Settlers first arrived in Lewisporte, previously named Burnt Bay, and then Marshallville (after the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary William T Marshall who died in 1846), in 1887 and engaged in the prosperous fishing, logging, and ship building industries.
After the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, numerous transatlantic flights were diverted to Gander International Airport when U.S. airspace was closed.
Lewisporte participated in Operation Yellow Ribbon, and sheltered and fed hundreds of stranded airline passengers for several days.
[2][3] Lewisporte served as the base for a freight service to coastal Labrador, causing the town to gain its moniker of “Gateway to the North”.
In September 2018, the Woodward Group and its subsidiary Labrador Marine Inc. unveiled their plans for a new roll-on, roll-off ferry service from Happy Valley-Goose Bay.