Don’t miss the Barbour Living Heritage Village in Newtown, Newfoundland

by Keith and Heather Nicol

The Village also features a Sealer's Interpretation Centre

          Over the past several years we have been making more trips to explore Central Newfoundland. Last year we enjoyed our first ever visit to Conne River and seeing other places on the Connaigre Peninsula along the south coast of the province. This year we decided to head to Newtown on the northeast coast with the specific goal of visiting the Barbour Living Heritage Village. Not only had we never been along this shore but the Barbour Living Heritage Village is also featured on the cover of this year’s Newfoundland tourism map and booklet. If you are not familiar with the photo it features a little girl on a wharf waving to someone in a small boat just off shore with bright yellow buildings in the background.

The Barbour Living Heritage Village is located along the rocky shores of Newtown

      This “village” is well worth visiting since there are several people dressed in period costume that guide you through various buildings which focus on the Barbour family fishing operation. The original houses date from the mid 1870’s and early 1900’s and they have many original furnishings. They also have a Sealer’s Interpretation Centre which focuses on the importance of sealing in many places along this northeast coast of the province. We thought that the interpreters did a very good job of explaining what life was like over a hundred years ago along this coast. You will also be amazed by the remarkable story of the Nepture II that was disabled by hurricane force winds and drifted for 48 days in the Atlantic before coming ashore in Scotland in January, 1930! Newtown has also been called the “Venice of Newfoundland” due to the many narrow rock channels that the community has been built around and they even have a gondola tied up to one of the wharfs. Newtown is located north of Gambo on Highway 320 and for more information on the Barbour Living Heritage Village see: http://www.barbour-site.com/

Looking toward the Benjamin Barbour house finished in 1875

   Nearby we visited Norton’s Cove Studio in Brookfield. Here printmaker Janet Davis has many pictures for sale and has her press for making prints in an adjacent room. The studio is in a restored 1890’s general store and is open year around. Although Janet wasn’t in when we toured her studio, her web site (http://www.nortonscovestudio.com/) shows the interesting print making process. We especially liked her prints of cod and caplin. 

Inside the Norton's Cove Studio in Brookfield