View source for Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador

{{Use Canadian English|date=March 2019}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox settlement
 | official_name            = Placentia
 | other_name               = Plaisance
 | native_name              = Pleasure
 | nickname                 =
 | settlement_type          = Town
 | motto                    =
 | image_skyline            = Placentia Harbour Newfoundland (41364859691).jpg
 | imagesize                =
 | image_caption            = Placentia
 | image_flag               =
 | flag_size                =
 | image_seal               = Placentia.JPG
 | seal_size                =
 | image_shield             =
 | shield_size              =
 | city_logo                =
 | citylogo_size            =
| coordinates              = {{coord|47|14|45|N|53|57|40|W|region:CA-NL|display=inline,title}}
 | pushpin_map              = Canada Newfoundland#Canada
 | pushpin_label_position   = left<!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
 | pushpin_map_caption      = Location of Placentia
 | pushpin_mapsize          =
 | subdivision_type         = Country
 | subdivision_name         = Canada
 | subdivision_type1        = [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Province]]
 | subdivision_name1        = Newfoundland and Labrador
 | subdivision_type3        = <!-- [[Census divisions of Newfoundland and Labrador|Census division]] -->
 | subdivision_name3        =
 | established_title        = Settled
 | established_date         = early 15th century
 | established_title2       = <!-- Incorporated (town) -->
 | established_date2        =
 | established_title3       = <!-- Incorporated (city) -->
 | established_date3        =
 | government_type          =
 | leader_title             = Mayor
 | leader_name              = Keith Pearson 
 | population_as_of         = 2021
 | population_note          =
 | population_footnotes     =
 | population_total         = 3,289
 | timezone                 = [[Newfoundland Time Zone|NST]]
 | utc_offset               = -3:30
 | timezone_DST             = NDT
 | utc_offset_DST           = -2:30
 | postal_code              = A0B 2Y0
 | area_code                = [[Area code 709|709]]
 | blank_name               = [[List of Newfoundland and Labrador highways|Highways]]
 | blank_info               = {{jct|province=NL|NL|91}}<br />{{jct|province=NL|NL|100}}<br />
{{jct|province=NL|NL|102}}
 | website                  = [http://www.placentia.ca Town of Placentia]
}}

'''Placentia''' is a town located in the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian province]] of [[Newfoundland and Labrador]]. It consists of the amalgamated communities of Placentia ("Townside"), Southeast Placentia, [[Freshwater, Placentia Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador|Freshwater]], [[Dunville, Newfoundland and Labrador|Dunville]] and Jerseyside and also includes the [[Argentia]] Industrial Park.

==History==
{{more citations needed|section|date=February 2018}}
There is considerable evidence that Placentia Bay was intermittently occupied by Little Passage people.<ref name=beo273>I. Marshall, ''A History and Ethnography of the Beothuk'' (Montréal: McGill-Queens University Press, 2014): 273.</ref> Their descendants, the [[Beothuk]], continued to settle there until the 17th century. Remnants of Beothuk occupation from the surrounding area has been carbon dated back to as far as 1500 CE.<ref name=beo273/> Whether the Beothuk had come to permanently settle or just to fish has proved difficult to ascertain.<ref name=beo273/> By the late 17th century, the [[England|English]] and [[France|French]] settlers and fishermen had claimed the bays of Placentia.<ref name="beothunk">Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web Site, accessed March 5, 2019, [http://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/aboriginal/beothuk-disappearance.php Disappearance of the Beothuk]</ref> This effectively cut the natives off from salmon, seal, and other valuable coastal resources.<ref name="beothunk"/> This is one of several reasons attributed as to why the Beothuk eventually disappeared from Placentia, as well as several other areas of Newfoundland.

It is unclear when Placentia terrain was first settled by Europeans, but [[Basques|Basque]] fishermen from [[Biscay]] were fishing in the area as early as the beginning of the 16th century, using Placentia as a seasonal centre of operations. The last will of a Basque seaman has been discovered in an archive in Spain in which Domingo de Luca asks in 1563, “that my body be buried in this port of ''Plazençia'' in the place where those who die here are usually buried.” It is believed to be the oldest original civil document written in Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://canadashistory.ca/Community/Community-Features/Articles/Basque-Will|title=Canada's History - The 1563 Basque Will|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301144128/http://canadashistory.ca/Community/Community-Features/Articles/Basque-Will |access-date=14 February 2023|archive-date=2017-03-01 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.placentiahistory.ca/images/pdfs/Basque_will_translation_PDF.pdf|title=The Oldest Original Civil Document Written in Canada|access-date=14 February 2023}}</ref>

