Beothuk Lake

The Beothuk inhabited several campsites on the shore of the lake. An expedition into the interior by John Cartwright and brother George Cartwright in search of the Beothuk found only abandoned campsites. At the time of their discovery of the lake they named it Lieutenant's Lake.

In January 1811, an expedition led by David Buchan travelled up the Exploits River in an attempt to establish friendly relations with the Beothuk; Buchan found them, but the encounter went badly and resulted in the deaths of two marines. John Peyton Jr. led another expedition to the lake in 1819 which also ended in tragedy; the expedition resulted in the death of the Beothuk headman Nonosabasut and the capture of Demasduit.[1]

Cartwright's earlier expedition was the first in a series of efforts by officials throughout the late 1700s and early 1800s to establish friendly contact with the Beothuk people. [2] During this period, out of respect for the Beothuk, the lake was renamed Red Indian Lake from the term "Red Indians" which European settlers used for the Beothuk; this term arose from the Beothuk practice of applying red ochre dye to their bodies and possessions.[3]

The interior of Newfoundland became accessible on the completion of the Newfoundland Railway, and the forest surrounding the lake attracted attention. The lake was surveyed in 1899 by Alex McCombie and by 1901 Lewis Miller had set up a logging operation on the shore near the site of Demasduit's capture. A railway branch line to the town of Millertown was constructed, and in 1905 the Anglo-Newfoundland Development (AND) Company acquired a 99-year lease on timber and mineral rights for the land surrounding the lake.[13]

Prospector, Guide and Trapper Matty Mitchell is credited with discovering a large high grade base metal deposit on the banks of the Buchans River on the north side of the lake. He was working for the AND Company at the time. ANDco mined bulk samples seasonally at the sit from 1906 to 1911. Metallurgical methods would have to improve in order to be able to mine and process the deposit. Improved processes were discovered in 1925. Further exploration in 1926 led to more discoveries and a partnership between the mineral rights holding ANDco and the American Smelting and Refining Company (Asarco). Mining operations commenced in 1927 as did the construction of the town of Buchans.

The Explots River was dammed in the early 1900s, initially in support of the Millertown logging operation. In 1909, a pulp and paper mill was constructed at Grand Falls, further downstream on the Exploits River. A new larger dam was constructed at the outflow of the lake, creating a vast storage reservoir for a hydroelectric generating plant at the mill in Grand Falls. Exploits dam was enhanced or reconstructed multiple times in the period from 1912 to 1926.