Pinware, Newfoundland and Labrador

Pinware Pied Noir
Town
Pinware, NL. Population 107 (2011 Census)
Coordinates: 51°37′19″N 56°42′50″W / 51.62194°N 56.71389°W / 51.62194; -56.71389
Country	Canada
Province	Newfoundland and Labrador
Incorporated	1978
Government
• Type	Municipal Council
• Mayor	Didier Naulleau
• Treasurer	Elaine Pike
• Vice-Treasurer	Richard Beals
• Councillor	Joanne Dorey
Population (2017)
• Total	75
Time zone	Newfoundland Time (UTC-3:30)
• Summer (DST)	Newfoundland Daylight (UTC-2:30)
Area code(s)	709
Highways	Route 510

Pinware is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The town has a population of 88, according to the Canada 2016 Census.

The town is located along Route 510 in Labrador, between L'Anse-au-Diable and Red Bay.

Pinware is a fishing village in Southern Labrador, between Forteau and Red Bay. The community has been formerly known as Riviere des François, Pirouette River, and Black Bay. It is believed the name is a corruption of Pied Noir (black foot) from the shape of a rock found at the mouth of Black Rock Brook.

Some of the better timber stands in the region are located along the Pinware River, which is also known for salmon. Artifacts discovered adjacent to the town of Pinware indicate, from radiocarbon dating, that Pinware Hill is one of the earliest Palaeo Indian archaeological sites in the province, dating back nearly 9000 years. Many different Aboriginal cultures lived in the area of Pinware from time to time. The longest time of habitation was probably during the Maritime Archaic period. A burial monument near L’anse Amour, just south of Pinware, dating to 7500 years ago, is attributed to the Maritime Archaic and is the oldest such mound in North America, maybe even the world. Later, Pre-Dorset Palaeo-Eskimos used the rich marine resources found at Pinware. They were followed by the Groswater Palaeo-Eskimos and then the Dorset Paleo-Eskimo cultures who also utilized the rich marine resources while continuing their migration southward to the Island of Newfoundland. Europeans were attracted to the area in the 16th century for the rich marine resources just as the Indigenous peoples were.

The Basque who operated one of the New World’s earliest whaling stations at Red Bay, more than likely travelled to Pinware for various reasons, one of which may have been firewood. Jacques Cartier may have visited the area in 1534. By the 1600s some French fishermen lived in big summer houses, caught & dried their fish, and barked their twine in a big iron barking pot that can still be seen at Ship Head. Pierre Constantin, a merchant, was given control of the area in 1715. A trading post was opened and the seal hunt and salmon fishery were integral to its operation. Later, the English merchants of Noble and Pinson established a post there.