Seal Cove

The community of Seal Cove first appears in the census of 1857 with a population of 61. By 1884, the number had increased to 117 and continued to grow.

According to the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, Seal Cove was originally a fishing community but by 1880 there were some full-time farmers making a living there as well. A granite quarry which provided materials to the railway was opened in 1882. Quarrying remained vital to the area and many graved pits were excavated. When the pyrophyllite quarry was opened at Long Pond, Seal Cove was chosen as the site for the original loading pier.

In 1923 Seal Cove River became the site of the United Towns Electric Company's first major hydro-electric project. Because of the abundance of native flowers growing in the area, the Seal Cove River valley has been recognized by botanists as a valuable site. Starting in the 1920s, people from St. John's began to build summer homes and cottages in the area. In the 1980s some campgrounds and tourist cabins were built.

Traditionally, Seal Cove has been a Church of England community with a church being built in 1874. However, in the 1880s most people attended church in Upper Gullies. By 1900 there were a number of Salvationists in the area but by the 1930s most of them had converted to Pentecostalism. In 1986 a new Pentecostal church was built to replace the one built in the 1930s.

Seal Cove had its own school from 1884 to 1974 after which students started to attend the larger schools in Conception Bay South. In 1963 a vocational school was constructed and by 1992 it was known as the Seal Cove Campus of Cabot College.

Predominant family names in the area are Anthony, Butler, Dawe, Dowden, Lear and Morgan.