Random Island facts for kids
| Location | Random Head Random Island Newfoundland Canada |
|---|---|
| Foundation | concrete base |
| Construction | cast iron tower |
| Tower shape | cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern |
| Markings / pattern | red and white checkered pattern, red lantern |
Random Island is a cool island located off the Canada's Atlantic coast. It's part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. You can find it on the east coast of Newfoundland.
The island is partly surrounded by the Bonavista Peninsula to the north. It's also inside Trinity Bay. Random Island is about 35 kilometers (22 miles) long. Its width changes from 15 kilometers (9 miles) on the east side to 6 kilometers (4 miles) in the middle. On the western end, it's about 17 kilometers (11 miles) wide. The island covers an area of about 310 square kilometers (120 square miles). In 2016, about 1,232 people lived on Random Island.
Contents
Exploring Random Island's Geography
Random Island is in the northwest part of Trinity Bay. It's separated from the main island of Newfoundland by two water passages. These are Smith Sound to the north and the North West Arm of Random Sound to the south and west.
You can't sail all the way around the island easily, except in small boats. This is because of a sandbar called Random Bar. This bar connects the northwest corner of Random Island to Newfoundland. In 1954, the Hefferton Causeway was built across Random Bar. This causeway is now called Route 231 (Random Island Road). It helps connect the island to the nearby town of Clarenville.
Learning at Random Island Academy
Random Island has one school called Random Island Academy. This school teaches students from kindergarten all the way to Grade 12. The number of students at the school has changed over the years. In 1982, there were 445 students. By 1996, this number went down to 213.
Around 2005-2006, the school district thought about closing Random Island Academy. This was because the student population was getting smaller. However, the school is still open today! As of 2016, there were 115 students attending.
Random Island Academy first opened in 1973. At first, it only taught younger students. Older students who were in high school had to take a bus. They traveled across Random Bar to Clarenville for school. But parents protested, and eventually, the academy was made bigger. It now teaches students of all ages.
Communities on Random Island
Random Island is home to eleven different communities. Each one has its own unique feel.
Here are the communities:
- Random Heights
- Elliott's Cove
- Snooks Harbour
- Aspen Brook
- Weybridge
- Lady Cove
- Robinson Bight
- Hickman's Harbour
- Britannia
- Lower Lance Cove
- Petley
Some of these community names have changed over time. Also, some smaller areas have joined together. For example, Petley now includes an area once known as Aspen (Apsey) Cove. Weybridge used to be called Fosters Point. Most of these communities are very old, some over 100 years! However, Random Heights and Robinson Bight are newer.
Some communities that used to exist on the island are no longer there. Ryder's Harbour was one of the first settlements. It slowly faded away as people moved to other places. Deer Harbour was another community that disappeared. This happened in the 1960s because of government plans to move people from smaller, isolated places.
Random Island's Past: A Look at History
Early People and European Arrivals
For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples lived in Newfoundland. One group was the Beothuk. They usually lived along the coast. But when Europeans arrived, they moved further inland. They faced many challenges, including new diseases. They also lost access to important food sources. Sadly, the Beothuk people were declared extinct by 1829.
The first European settlement on Random Island was Ryder's Harbour. It was founded in the 1760s. This spot was already popular with fishing groups from Trinity. As more fishing boats came to Random Island, Deer Harbor and Thoroughfare were settled nearby in the 1800s. On the western side of the island, settlers started arriving in the 1850s. Many came from the southern part of Trinity Bay. Soon after, Hickman's Harbour was settled on the southern part of the island.
Industries and Changes
By 1900, Hickman's Harbour became the main center for fishing and shipbuilding. It had the best deep-water spot for boats. Other jobs included sawmilling and slate mining. The actual quarry for slate was across the sound in Nut Cove. This quarry closed in 1907 but reopened in 1990. In western Random Island, communities mostly focused on clay mining for brickmaking, and later, shale.
The population of Random Island grew to over 1,000 people by 1901. Hickman's Harbour was the biggest community with 309 people. But in the early 1900s, the industries that supported the island started to struggle. Slate mining and fishing declined a lot. This also caused shipbuilding and sawmilling to go down. Many people moved to nearby Clarenville. Others traveled off the island for work.
Modern Connections and a Historic Crash
Building the Hefferton Causeway and improving roads made it much easier to travel to Clarenville. It also connected the island to the rest of Newfoundland. Deer Harbour and Thoroughfare were resettled in the 1960s. This happened because it was decided not to connect them to the new roads.
The island's population slowly kept growing. In 1986, it reached just over 1,500 people. Hickman's Harbour remained the largest community, with 479 residents. By this time, most people worked in Clarenville or further away. Only a few still worked in fishing or sawmilling on Random Island itself.
In 1953, a United States Air Force B-36 plane crashed at Nut Cove. This happened on March 18, 1953. The plane was flying from the Azores to South Dakota. A total of 22 crew members died in the crash. One of them was Brigadier General Richard E. Ellsworth. An American Air Base in South Dakota is now named after him. A propeller from the plane is now a memorial to those who died.
