Introduction

In the Depression of the 1930s there was almost no work. People wondered if Newfoundland would ever recover. Some thought that Newfoundlanders should depend less on the fishery. If people could farm, they might be able to support themselves. This was the idea behind the land settlement program.

A number of land settlements were set up in Newfoundland, but this essay is about Markland, the first and biggest land settlement project.

Part One
Leaving for Markland

Early one Sunday morning, on April 30, 1934, ten men stood in the St. John's train station. They were waiting to take the train from St. John's to Whitbourne. They had thin, hungry faces. Their clothes and boots were old and worn out. Their wives and children had come to say goodbye. One of these women carried a toddler in her arms. The little girl was barefoot—her parents could not afford to buy her socks or shoes.

Some other men had come to say goodbye too. They were well-dressed and important looking. They looked too rich to be friends of the ten men who were leaving. But they shook their hands and wished them good luck. Finally, the train was ready. The ten men set out on one of the most unusual trips of their lives.

Who were these ten men? They were all veterans—men who had fought in World War I more than 18 years before. All of them lived in St. John's and they all had families. These men were suffering in the hard years of the Depression. Most were on the dole, but none of them wanted to be. They wanted to work and support their families, just like everyone does. For many years, they had been without hope.

Now, they had new hope. The Commission of Government had agreed to invest two years worth of dole money for each of the ten families in a land settlement program. The ten men were going to start a new community in the woods west of Whitbourne. They were going to make a place called Markland.