Aspen Cove is a small fishing community in the province of

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

, Canada. Formerly called Aspey or Apsey Cove, Aspen Cove was named for the presence of aspen trees in the area. It first appears in the 1857 ''Census'' as Apsey Cove with a population of thirteen, all dependent on the salmon fishery. By the 1870s more families moved to Aspen Cove for the cod and lobster fisheries. In the

1921 census The United Kingdom Census 1921 was a census of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that was carried out on 19 June 1921. It was postponed for two months from April due to industrial unrest and no census was taken in Ireland due to the ...

the population had reached 104 and the economy had changed from salmon, fur, and agriculture to cod, lobster, and lumbering.''

Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador ''Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador'' is an encyclopedia commissioned by Joey Smallwood to capture the people, places, events and history of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Smallwood's view on the purpose of the encyclopedia was ...

History

The first recorded census of settlers in this community is in the 1857 census with thirteen inhabitants of one family whose living depended on the salmon fishery. According to local belief, from oral tradition, the first settlers of Aspen Cove discovered remains of a

Beothuk The Beothuk ( or ; also spelled Beothuck) were a group of Indigenous peoples in Canada, Indigenous people of Canada who lived on the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland. The Beothuk culture formed around 1500 CE. This may have been ...

encampment on the shores of the cove. The first settler was from Fogo, a Robert Shelly (later Shelley) born at

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

who originally came to settle at

Barr'd Islands Barr'd Islands is a community on Fogo Island in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundl ...

. The first postmistress was Edith Tulk. ;Church history From 1857 to 1874 all the inhabitants at Aspen Cove were

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. However, once

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

was introduced in Aspen Cove, many people either turned to Methodism or more Methodists moved there. By 1902 a Methodist school-chapel was built; a new church was built in 1964. In the 1950s there were also some

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

living in Aspen Cove, but the population was mainly

United Church A united church, also called a uniting church, is a denomination formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestantism, Protestant Christian denominations, a number of which come from separate and distinc ...

Geography

Aspen Cove is in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

within Subdivision L of Division No. 8. Located in the mouth of Hamilton Sound between Carmanville to the west and

Musgrave Harbour Musgrave Harbour is a town in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. History Musgrave Harbour is a fishing community that was originally named Muddy Hole. The name was changed in 1886 in honou ...

to the east, the community is situated in the only protected area behind a small headland on the northwest side. It is believed that the name is derived from the

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

trees that were once abundant in the area.

Demographics

As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Aspen Cove recorded a population of 178 living in 80 of its 101 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 220. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Government

Aspen Cove is a local service district (LSD) that is governed by a committee responsible for the provision of certain services to the community. The chair of the LSD committee is Steven Tulk.

References

External links