Community Profiles
Triton
Trail: Beothuk Trail HWY 380
Mayor: Roy Williams
Deputy Mayor: Jason Roberts
Councillors: Orvin Roberts, Pat Williams, Rodney Woodford, Bramwell Roberts
Address: P.O. Box 10, A0J 1V0
Telephone: (709) 263-2264 or 263-2250
Fax: (709) 263-2381
Email: townoftriton [at] nf.aibn.com
Availability: Monday - Friday; 9:00am - 5:00pm
Introduction:
Triton was first inhabited by Dorset Eskimos; it was settled by the English in the early 1800's. Nestled in the hills, protected from the wind and sea, the area that is now the Town of Triton provided much encouragement to those who first decided to make this island their home. Along with the fishery creating most employment, the community is equipped with the largest fish processing plant in Green Bay. Logging has also played a significant role in Triton's economy. This town has a service sector equal to any community of its size throughout the province. Whereas Springdale is the service centre of Green Bay, Triton can be named her "little sister" in this respect. Triton is an industrious town with hardworking people who take pride in their community.
The town of Triton consists of the east end of Triton Island, in western Notre Dame Bay, and includes Triton West (also know as Great Triton), Jim's Cove and Card's Harbour. This community is located on the south shore of Green Bay.
Population:
Triton has 1029 inhabitants.
Local History
The name Triton appeared in early records as Troytown, Traytown, Treaton and Tory Town and owes its origin to English West Country usage of "Troytown" to refer to a maze either because of the complexity of Great Triton Harbour or because of the difficulty of navigating through off-lying islands to enter Little Triton Harbour.
Little Triton Harbour (or Triton East) was the earliest area of settlement, in the 1830's or 1840's. Little Triton Harbour and Big Triton Island were earlier used as seasonal fishing stations by fishermen from Twillingate. The first time Triton appears in the Census was in 1845, with a population of 17. There was a few families living southeast of the harbour but these families eventually moved to Triton.
Tradition says that some of the early settlers had winter houses and gardens at Great Triton Harbour and that by the 1880's Great Triton was settled all year round. The south side of Triton Island has also been settled at Jim's Cove and Card's Harbour. Tradition says that these coves were settled by families who had been fishing the grounds around Badger Bay and Seal Bay. In 1891 the population of Triton was recorded at 179 which included all of Triton Island.
The first Methodist school/chapel was built between Great and Little Triton in about 1887, and the first Salvation Army citadel was built in 1896. By 1901 the majority of people were Salvation Army and Triton has continued to be mostly Salvation Army.
In the earliest days of settlement ties were strong with Twillingate, where fishermen traded cod. In the 1890's the first stores were kept by families at Little Triton as agents of merchants at Little Bay Islands. A business was established at Great Triton which supplied many fishermen in the area and became involved in supplying schooners for the Labrador fishery. With a strong inshore fishery, a growing involvement in the fishery in Labrador and winter logging for lumber and pulp and paper industries, the population of Triton grew considerably to 470 in 1935 and 625 in 1951. Triton East and West incorporated in 1955 and Jim's Cove and Card's Harbour incorporated in 1958. In 1961 the two municipalities amalgamated as a rural district.
After the causeway was built in 1968, linking the island to Pilley's Island and the mainland, the community continued to grow. Because of the increasing dependency on the road it was the end for Little Triton, which was declining in population. Since it was not on the road it was soon abandoned. In 1980 a new fish plant, Triton Seafood's, was opened at Little Triton Harbour, and a road was built to it. In the same year the rural district was re-incorporated as the town of Triton.
Fishery Industry
In 1979, Fishery Products International opened a fish plant in the town.
It was a fresh/frozen plant that processed various species of fish. There were approximately 250-350 unionized workers. Since the cod moratorium in 1992, these people had to rely on the TAGS program. There is now a state of the art Crab Processing Plant that employs 300-400 workers.
Forestry Industry
There are three sawmills, and two logging contractors in the community.
Commercial Trade
There are a number of businesses located in the town ranging from convenience stores, restaurants, automotive.
Housing
There are 350 households in the town of Triton with 300 occupied.
Education
There are two schools located within the town:
Brian Peckford Elementary under the Green Bay Integrated School Board was built in 1988. It has 150 students, 8 classrooms, and 8 teachers. 70 students are bussed in from outside communities.
Harbourview Pentecostal Academy, under the Pentecostal School Board, was built in 1976. It has 68 students, 6 classrooms, and 5½ teaching units.
Postal Service
The town of Triton has a full counter post office with post office boxes available to the public.
Media
Newspaper(s).
Television.
Health & Welfare
The residents of Triton have there own Medical Clinic opened Monday - Thursday, serviced by doctors from Springdale.
Fire Protection
The town has a volunteer fire department with 35 volunteers.
Firefighters are notified by a paging system. The town is equipped with a fire truck, pumps, hoses, breathing apparatus, and the jaws of life. There are 37 fire hydrants located in the town.
Transportation
Community Travel.
Taxi Service.
Bus Service.
Airport.
Regional Centres.
Utilities & Power
Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro.
Water Supply & Sanitation
Pond Water Supply.
Sewage System.
Garbage Collection.
The town's water supply is from Triton pond. It is protected by the Department of Environment and chlorine treated. Regular inspections occur and samples are analyzed 12 times as year. Water is pumped to 100% of the households in the town. Eighty-five percent of the households are connected to the public sewage system. Garbage is collected once a week by the municipal government and carried to a dump/landfill located 1.5 kms from the town.
Social & Cultural Data
Churches.
Organizations.
Activities.
There are two churches in the town which are Pentecostal and Salvation Army. There are a number of organizations in the town consisting of mostly church groups. These groups are: Recreational Committee, Salvation Army Beaver Colony, Salvation Army Home League, Salvation Army Junior Soldiers, Salvation Army V.F.C.'s, Salvation Army Cubs, Salvation Army Singing Company, Salvation Army Brownies, Salvation Army Men's Fellowship, Salvation Army Youth Group, Salvation Army Girl Guides, Pentecostal Men's Fellowship, Pentecostal Women's Ministries and Pentecostal Kids Klub. There is also a tennis court, softball field and an arena in the community.
