Placentia (Newfoundland)

Placentia is the core of a group of small villages (Placentia, Jerseyside, Townside, Freshwater, Dunville and Argentia). The community is primarily a fishing village and has declined rapidly in population since the depletion of Atlantic cod stocks in the 1990s.

Fort Plaisance (1662), Fort Royal (1687) and Fort Saint-Louis (1690) were early French military fortifications in the area; the hilltop bastion Fort Royal served as home for the French governor. After the French abandoned Newfoundland in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, the British built the redoubt Fort Frederick. While much of the original fortification is in ruins, what remains is preserved as Castle Hill National Historic Site.

Argentia was a small fishing village established by the French in the 1630s as Petit Plaisance (Little Placentia), meaning "Pleasant Little Place". The village was renamed in 1901 to reflect the presence of silver ore in the Broad Cove region; a silver mine operated until the 1920s. A railway branch line reached the community in 1888, allowing the adjoining Ship Harbour and Fox Harbour to serve as a seaport to supply other coastal villages (outports) in the region.

In August 1941, a four-day wartime meeting between Winston Churchill and Franklin Delanor Roosevelt took place on board the British battleship HMS Prince of Wales, moored at Placentia Bay, off Argentia. In 1942, the villages of Argentia and Marquise were expropriated and completely demolished to make way for a US military base which was to serve as one end of a key World War II trans-Atlantic supply line. The dispossessed villagers were largely resettled in Placentia. The US base closed in 1994 and its airport sits abandoned; attempts have been made to re-purpose the base as an industrial park. The Newfoundland Railway is gone. The docks remain in use seasonally for the Marine Atlantic ferry to Cape Breton.

Placentia is 131 km from St. John's, southwest on the Trans-Canada Highway (Route 1). then south on Route 100.

• New Hook Bus Lines, ☏ +1 709 426-4876. Connects Argentia to St. John's. A one-way ride takes 1-2 hours. (updated Jul 2018)

• 🌍 Marine Atlantic, ☏ +1 902-794-5254, toll-free: +1-800-341-7981, reservations@marineatlantic.ca. Takes passengers and cars from North Sydney, Nova Scotia to Argentia (16 hours) several days per week from June to September. The ferries carry vehicles and passengers. The duration of the ride depends on the weather and water conditions, so patience is of the essence. Reservations recommended except for commercial vehicles. (Commercial vehicles pay double for reservations). (updated Apr 2022)
  • The ferry operator also operates a North Sydney to Port aux Basques (7 hours) route, typically two times per day throughout the year. Port aux Basques is located in south-western Newfoundland.

• 🌍 Bridgeway Hotel, 15-19 Prince William Drive, ☏ +1 709-227-1700, fax: +1 709 227-2588, bridgewayhotel@gmail.com. Twelve rooms with private bath, fridge, microwave, wi-fi, breakfast. 

• 🌍 Castle Landing Guest Home, 16 Larkin Drive, Route 100, Freshwater, ☏ +1 709 227-0997, toll-free: +1-877-227-0997. Nine rooms in former convent, en-suite bath, wi-fi, continental breakfast. 

• 🌍 Rosedale Manor Inn, 40 Orcan Dr., ☏ +1 709 227-3613, toll-free: +1-877-999-3613, fax: +1 709 227-1048. Waterfront 1893 Heritage B&B Inn, gourmet breakfasts, comfortable beds, private bathrooms, wi-fi, garden and reading room. $60. 
• Cochrane's Corner Guest House, Main Road, Placentia, ☏ +1 709 227-2835. Three-bedroom cottage, continental breakfast.