A short history of Bay Bulls... [ 1 ] [ 2 ]
18th Century
On October 28th, 1784, the Roman Catholics of Newfoundland were granted freedom to public practice of their religion. This was a day of great celebration and fanfare for the Catholics of Bay Bulls. The small town became part of St. John's parish that was served by Father O'Donel. O'Donel built the first Catholic chapel in Bay Bulls (now the site of St. Peter and Paul's). Unfortunately, the French returned to loot the village in 1796 and proceeded to burn the chapel down. Soon afterwards, another chapel was built.
19th Century
In 1833, Bishop Fleming separated the parish of St. John's into several smaller parishes. Bay Bulls gained the status of a parish and it served the Catholics from the Goulds to La Manche. A priest from Wexford, Ireland was appointed Minister of Bay Bulls Parish. Father Patrick Cleary chose Witless Bay as the parish center, once again making Bay Bulls a mission. A new church building was needed due to the rapidly growing population, and the third Roman Catholic church was completed in 1890; consecrated to St. Peter and Paul, the same church that remains today.
20th Century
In the early years of the 20th Century, Bay Bulls continued to have a prosperous fishery. The offshore fishery decreased shortly after the onset of WWI, therefore, most of the fishing took place inshore at this time. During WWI, men from Bay Bulls served with the Newfoundland Regiment and fought throughout Europe. Bay Bulls played a more active role in WWI, as a dock and barracks were built in the community for protection of boats in the and around Bay Bulls.
Today, Bay Bulls has a population of 1065 (1994 stats) and has a promising future in the growing Oil and Gas Industry. Additionally, Bay Bulls continues to provide many exciting attractions as a great tourist destination.