Wooden Boat Museum | Winterton, NL

Two of the best museums in Newfoundland and Labrador are just a hop, skip and a jump apart. The Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador is just 15 minutes north of the Cable Station in Heart’s Content. The Wooden Boat Museum is in Winterton (formerly named Scilly Cove).

Newfoundland fisherman have been crafting their own boats since they arrived on the shores of the New World. The museum guides you through fishing boats that vary by region and use.

The most unique feature of the museum is the boat building workshop out back. You can sign up for day long or week long workshops in boat building. You will learn boat building techniques from the pros. Click here for more information on the workshops.

The second floor of the museum walks you through the history of Scilly Cove (now Winteron). One of the more notable exhibits is the oldest known English headstone in the province.

Oldest English Headstone in Newfoundland

(taken from interpretive sign)

Several years ago, a group of students working on a summer project uncovered an old headstone in the cemetery beside St. Luke’s Anglican Church in Winterton. The date on the headstone is recorded as 1700. This is believed to be the oldest English headstone in the province.

Wiliam Lincefild died twenty-five years after the earliest recorded settlement in Scilly Cove (now Winteron) and only three years after the French under D’Iberville pillaged and burnt Scilly Cove. There were four houses in the cove at that time.

The inscription reads:

1700 | HARE LYETH | THE BODY OF | WILIAM LINCEFILD | WHO DEPARTED THIS | LIFE OCTOBER THE 7 | DAY ANNO DOMINI | 1700