Newfoundland Hardwoods

In the late 1930s, Colas Newfoundland Ltd. was established to produce asphalt for the runways at Gander, St. John’s and Stephenville. The plant was later sold to Flintcote Company and a creosote plant was used to preserve railway ties.

In 1955, the plant was purchased by the Newfoundland Government and renamed Newfoundland Hardwoods Limited, a Crown Corporation.

Clarenville’s deep water port and sheltered harbour attracted the establishment of the Clarenville Shipyards in 1942 by Commission of Government. These two enterprises, the shipyard and the asphalt/wood preservative plant, triggered the growth spurt of the late 1930s and early 1940s.

These firms, together with the railway, provided the industrial base for the entire area, especially in the nearby community of Shoal Harbour.

Photos:
1. Colas Newfoundland rail cars – Town of Clarenville “Our History”

2. From Del Ryan, Clarenville Heritage Society – “The little train that could at the Newfoundland Hardwoods. The engineer is my Great Uncle Malcolm Ryan (1901-1969). The man on the left is Hugie Stanley, in the centre is Steward Mills, and on the right is Malcolm Ryan.”

3. Clarenville Heritage Society – Newfoundland Hardwoods in the 1990s.

Text source: https://clarenville.ca/discover-clarenville/our-history/