His initiative in securing timber rights across the Exploits River Valley attracted the Gooday Company to set up a significant sawmill operation in Ship Cove, later renamed Botwoodville in his honor.

The first aircraft facility in Botwood was established by Captain Sydney Bennett, who was born in Newfoundland (1897–1945), and Major Sidney Cotton from Australia (1894–1969).

On June 27, 1939 the Yankee Clipper left Botwood for the first Trans-Atlantic passenger flight to Foynes, Ireland, its counterpart terminal for the shortest route to Europe.

Botwood became host to many dignitaries and celebrities, some as part of official delegations and others who were stalled there waiting out inclement flying weather.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Charles Lindbergh are among some of the other well-known figures that have stayed in the town.

During World War II (1940–1945), the Royal Canadian Air Force changed Botwood into a patrolling and bombing seaplane base.

The Canadian Army was garrisoned in the town, and built barracks, a water system, and a full-scale military hospital.

In October 1942, the Excalibur, an American Export Airlines Sikorsky VS-44 flying boat, crashed and sank into the Bay of Exploits shortly after taking off.

Despite these changes, Botwood continued to play an important role in the region's economy, notably in shipping paper from the Grand Falls-Windsor mill until its closure in 2009, and ore from Buchans until the mine ceased operations in 1984.

Responding to a missing person case, RCMP Constable Terry Hoey was fatally wounded by gunfire through a closed door during a standoff with Jim Ling, the cafe owner, and his son Ken.

Amid attempts to resolve the situation, the cafe was engulfed in flames, leading to the deaths of Jim and Ken Ling alongside Constable Hoey, who was the first Mountie to die in the line of duty in the province.

This was the beginning of an ongoing project by the society to commission murals throughout the town to celebrate its unique history and increase tourism.