Looking north east from No. 3 Yard. 2 one-storey bunk houses and a mess house are seen in the foreground, just left of center. The Company houses in the right side center of the photo are Dominion Company's miners' family houses in Dominion Range. The gable-to-the-street houses are on Ten Commandments Range, while the three streets east of that are mainly saddle-roof houses. To the left in the photo is The Green, where the Scotia Company built many small family bungalows as well as miners' shacks for commuting miners. The streets of houses in Dominion Range were neatly laid out with ample fenced yards. The Green, on the other hand, grew up higgly-piggly in the early days of mining when large numbers of men were arriving from communities around Conception Bay and needed housing quickly and cheaply. Photo courtesy of Archives & Special Collections, MUN Library, c. 1950.
Company Housing Introduction
Bell Island is the home of the Wabana Iron Ore Mines, which were worked from 1895-1966. They were developed by 2 companies from Nova Scotia to supply steel mills there, so it is not surprising that some Wabana Company houses are similar in style to those found in Cape Breton.
Above is a map of Bell Island showing the locations of Company housing and offices. (Author illustration, 2015.)
