Formal Recognition Type

Fisheries Heritage Preservation Program

Notes

Sturge Stage was originally built on Pinchard’s Island, an abandoned fishing community located at the northern extremity of Bonavista Bay. Due to its excellent fishing grounds and protected inlets, Pinchard’s Island was one of the first settled sites in northern Bonavista Bay. By the mid-twentieth century, most residents had moved to the communities that now constitute the town of New-Wes-Valley and some families still maintain seasonal homes at Pinchard’s Island. Sturge Stage was moved to Pound Cove sometime in the 1920s or 1930s by Benjamin Sturge, who used the stage to store salt fish in the summer and to repair boats and fishing gear in the winter. Over the years the stage had fallen into a state of disrepair and owner Harold Sturge decided to restore the structure under the Fisheries Heritage Preservation Program. Two walls had become bowed, windows were broken, the eaves were in bad shape, some shores were missing and the wharf was deteriorated. At the end of the restoration, the stage had been jacked up and levelled, walls and eaves were straightened, new felt was applied to the roof, new window frames were installed, some clapboard was replaced, the walkway to the loft was stabilized, shores were replaced and a new wharf constructed.

Community

Pound Cove

Municipality

Town of New-Wes-Valley

Construction (circa)

1900 - 1900

Style

Rectangular Short Façade