The Indian name for Spring Bay means “cold water” and is, like the English name, a reference to a possible earlier site of this community on Hwy 542 northwest of Providence Bay. Area residents still refer to Lower Spring Bay, which is closer to Lake Mindemoya and was an important transportation stop on the route for European settlers who came in the 1870s and 80s.
As you follow Hwy 542 west and north to Gore Bay, signs for the settlements of Perivale, Grimesthorpe, Britainville and Poplar become visible, as do pioneer churches and schools which testify to the faith and hope of the area’s early days.