Contemporary scholars think that the land called [[Vinland]] extending from [[Nova Scotia]] to [[L'Anse aux Meadows]] consisted of at least a few settlements;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episode/the-norse-an-arctic-mystery.html|title=The Norse: An Arctic Mystery|access-date=2014-04-12|website=CBC Television|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121127184750/http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episode/the-norse-an-arctic-mystery.html|archive-date=2012-11-27}}</ref> probably on the [[Avalon Peninsula]] too. "Placentia" may be derived from the similarly named village of [[Soraluze-Placencia de las Armas|Placencia de las Armas]] ([[Basque language|Basque]]: ''Soraluze''), which is located in the [[Gipuzkoa]] province of the [[Basque Country (greater region)|Basque Country]].

Placentia may also be derived from the Latin ''placentia'' ("smooth"), a name also probably given by the Basques.<ref>Based on a map by Gérard Galliene (Quebec), illustrating the ''Les Basques dans l'estuaire du Saint-Laurent'' by René Belanger. 1971. Les Presses de l'Université du Québec. {{ISBN|0-7770-0026-1}}</ref> Placentia's large, rocky beach meant that fish could be salted and dried on the beach rocks rather than on a constructed wooden [[fishing stage]], saving both time and effort.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}

In 1655, the French, who controlled more than half of the island of [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]], and most of [[Atlantic Canada]], made Placentia (French: ''Plaisance'') their capital. They built [[Fort Plaisance]] in 1662, which was followed by [[Fort Royal (Newfoundland)|Fort Royal]] in 1687, and [[Fort Saint Louis (Newfoundland)|Fort Saint Louis]] in 1691. The establishment of a fort with a garrison allowed fishermen to pursue their activities with greater safety in neighbouring harbours. The French garrisons at Plaisance were small, but despite that fact, the soldiers and French privateers managed to hold their own in the face of numerous English attacks during the two major conflicts of the [[Nine Years' War]] and the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], which marked the colony's history. [[Recollects#Newfoundland|Recollect (Franciscan) friars]] from New France built a friary here in 1689, which lasted until the expulsion of the French in 1714. In 1692, [[Louis-Armand de Lom d'Arce de Lahontan, Baron de Lahontan]] defended the French port.<ref>{{cite DCB |title=Lom d'Arce de Lahontan, Louis-Armand de, Baron de Lahontan |first=David M. |last=Hayne |volume=II |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/lom_d_arce_de_lahontan_louis_armand_de_2E.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/newvoyagestonort03laho|title=New voyages to North-America. : Containing an account of the several nations of that vast continent; their customs, commerce, and way of navigation upon the lakes and rivers; the several attempts of the English and French to dispossess one another; with the reasons of the miscarriage of the former; and the various adventures between the French, and the Iroquese confederates of England, from 1683 to 1694. A geographical description of Canada, and a natural history of the country, with remarks upon their government, and the interest of the English and French in their commerce. Also a dialogue between the author and a general of the savages, giving a full view of the religion and strange opinions of those people; with an account of the authors retreat to Portugal and Denmark, and his remarks on those courts. To which is added, a dictionary of the Algonkine language, which is generally spoke in North-America. Illustrated with twenty three mapps and cutts.|first1=Louis Armand de Lom d'Arce|last1=Lahontan|first2=Nicolas|last2=Gueudeville|date=22 January 2018|publisher=London : Printed for H. Bonwicke in St. Paul's Church-Yard; T. Goodwin, M. Wotton, B. Tooke, in Fleetstreet; and S. Manship in Cornhil|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

In 1711, the British Rear-Admiral [[Hovenden Walker]] considered attacking the French at Placentia with a [[Royal Navy]] fleet containing fifteen ships, armed with a total of nine hundred cannons, and transporting 4,000 soldiers. However, he decided that doing so was not a viable option.<ref>{{Cite book|last = Prowse|first = Daniel W.|title = A History of Newfoundland from the English, Colonial, and Foreign Records|url = https://archive.org/details/ahistorynewfoun00goog|location = London|publisher = Macmillan & Co.|year = 1895|page = [https://archive.org/details/ahistorynewfoun00goog/page/n284 236]}}</ref>

