Pool's Island, Newfoundland and Labrador

Pool's Island is an incorporated community of Badger's Quay-Valleyfield-Pool's Island in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is now part of the town of New-Wes-Valley.

Pool's Island was named Fool's Island up until the 1850s. It was visited in the late 18th century by migratory fishermen but permanent settlement did not begin until about 1800 by seal fishermen and inshore cod fishermen. The first known resident was Anne Jeans, recorded in 1815. By 1821, a sealing captain from Greenspond, William Knee, was living on Pool's Island, and in 1823, a Jacob Preston was there. Other family names that came to Pool's Island were Kean, Ayles, Pope, Dalton, and Davis; many of these settlers came from Flowers Island. There was a rapid increase in population between 1845 and 1869 when the population grew from 177 to 524, mainly because of the Labrador seal hunt and Pool's Island was in the path of the harp seal migration route. The growth of Pool's Island eventually led to the growth of communities surrounding it, such as Valleyfield and Badger's Quay.

In 1836, nine people out of the 112 on Pool's Island were Roman Catholic, the rest were Church of England. By 1845 there was a Roman Catholic school and church on the island. There was no resident minister in Pool's Island so Missionaries from other communities would visit Pool's Island for services, baptisms, burials, and marriages. In 1865 the St. James Anglican Church was built on Pool's Island and was consecrated on September 24, 1865 by Bishop Edward Feild.

As early as 1830 children were being educated on Pool's Island, a building on the island was used as a school until the first school was built in 1862. In 1841 there were 30 students under John Spurrell, and in 1848 there were 48 students. The next teacher was William Murch from England who taught from 1858 to 1873. A new school room was built on Pool's Island in 1883. In 1895 C.W. Prowse wrote in his history of Newfoundland that the branch school at Pool's Island was established in 1829 and was being run by a branch teacher with 20 pupils in day school and 27 in Sunday school.

The seal fishery played an enormous role in the permanent settlement and growth of Pool's Island. Because of its prime location for the seal fishery many captains and steamers operated out of Pool's Island. Chafe's Sealing Book lists several steamers from Pool's Island that were a part of the St. John's steam sealing fleet from 1863 to 1894. These ships, their master, and the supplier are as follows:

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