.... Rev. U.Z. Rule arrived in Birchy Cove July 13, 1865 to become the first resident minister of any denomination in the Bay of Islands. He built the first church, which was the old St. Mary’s Anglican Church in Birchy Cove, later destroyed by fire Feb. 5, 1950.

In his book Reminiscences of my Life Rule mentions several families. Two of these were the Baggs and Parsons of Birchy Cove, who arrived two years earlier in 1863. Other families living here during Rev. Rules arrival were the Brakes of Meadows, Loders of Summerside, and the Darringans and Stricklands of John’s Beach.....

.... It is not known who were the first settlers in Mt. Moriah, at least by this writer. However, at this time let us reflect on some of the pioneers of Mt. Moriah who have been with us for quite a long time. Here are a few of them: Morrison, MacDonald, Welshman, Edmonds, Butt, Belows, Hussey, Porter and Murley.

The Morrisions and MacDonalds, who were related, were of Scottish decent and apparently came here from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The Butt family arrived in Mt. Moriah sometime before 1890. The Bellows and Husseys arrived here in the early 1900’s as far as I can determine.....Mr. H.T. Porter (born 1876) came here with the building of the Railway across Newfoundland.....The last name on the list is Murley. The Murley (also earlier known as Marley) family, in my opinion, was one of the first families to settle in Mt. Moriah.. George Murley, born in 1817 in  England, was living in the Bay of Islands at least by the 1870s. Although I don't know when the Murley’s settled in Mt. Moriah, I do know that Mary Lavinia Marley was born in Child’s Point (Mt. Moriah) in 1872. She was the daughter of Levi and Mary Ann Marley, and was my grandmother. She had 7 brothers and sisters. The family later moved to Ballentyne Cove. However Lavinia married Benjamin Hunt from Summerside in 1900 and resided in Mt. Moriah until she died in 1935.

 Her sister, Amanda, born in 1870, married Harry Baldwin in 1892, and she also resided in Mt. Moriah all her life. Her brother Henry, born 1876, married Jane Stone from the Labrador and they also resided in Mt. Moriah. ..... So yon can see the Murley name was very prominent in Mt. Moriah in the early days. In fact, at one time all land between the Perrett property to the west and Welshman’s Brook to the east was Murley property. Actually, the oldest house still standing in Mt. Moriah was built by Mr. Isaac Murley. This house and property was later purchased by Mr. Robert Horwood, who resided there with his family for many years...

...No list of early settlers would be complete without the mention of the Furlongs of Cook’s Brook. Although Cook’s Brook was not really considered a part of Mt. Moriah at that time, nevertheless it now is within the boundary of the Town of Mt. Moriah.....I remember the Furlong children walked to Petries to attend school which was some three miles away....

......Some of the names that were prominent in the early development of Mt. Moriah were as follows: Sopers, Hiscocks, Grahams, Frenchs, Baldwin and Davis. The Soper name is still very prominent in Mt. Moriah, as mentioned earlier. However, they as well as the Hiscocks - who were related - moved away some years ago....

The Grahams lived here for many years, although it is not known where they originated from. However, Mrs. Graham was formerly a MacDonald and very much a part of the early settlement of Mt. Moriah. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Angus MacDonald and the sister of John, David, Angus, Norman and Hattie MacDonald. The Grahams left here many years ago and settled in Central Newfoundland. The Graham property was bought by Mr. Hedley Horwood in the early 1930s....

.... Another family name that is no longer with us is French. Mr. and Mrs. Eldred French lived here with their family for many years. The French property was originally the property of the heirs of Mr. Samuel Murley. Although Mr. and Mrs. French remained in Mt. Moriah until they both passed away, their children moved away much earlier. This property was later purchased by Mr. Gordon George who in turn later sold it to Mr. Arthur Sweetapple. Mr. Sweetapple developed this property into what is now Sweetapple Drive.

Mr. Harry Baldwin, born 1863, moved here from the Middle Arm area of Bay of Islands and married Amanda Murley .... Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin had two children, both girls. Therefore, when Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin died the family name disappeared as far as Mt. Moriah was concerned. However, both the Baldwin girls married and have descendants living in Mt. Moriah. Dora Baldwin married John Butt and raised a family in Mt. Moriah. Some of Mr. But’s family are now living on the original property of Mr. Baldwin. The other daughter, Lena moved to Nova Scotia and married a Mr. Smith. They raised a family of four. At least two of the family remained in Nova Scotia. However, one daughter Dorothy moved back to Mt. Moriah and married Mr. Hedley Hunt. She remained in Mt. Moriah until her death....