In 1713, the [[Peace of Utrecht|Treaty of Utrecht]] forced the French to abandon their Placentia Bay settlements and migrate to [[Louisbourg, Nova Scotia|Louisbourg]], and Placentia became a British possession. Many of the French fishermen who had to abandon the fisheries in Placentia ended up at the fisheries in Isle Royale, otherwise known as [[Cape Breton Island]].<ref name="peace">[https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/cseh-twih/archives2_E.asp?id=14 Peace Treaty at Utrecht Changes Map of North America], Parks Canada - Archives, January 17, 2017, accessed March 5, 2019</ref> In the spring of 1714, the governor of Plaisance began organizing the emigration.<ref>[http://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/exploration/placentia.php History of Plaisance], Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web Site, accessed March 5, 2019.</ref> Three royal ships accompanied by merchant vessels took the French residents of Placentia to the future site of Louisbourg.<ref name="peace"/> The group consisted of 116 men, 10 women and 23 children.<ref name="peace"/> The [[Miꞌkmaq]] who had resided there also abandoned Placentia following the Treaty of Utrecht.<ref name="boe45">I. Marshall, ''A History and Ethnography of the Beothuk'' (Montréal: McGill-Queens University Press, 2014): 45.</ref> [[William Taverner (surveyor)|William Taverner]] suggested that the Miꞌkmaq left because they had been deprived of their French trading partners.<ref name="boe45"/>

For a time in the 18th century, it still rivalled [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]] in size and importance, as evidenced by the future [[William IV of the United Kingdom|King William IV]]'s summering at Placentia in 1786 and using it as his base of operations when acting as surrogate judge in Newfoundland.<ref name=Rollmann>{{cite web|url=https://www.mun.ca/rels/ang/texts/pwh.htm|title="Prince William Henry in Newfoundland" by Hans Rollmann|website=Mun.ca|access-date=22 January 2018}}</ref> The town was described by the then-Prince as "a more decent settlement than any we have yet seen in Newfoundland" and was reported as having a population between 1,500 and 2,000 people.<ref name=Rollmann/>

Considering that the population of Newfoundland was reported as 8,000 11 years earlier, in 1775, Placentia's relative size and importance becomes apparent.
[[File:PlacentiaCa1900.jpg|thumb|left|Placentia at the beginning of the 20th century.]]
By the 19th century, it was more fully eclipsed by St. John's and [[Harbour Grace, Newfoundland and Labrador|Harbour Grace]], Placentia continued to be an important town, regional centre to the southern Avalon Peninsula and the eastern [[Burin Peninsula]].

 
From the mid-18th century through to the 1830s, numerous Irish immigrants from [[Waterford]], [[Wexford]], [[Kilkenny]] and [[County Cork|Cork]] settled in Placentia, so that the population of the modern town is largely of a mixture of [[West Country]] English and south-eastern Irish background. In the 18th century there were also a large number of settlers from the [[Channel Islands]], from which Jerseyside, a prominent section of the town, derives its name. Some time after 1810 General [[George Garth]] was appointed as Lieutenant Governor of Placentia, a post he held until his death in 1817.

In 1940, via an agreement between the British and American governments (Newfoundland not joining Canada until 1949), [[Naval Station Argentia|a large American military base]] was constructed at nearby [[Argentia]] (which is now within the town of Placentia's boundaries). For a time, this was the largest American military base outside of the United States, and it played an integral role in [[World War II]], earning the nickname "the Gibraltar of the Atlantic."

This huge development revolutionized the Placentia area both economically and culturally. Essentially, the American base introduced a widespread cash-based economy. Suddenly, people who had fished all of their lives (engaging in a type of barter called the [[truck system]]) had access to good-paying jobs on the American base. American technology enriched the living standards of Placentia residents, while the local culture was influenced strongly by the American presence. Similarly, it prompted a huge population boom, growing from 1,900 people in 1935<ref>{{cite web|url=http://placentiablog.blogspot.com/2007/10/population-changes.html|title=Population Changes|date=16 October 2007|website=Placentiablog.blogspot.com|access-date=22 January 2018}}</ref> to well over 8,000 in the 1960s (note: these figures account for the current boundaries of Placentia, which at the time consisted of four separate towns: Placentia, [[Dunville, Newfoundland and Labrador|Dunville]], Jerseyside, and [[Freshwater, Placentia Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador|Freshwater]]).

The post office was established in 1851. The first postmistress in 1863 was Mary Morris.

