St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

The Canadian city of St. John's population 99,182 (metropolitan population 175,000), is the provincial capital and largest city of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Facts

• St. John's is the oldest European settlement in North America, founded on the feast of St. John the Baptist, June 24, 1497.
• The Italian navigator John Cabot, who sailed under English flag, was the first European since the Vikings verifiably known to have reached mainland America. The 500th anniversary of his landing in what he named New Founde Lande was celebrated in 1997.
• On August 5, 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed the region as England's first overseas colony under Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I.
• St. John's changed hands several times between France, The Netherlands and England, until becoming permanently British in 1762 and serving as a naval base during both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
• Many of the earliest settlers of St. John's came from the southeast of Ireland, primarily Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny. This would explain the similarity between accents from that part of Ireland and Newfoundland.
• Water Street, developed in the early 16th century, is the oldest street in North America.
• The worst disaster to befall St. John's was on July 8, 1892 and is commonly called the Great Fire of 1892.
• It was at St. John's that Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless message, and it was from there that the first nonstop transatlantic flight was made in 1919 by Alcock and Brown.
• During the Second World War, the harbour was used by Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy ships used for protecting convoys. It was also the site of a large US Army base called "Fort Pepperrell". This base was established as part of the "Lend-lease" agreement between the UK and USA.
• The majority of the population descends from both Ireland and England.
• The accent heard in St. John's is very similar to that of Waterford, Ireland.
• Tradition declares that the city earned its name when explorer John Cabot became the first European to sail into its harbour, on June 24 1497 — the feast day of Saint John the Baptist.
• The city is the centre of business, education, and government for the province.
• St. John's is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of St. John's, and the Anglican Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador.
• St. John's is the site of the Newfoundland Museum, Memorial University, and the College of the North Atlantic.
• St. John's is the home of the St. John's Fog Devils, a junior hockey team in the QMJHL. The Fog Devils' home stadium is Mile One Stadium and is in downtown St. John's. The St. John's Maple Leafs of the AHL previously played there, until they relocated and became the Toronto Marlies in 2005.
• St. John's is the eastern terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway. (Victoria, British Columbia is the western terminus.)
• George Street in downtown St. John's has the most bars per square foot in North America.