*****Lawn*****Newfoundland
*****Lawn*****
The abundance of fish in the waters surrounding Lawn attracted
the first permanent settlers in the late 1700's, the O'Conner family
from County Cork, Ireland. By 1836 Lawn had a population of 107,
then by 1851 the settlement split into two and became known as
Great Lawn and Little Lawn. Great Lawn began as mainly a
summer fishing base. It eventually became one of the best
inshore fishing harbours of the Burin Peninsula by the late
1800's and early 1900's.
A salmon fishery eventually joined the already successful cod
and capelin fisheries, at first by bar nets set across the entrance
to two small rivers, then by schooners after the mid-1800's.
Then came the herring and sealing fisheries and by 1891 a
lobster factory employed eight people.
By 1874 there were 279 people living in Lawn with the Edwards,
Murphy, Pike, Strang, Tarrant and Walsh families comprising
the majority of the population. This includes my Great
Grandfather William Tarrant, born in 1871, my Great
Grandmother Mary Lydia Tarrant, born in 1874, from my
fathers side. Also my Great Grandfather Joseph Strang, born
in 1872, and Great Grandmother Veronica Strang,
born in 1883, from my Grandmother, Angela Strang's side
Between the years of 1921 and 1935 the population increased
to 503 due in part to the fluorspar mines that open in nearby
St. Lawrence. In the early 1950's a fishplant was constructed
in Lawn and operated sporatically for several years until it was
turned into an abattoir and meat-processing pland in the 1970's.
By 1971 the population had swelled to over 1000, thanks mostly to
the government's resettlement program, implimented by the mid
1960's. Smaller outports like Webbers and Roundabout were
moved to designated growth centres like Lawn. In 1990 many
resident either worked at the fishplant in Marystown or on
draggers, with about 60 to 70 people still involved with the
inshore fishery. In 1996 the population was holding strong at 957.
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