The history of European settlement of St. Anthony reaches back to the early 16th century, when French and Basque fishermen used the well-sheltered harbour as a seasonal fishing station.

A salt fish plant and cold storage facility built in the 1930s and 1940s were a boon to the local economy.

Tourists come to visit historical sites related to Grenfell, to see the nearby Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows or to see natural attractions such as icebergs and whales.

[4] Born on February 28, 1865, in northern England, Grenfell entered the London Hospital Medical School in 1883.

He would later establish a string of hospitals, cooperatives and schools for people in remote Newfoundland and Labrador towns.

He began responsibility of health care for the more than thirty thousand residents in Northern Newfoundland and Southern Labrador.

However, owing to the strong maritime influence, the winters are milder than most of Canada at the same latitude, and there is no permafrost especially with snow cover sometimes reaching as high as 276 centimetres (108.7 in).

However its winters are still far more severe than Valentia Island off the coast of Ireland half a degree of latitude farther north on the other side of the Atlantic which enjoys the moderating effects of the Gulf Stream.

Precipitation, driven by the powerful Icelandic Low, is quite high year round, with an annual average of approximately 1,300 millimetres (51.2 in).