Anchor Point, Newfoundland and Labrador

Anchor Point is a town located in St. Barbe Bay, south of Flower's Cove on the west side of the Great Northern Peninsula, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It was the first English settlement on what is called the 'French Shore' of Newfoundland.HistoryAnchor Point was first settled by Robert Bartlett, a British seaman, and his nephew Robert Genge, both from Yeovil, Somerset, England in 1740. They used the cove as a base for fishing and fur hunting from Anchor Point to Bartlett's Harbour in the late 18th century. Robert Bartlett eventually returned to England while Robert Genge was joined by his brother Abram, who employed men from England seasonally to sell his furs and fish to American vessels. Trapping, salmon fishing and sealing were very important industries of Anchor Point in the 19th century. His descendant, William Genge, was the first Waymaster in 1885. By the 1850s, Anchor Point was established as a commercial center for fur trading and fishing on the St. Barbe coast. The land around Anchor Point was also very productive with excellent pasture which led to extensive cultivation of the land and the raising of livestock.