....Although quite a lot of Davis property still exists in Mt. Moriah, the family no longer resides there. Actually, Mr. Arthur Davis had two homes in Mt. Moriah. His winter home was located where the present Curling Lions Club now stands. In the summer he lived on his property near Cooks Brook......This property was farmland. I can recall seeing some of his machinery, which included a tractor and a truck. This was quite a thrill in those days of the horse and cart era. The Davis family continued to live in Mt. Moriah until the 1940s when they moved to Corner Brook. Although both Mr. and Mrs. Davis haven both passed away, their family still resides there.

                                                                                 Industry

Mt. Moriah then as now didn't have many industries to speak of. Some people worked in the paper mill in Corner Brook. Others fished for a living. But, there was one man who did contribute quite a lot to the economy of Mt. Moriah. He was Mr. H.T. Porter. Mr. Porter came to Mt. Moriah with the beginning for the railway across Nfld. After working on the construction of the railway, he decided to remain in Mt. Moriah, where he raised a family and became a very successful business man. Most of the people in Mt. Moriah made their living directly or indirectly from Mr. Porter. The Porter property where today most of the descendants live, was a bee hive of activity during the 1930s and 1940s. Many people worked on the Porter farm doing everything from making the hay to working on the crops. One of Mr. Porter's sons, Blandford, married my mother's sister Racheal Hunt. Therefore, as a young boy I spent quite a lot of time on the Porter property, especially during the summer months when school was out. These are memories that time will not erase. I can remember the many trays of fresh milk in the pantry of my aunt's home. Also, watching the hay being cut by horse drawn mowers, and the crows being milked by hand. But although the farm was important to the economy , the biggest contributor was the fishery.

 In the 1930s and 40s the biggest industry in the Bay of Islands apart from the Paper Mill in Corner Brook was the Herring Fishery. There were several herring processors in both the Humber and Middle Arms. One of these was Mr. H.T. Porter & Sons. His plant, or herring store as it was most commonly called, employed many people with the majority coming from Mt. Moriah. Then there were the many fishermen who supplied the store with herring.... In those days barrels were made of wood and each processor had their own Coopers. In the case of Porter's Herring Store, the barrels were made in the same building on the second floor. The Coopers were in great demand by their employers. They had no problem to get employment as herring were very plentiful in those days and the processors used an enormous number of barrels....

....Mr. H.T. Porter also operated a large store in Petries under the name of H.T. Porter &Sons for many years. This building was later known as Allen’s Foodland. However, there was another Porter's Store. This was in Mt. Moriah. This small store was operated for many years by Mr. Porter's daughter Margaret. At one time it was the only store in Mt. Moriah. Later on it was taken over by Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Ellsworth, who operated it for a number of years. This store located at the corner of Main Street and Serpentine Road is much larger then the small corner store that was started first.....

...There was also an Ice Cream Parlor operated by Mr. Arthur Davis. This was located on the top of Duggans Hill, about a half mile from Cooks Brook. This would have been in the 1930s. Around this time period, Cooks Brook was a very busy spot. The new Paper Mill in Corner Brook was going in full swing and practically everybody flocked to Cooks Brook on the weekends....Mr. Leo Boland operated a small store there for quite some time. In fact he lived there with his family. There was also another store in Cooks Brook in the late 1930s operated by a Mr. Reid, who also resided there... Meanwhile, Mt. Moriah had other small stores in its history. In the late 1940s and early 1950s stores were operated by Mr. Frank Butt, Mr. Eric Butt and Mr. Hedley Horwood. These stores are no longer in existence.

                                                                                Sports

....In the late 1930s Mr. Bert Hull came to Mt. Moriah to operate a farm near Murley's Pond. Not only was he a good farmer, but a very good football player as well. In no time at all, he had practically everyone in Mt. Moriah playing football. Furlong's Field or the football field as it was and still is affectionately called, was the scene of many an hour of enjoyment. This was only the beginning. The next step was to enter an all star team in the Curling League. Thus, the ”Mountain Braves" came into being. Although, I can not recall all the players that made up the original  Mountain Braves I would like to mention some that I do remember. Bert Hull was the goal keeper. Other team members were: Ron Davis, Tom  Perret, Ignatious (Nish) Woods, Jack Hunt, Charlie Hann and Wilbourne (Gil) Hann. Bert Hull went overseas with the Nfld. Forestry Unit and later joined the Royal Air Forcea and moved to Scotland. Ron Davis, after serving with the Royal Canadian Navy, returned home to work in the paper mill in Corner Brook. Tom Perret served in the Merchant Navy during the war and lived in Mt. Moriah until his death. Jack Hunt, my uncle, who was the captain of the team, also lived in Mt Moriah until his death. Charlie and Gil Hann, who were brothers, were originally from Trout River. Nish Woods lost his life when the ship he was serving on was torpedoed during the war. His family later moved to Ontario....
 
 
 

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