Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Stephenville
other_name =
native_name =
nickname =
settlement_type = Town
motto =

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imagesize =
image_caption = Overlooking the town of Stephenville


flag_size =
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pushpin_label_position = right
pushpin_map_caption = Location of Stephenville in Newfoundland
pushpin_mapsize =
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = CAN
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = NL
subdivision_type3 =
subdivision_name3 =
established_title =
established_date =
established_title2 = Incorporated
established_date2 = 1952
established_title3 =
established_date3 =
government_type =
government_footnotes =
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Tom O'Brien
leader_title1 = Governing body
leader_name1 = Stephenville Town Council
leader_title2 = MHAs
leader_name2 = Joan Burke
Tony Cornect
leader_title3 = MP
leader_name3 = Bill Matthews
unit_pref =
area_footnotes =
area_total_sq_mi =
area_total_km2 = 35.69
area_land_sq_mi =
area_land_km2 =
area_water_sq_mi =
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area_water_percent =
area_urban_sq_mi =
area_urban_km2 =
area_metro_km2 =
area_metro_sq_mi =
population_as_of = 2006
population_note =
population_footnotes = ref label|Stats_Canada|1|1(sc)
population_total = 6588
population_urban =
population_metro =
population_density_sq_mi =
population_density_km2 = 184.6
timezone = Newfoundland Time
utc_offset = -3:30
timezone_DST = Newfoundland Daylight
utc_offset_DST = -2:30
latd = 48
latm = 33
lats =
latNS = N
longd = 58
longm = 34
longs =
longEW = W
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_ft = 0 - 243
elevation_m = 0 - 74
postal_code_type = Postal code span
postal_code = A2N
area_code = 709
blank_name =Telephone Exchange
blank_info =643, 644, 645, 642, 648, 647, 646, 649
blank1_name =Median Family Income*
blank1_info =$42,228
blank2_name = NTS Map
blank2_info = 012B10
blank3_name = GNBC Code
blank3_info = AAXZD
website = [http://www.town.stephenville.nf.ca Town of Stephenville official website]
footnotes =*Median income in 2005 - All census families ($) Stephenville (2006 est. pop.: 6,500 [ [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=1004019&Geo2=PR&Code2=10&Data=Count&SearchText=stephenville&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom= Canadian Census 2006] ] ) is a Canadian town in Newfoundland and Labrador on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland.

The town functions as a local service centre for the southwestern part of the island, serving a direct population of 25,000 people from surrounding areas and over 90,000 people along the entire west coast of the island.

Stephenville has a modern 40 bed hospital (built in 2003), schools, stores, banks and government institutions. The provincial community college system, College of the North Atlantic, is headquartered in Stephenville and maintains a campus there for students from the southwestern region of the island. A provincial minimum security jail is also located in the town.

Geography

The town is located on the northeast coast of St. George's Bay in southwestern Newfoundland, and on the Atlantic Ocean. It is situated on a small plateau and surrounded by the Long Range Mountains and Lewis Hills on either side. The downtown area lies to the north of the Stephenville Airport, and the rest of the town expands primarily to the northwest.

Transportation

The Stephenville International Airport, formerly Ernest Harmon AFB, serves the entire west coast of the island - a catchment population of 90,000 people from Port aux Basques to St. Anthony, currently offering intraprovincial flights. And direct non-stop air service during the summer months to Toronto, Pearson International Airport.

is provided by Gateway Bus Service.

Two taxi companies service the town: Crown Taxi and Blue Bird Taxi.

The town is located 15 kilometres northwest of the Trans-Canada Highway, and is accessible using Provincial Highway Routes 490 and 460.

Rail service to the town was abandoned by Terra Transport in 1988.

The small size of the town and its flat topography permits residents to enjoy outdoor activities such as walking, bicycling, roller blading and cross-country skiing.

History

Stephenville was formerly home to Ernest Harmon AFB, which was operated by the United States Army Air Force and later the United States Air Force between 1941-1966.

The base precipitated an economic boom of sorts on Newfoundland's southwest coast during the 1940s. Corner Brook to the northeast had been considered the major population center for the region, given its industrial base and nearby recreational opportunities in the Humber River. With the massive investment of the Government of the United States in the base, the Stephenville and St. George's Bay area began to flourish. The village of Stephenville grew from a hamlet of several hundred people with no paved streets, side walks, water or sewage system in 1941 into a modern town of over 5,000 by the mid 1950s. By the time Ernest Harmon AFB closed in 1966, the town had more than doubled in size, partly as a result of the provincial government's forced resettlement policy toward residents of outports.

After the base was closed, the facility was turned over to the federal government which then provided it to the provincial government for divestiture to the local community.

The facility included the air field, which has 2 runways (10,000 ft x 200 ft, 4,000 ft x 150 ft) and numerous buildings which are operated as the Stephenville Airport. An abandoned USAF Pinetree Line radar site is located on nearby Table Mountain, north of the town. The town uses many former USAF structures for housing, recreation and entertainment.

Education

The first educational institution in the St. George's Bay area was the Roman Catholic Church. Bishop John T. Mullock established the first church of the Roman Catholic faith at Sandy Point in 1848 when the population of the area was about 2000. Father Belenger was the first priest in the St. Georges Bay area from 1850 to 1868. Father Sears, then priest in the area, established a church in the growing town of Stephenville. In 1884 there were four Catholic schools in the parish. One at Sandy Point, one at the Highlands, one at Port aux Basques and one at Campbell's Creek.

Recreation

The town has numerous indoor and outdoor recreation opportunities. Various schools have public gymnasiums and there are private recreation and fitness facilities in the town and surrounding areas.

The International Appalachian Trail has been extended through the area, providing a continuous recreational hiking trail along the Long Range Mountains. The abandoned railway corridors of the Newfoundland Railway have also been designated the "T'railway Provincial Park", providing a level wilderness trail for bicycling and walking.

The town also has an 18-hole links style golf course that was expanded from a 9-hole course in 1999. The course was orinigally built by the United States Air Force.

Recent events

* On September 11, 2001, 8 civilian airliners made unscheduled landings at the Stephenville Airport following the closure of North American airspace in the wake of the terrorist attack on New York City and Washington, DC. An unwitting participant in Operation Yellow Ribbon, the town managed to host the stranded passengers for approximately one week.

* On July 27, 2005 Abitibi-Consolidated announced plans to cease newsprint production in Stephenville, resulting in a loss of 280 jobs to the town and surrounding region. [ [http://www.cbc.ca/story/business/national/2005/07/27/abitibi-050727.html Abitibi cutting paper production in Ontario and Newfoundland] ]

* On September 27, 2005, a torrential downpour caused 180 people to be evacuated, after two rivers that flow through the town lept their banks and flooded the town. About 140 millimetres of rain fell. [ [http://www.recorder.ca/cp/National/050928/n092815A.html State of emergency remains in effect in flooded Newfoundland town] ]

* On October 29, 2005, the CBC announced that Stephenville had been chosen as site for the annual "Hockey Day in Canada" feature of Hockey Night in Canada. The event took place on January 7, 2006. [ [http://www.cbc.ca/story/sports/national/2005/10/29/Sports/hockeyday_stephenville051029.html Stephenville, N.L., awarded Hockey Day in Canada] ]

ee also

*Ernest Harmon Air Force Base
*Hanson Memorial Highway
*Long Gull Pond

References

External links

* [http://www.town.stephenville.nf.ca Town of Stephenville - official website]
* [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/declutterizenfstgeorgesstephenville Declutterize St. George's-Stephenville]