John Cabot arrived in Newfoundland and claimed it for England. In the late 1500s, the explorer and promoter Sir Humphrey Gilbert got a charter from Queen Elizabeth I to plant a colony in North America, and in 1583, he arrived in St. John’s and staked his claim. When he entered the St. John’s harbor he found 36 ships “of all nations.” St. John’s might be a new claim for Gilbert, but the Vikings had come here hundreds of years before, and Europeans had been fishing the abundant cod fish and sheltering in St. John’s harbor for generations. When Gilbert arrived, the English “found no inhabitants” in the south, but did in the north. The local people, he figured, had abandoned the south because of the European traffic.

Old it is, but Newfoundland is the newest Province of Canada. Newfoundland was a Dominion of the British Empire until after World War II. It joined Canada in 1949.

Newfoundland is one big island. It’s bigger than Ireland or Iceland. Bigger than Cuba, and bigger than Tasmania. By latitude, St. John’s is south of Paris and all but a tiny bit of Newfoundland is south of Ireland. But it has a northern climate. Keep this in mind even in summer. Newfoundland sits out in the “storm-tossed, ice-infested North Atlantic waters” as I read on a sign honoring Newfoundland seamen, and the weather can turn chilly and rainy even in the summer season. But it has the third mildest winter in Canada and cool to warm summers. And clean air. Very clean air. Go to Newfoundland to admire the views and breathe.

So what did I do with six days to spend? See my St. John’s posts about my excursions and out and about in town for that!

Trip date: May-June 2016.

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