Signal Hill National Historic Site

Long trips – so that means getting a haircut while out on the road. Maybe you noticed from the photos that Pat was starting to look like an aged rock star with his longer hair. Truth is when we arrived in St John’s he couldn’t wait to get a haircut. He found a walk-in barber 💈 – The Uppercut – in downtown Saint John’s and that was priority one. The barber was a tradesman but decided he’d rather cut hair. And his business model was cash only; walk ins only! I find myself in the same predicament about getting a haircut (writing this about a month later). Stay tuned.

We spent the afternoon wandering around Signal Hill and had a lovely surprise at the end.

History – The Battle of Signal Hill was fought in 1762. This was the final battle in the Seven Years War. The English took the hill and St John’s from the French (launching their attach from Fort Amherst). The hill was strategically located to protect the harbour and perfect for signalling ships. Hence the name. As time went on Cabot Tower was built (1900).

In 1901 the first trans Atlantic wireless message (in morse code) was received near Cabot Tower by Guglielmo Marconi. With Marconi successfully developing wireless the cable guys were a flutter. Marconi wanted to build a station. Nfld was not interested but New York and Cape Breton, Nova Scotia were. Ultimately the first Marconi station was built in Glacé Bay. In 1933 Cabot Tower became a Marconi Wireless station. This station replaced one that had been built on Fogo Island, Nfld.

And during WW2, the US maintained anti aircraft guns at Signal Hill.

The 360 degree views from Signal Hill are amazing.

The Narrows – entry to Saint John’s harbour

Looking down on Fort Amherst (are there ever enough forts?)

On the path up to Cabot Tower a tourist asked Pat to take a photo of her foursome. It turned out our friend Sam from TESAC curling was one of her friends. Sam had moved to London Ont in late 2022. We had lost contact until today. Small world.

We had a reunion with Sam; met his girlfriend Hannah, friends Meghan and Dave. They were in Nfld for a week and off to the George Street Festival that evening.

We came back the next day to hike down the North Head Trail and into Saint John’s – definitely a highlight.

One response to “Signal Hill National Historic Site”

Tamara Pilkington

August 30, 2023 at 6:07 pm

Very memorable scenic shots. You mentioned a lot of forts, will you be going to Fort Louisbourgh? (one of the largest forts in Canada I hear). Incredible history theee on the east coast. Lol, I have to use google maps to get a visual of where you are.

Fintry is nice and safe from the wildfires, the kids were evacuated in August and Terry and his son are up there now inspecting the place. The winds were favourable and blew the fire in the opposite direction. Same thing happened in 2021, the fire was 2km from them and the winds blew in the opposite direction.
The devastation is surreal, so many places we visit and know of are gone along a section of the Westside Road. We have travelled on the road on numerous times.

I have been watching the hurricanes blowing along the east coast, are you at all I harms way? (Besides a lot of rain).

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