About Corner Brook

The province of Newfoundland and Labrador is located off the east coast of Canada. Corner Brook is situated on the west coast of the island portion of the province. The people of Newfoundland and Labrador are known worldwide for their open and friendly nature and their unwavering hospitality. The people of Corner Brook live up to this reputation.

The City is nestled among the folded and faulted Long Range Mountains, which are a continuation of the Appalachian Mountain belt, stretching up from Georgia in the southern United States. Set at the mouth of the Bay of Islands, the City is 40 km (25 miles) inland from the open waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The landscape of the Corner Brook region is rugged and the scenery is spectacular. The surrounding coastline holds magnificent fjords, jagged headlands, thickly forested areas and many offshore islands. Wildlife, forest and water mingle with the City's borders on all sides and mountains fill the horizon in all directions.

History

The history of the Corner Brook region is long and diverse. For thousands of years, people have lived and worked along the shores of the Bay of Islands and in the Humber River Valley, including two aboriginal groups - the Maritime Archaic Indians and the Beothuk people.

James Cook, the famous British cartographer and explorer was the first to survey and record the geography of the Bay of Islands. Throughout the summer of 1767 he surveyed most of the area and copies of the maps he created are displayed at the Captain James Cook Monument in Corner Brook.

The area served as a meeting, marketing and distribution point for local fisherman, who fished the Strait of Belle Isle by summer and spent the winters working in Corner Brook's lumber woods. Permanent settlement came as a result of the island-wide railway system and the construction of the pulp and paper mill in the mid-1920s. During the war years of 1939-1945, both the pulp and paper industry and the fishery were booming and Corner Brook was prosperous. Soon after the end of World War II, a cement plant and a gypsum wallboard plant were established, creating new jobs in addition to those already available at the area¹s three fish processing plants, and at the paper mill.

Four distinct communities with unique commercial activities had developed along the shores of the Bay of Islands. Curling with its fishery; Corner Brook West (also known as Humber West or Westside) with its retail businesses; Corner Brook East (also known as Humbermouth and the Heights) with its railway operations; and Townsite (known as Corner Brook), home to the employees of the pulp and paper mill. In 1956, these four communities were amalgamated to form the present-day City of Corner Brook. A year full activities and events are being planned for 2006 to mark Corner Brook's 50th Anniversary.

Arts and Culture

Theatre and art are alive in Corner Brook. Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador (TNL), one of the province's only professional theatre companies, maintains its home office in Corner Brook. The Arts and Culture Centre sets the stage for visiting productions - ballet companies, comedians, theatrical productions and musical artists all make Corner Brook a stop on their Canadian tours.

The visual arts are also thriving in Corner Brook. Painters, photographers and sculptors find inspiration in the landscape and culture of Corner Brook and a number of art galleries display and sell their work. Those interested in visual art can study at Memorial University of Newfoundland's Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, which has offered a Bachelor of Fine Arts program since 1988.

International Sports and Entertainment Events

Corner Brook is Newfoundland and Labrador's "Host City." Our vibrant community is ideally positioned to host major sporting events. Here is a sample of some of the exciting events held in Corner Brook: