These communities have a shared history in that they were settled by people from England, predominantly from the West Country: Somerset, Devon, Dorset and Hampshire.

The community thrived and became a major trading centre because of its proximity to and its position on the main sea lanes and was known as the "Capital of the North".

Another states that the name reflected the green of the trees that covered the island and the harbour basin which resembled a pond.

Records from the French Colonial office referred to Greenspond as "Grin d'Espagne", roughly translated it means "a little bit of Spain".

Henry Jones of the Church of England, who under the auspices of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel served in Bonavista Bay in the 1720s.

Services were held in stores and private houses, and, with the assistance of laymen, Methodist membership gradually increased.

John Allen became Greenspond's first Methodist clergyman in a mission that extended from Flat Islands to Musgrave Harbour.

The Orders origin spawned from distrust and conflict between Protestant and Catholic groups in the province of Ulster in Northern Ireland during severe economic problems in the 18th century.

Some of these men were, Charles Whitemarsh, Thomas Wornell, Edward Meadus, Sylvester Green, Job Granter, Ethelred Carter, William White, and Sr. James Burry.

Another group, the Royal Black Preceptory, number 647, was formed in 1904 named "William Johnson RBP 647" and used the Glover Orange Hall.

On October 25, 1815, The Newfoundland Governor at the time, wrote that Mr. Walley was being given 15 pounds per annum by the government to read prayers on Sunday in the absence of a missionary.

[4] In a letter, written by Archdeacon George Coster on July 21, 1827, he said Greenspond had started building a house and schoolroom, and that the Newfoundland School Society promised to send a teacher.

During the 19th century, fishermen not only exploited the local fishing grounds but also went further afield to find codfish, some as far as the coast of Labrador.

By mid-century it had become a prominent supply centre and clearing for the Labrador fishery which led to the appointment of a collector of customs by the colonial government in 1838.

The community's advantageous location, in the path of the northern ice floe, enabled land-based hunters using guns and nets to capture seals.

Its importance as a major trading and supply centre meant that Greenspond enjoyed a steady population growth of prosperous tradesmen and artisans: tinsmiths, blacksmiths, coopers, cobblers, carpenters and others.

Merchant firms included Slade, Fryer, Brooking and Co., William Cox & Co., Ridley & Sons, E. Duder, W. Waterman, Philip Hutchins, Harvey & Co, James Ryan, and J&W Stewart.

[1] Statistics Canada detail demographics follow link here[permanent dead link‍] The early inhabitants of Greenspond hailed from the West of England, mainly Dorset but also Devon, Hampshire, and Somerset.

The names of these early settlers can still be found there today: Bishop, Blandford, Bragg, Burry, Burton, Butler, Carter, Chaytor, Crocker, Dominey, Dyke, Easton, Feltham, Granter, Green, Harding, Hawkins, Hoddinott, Hoskins, Hunt, Hutchins, Kean, Lovelace, Lush, Meadus, Mullett, Mullins, Oakley, Oldford, Osmond, Parsons, Pond, Rogers, Samson, Saunders, Smith, Stratton, Way, Wheeler, White, Wicks, Woodland, Wornell, Wright, and Young.

In 1848 there was a regular mail and passenger service, a fortnightly steamer, and a weekly overland route between Greenspond and St. John's.

In winter when the steamers did not run, the trains transported the mails to Gambo and from there couriers - often Micmac - carried it overland to Greenspond.

The turn of the 20th century marked Greenspond's zenith with a population of almost 2000, a resident doctor, magistrate, policeman, customs officer, clergy, postmaster, teachers, and numerous business enterprises.

Throughout the 20th century the fishery remained the major economic enterprise of the people of Greenspond: a bait depot was established in 1946, a fresh-fish processing plant was built in 1957 and a smokehouse was opened in the 1970s.

In the 1990s Greenspond continues to thrive, a superb example of a Newfoundland coastal community which has survived and prospered for three hundred years despite the inherent fluctuations in a fishing economy.