Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Highlights include the view from Signal Hill, live music and a pint (or shot of rum) in
George St's pubs. Many visitors take advantage of the city's beyond-the-norm eating and
lodging options by making St John's their base camp for explorations elsewhere on the
Avalon Peninsula. Cape Spear, Witless Bay Ecological Reserve and Ferryland are among
the easy day trips.
History
St John's excellent natural harbor, leading out to what were once seething seas of cod,
prompted the first European settlement here in 1528. During the late 1600s and much of
the 1700s, St John's was razed and taken over several times as the French, English and
Dutch fought for it tooth and nail. Britain won the ultimate victory on Signal Hill in
1762.
The harbor steadfastly maintained its position as the world trade center for salted cod
well into the 20th century. By mid-century, warehouses lined Water St, and the merchants
who owned them made a fortune. Come the early 1960s, St John's had more millionaires
per capita than any other city in North America.
Today the city's wharves still act as service stations to fishing vessels from around the
world and the occasional cruise ship, though the cod industry suffered mightily after a
1992 fishing moratorium. The offshore oil industry now drives the economy.
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