Corner Brook

Corner Brook, a town of 20,000, is the site of Bowater's Newfoundland Pulp and Paper Mill. The location at Corner Brook combines the advantages of several geographic factors. It is on deep water and also on the main line of the Newfoundland Railway, thus facilitating transportation of both raw material and finished product. When the bay is frozen over during the winter, paper is shipped to Port aux Basques which remains ice-free. The river furnishes power and transports pulpwood from the forests. Even the wood from the east coast areas is towed to Hampden in White Bay and loaded on trucks for a short portage to Sandy Lake, which is part of the Humber system. Wood from west coast points can be towed directly to the plant.

Corner Brook is the centre of a fairly densely populated district. To the west is the village of Curling while two miles to the east is the railway divisional point of Humbermouth. Including Deer Lake, the village at the power plant, and the scattered population along the Bay, the Humber District numbers 40,000 people and is the greatest concentration of settlements outside the Avalon Peninsula.

The Urban Landscape

Corner Brook lies on the south bank of Humber Arm at the point where it is entered by the small stream of the same name. The mill with its attendant paper sheds and woodpiles is located on the delta at the mouth of the little stream, while the railway passes along the foot of the slope to the south, while just above it runs the main road. The docks and railway station lie to the east. The town is built on the higher ground to the east of the stream. About an open square are located a hospital, an inn and a moving picture theatre. Between this and the main road to the south lies a row of shops, while to the east, in a shallow tributary valley are found most of the "company houses". They are neat two-story wooden buildings with small gardens. Still farther up the slope along the road leading to the "company farm" are a number of larger houses. Adjoining the town is the suburb of West Corner Brook. It contains a number of small shops, a theatre, and several streets of small houses. A woodworking factory, furniture factory and a small foundry complete the scene.