===Ecclesiastical history===
On September 16, 1870, it became the seat of the Catholic pre-diocesan [[Apostolic Prefecture of Placentia]], but instead of becoming a diocese it was suppressed in 1891, its territory being merged into the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John's, Newfoundland|Diocese of St. John's, Newfoundland]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/plac0.htm|title=Apostolic Prefecture of Placentia|website=Gcatholic.org|access-date=22 January 2018}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
[[File:Carlb-placentia-nfld-2002.jpg|thumb|centre|800px|View of Placentia from [[Castle Hill National Historic Site]], a former fort]]
In the [[2021 Canadian census|2021 Census of Population]] conducted by [[Statistics Canada]], Placentia had a population of {{val|3289|fmt=commas}} living in {{val|1543|fmt=commas}} of its {{val|1827|fmt=commas}} total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:3289-3496}}|3496|1}} from its 2016 population of {{val|3496|fmt=commas}}. With a land area of {{convert|57.8|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|3289|57.8|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.<ref name=2021census>{{cite web | url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000203&geocode=A000210 | title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Newfoundland and Labrador | publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] | date=February 9, 2022 | accessdate=March 15, 2022}}</ref>

In the 2016 census, Placentia's population was reported as 3,496,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=1001240&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&Data=Count&SearchText=Placentia&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&TABID=1&B1=All |title=Census Profile, 2016 Census - Placentia, Town &#91;Census subdivision&#93;, Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada &#91;Country&#93; |access-date=2017-04-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402083033/http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=1001240&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&Data=Count&SearchText=Placentia&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&TABID=1&B1=All |archive-date=2017-04-02 }}</ref> down significantly from the 2001 figure of 4,426.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=1001240&Geo2=PR&Code2=10&Data=Count&SearchText=Placentia&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom=|title=Statistics Canada: 2006 Community Profiles|first=Government of Canada, Statistics|last=Canada|website=12.statcan.ca|access-date=22 January 2018}}</ref> This [[population decline]] has been ongoing since the early 1990s; in the 1996 census, Placentia was, proportionately, the 2nd fastest shrinking town in Canada,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statcan.ca/english/census96/table13.htm|title=Census Subdivisions (Municipalities) With the Greatest Percentage Population Decline (3), 1991 and 1996 Censuses - 100% Data|website=Statcan.ca|access-date=22 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501114802/http://www.statcan.ca/english/census96/table13.htm|archive-date=2008-05-01|url-status=dead}}</ref> dropping from 5,515 to 5,013 between 1991 and 1996.

===Historical demographics===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Permanent Population of colonial Plaisance
|-
! Year
! Number of inhabitants
! Year
! Number of inhabitants
|-
| align="center"| 1671 || align="center"| 74 || align="center"| 1673 || align="center"| 71
|-
| align="center"| 1685 || align="center"| 153 || align="center"| 1687 || align="center"| 119
|-
| align="center"| 1691 || align="center"| 107 || align="center"| 1693 || align="center"| 108
|-
| align="center"| 1698 || align="center"| 208 || align="center"| 1704 || align="center"| 158
|-
| align="center"| 1705 || align="center"| 192 || align="center"| 1706 || align="center"| 205
|-
| align="center"| 1710 || align="center"| 248 || align="center"| 1711 || align="center"| 189
|-<ref>Source: Archives d'outre-mer, G1 vol. 467 (Recensements de Plaisance)</ref>
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Permanent Population of modern Placentia
|-
! Year
! Number of inhabitants
! Year
! Number of inhabitants
|-
| align="center"| 1900 || align="center"| 16,099 || align="center"| 1921 || align="center"| 8.504
|-
| align="center"| 1921 || align="center"| 8,504 || align="center"| 1935 || align="center"| 8,454
|-
| align="center"| 1991 || align="center"| 5,515 || align="center"| 1996 || align="center"| 5,013
|-
| align="center"| 2001 || align="center"| 4,426 || align="center"| 2006 || align="center"| 3,898
|-
| align="center"| 2011 || align="center"| 3,646 || align="center"| 2016 || align="center"| 3,498 
|-
| align="center"| 2021 || align="center"| 3,289
|-
|}<ref>[http://www.placentiahistory.ca Placentia, NL history], Placentiahistory.ca; accessed January 21, 2018.</ref>

== Economy ==
From the outset, it was fish that brought the Europeans to Newfoundland, as well as their patterns of settlement.<ref name="fisher">[http://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/economy/fishery.php Fisheries], Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web Site, accessed February 27, 2018.</ref> While Placentia was considered a military base, it was also a colony with an economy based on the [[Cod fisheries|cod fishery]] and [[Atlantic cod|cod]] trade. Fishing was a consistently shared activity between French ships and resident boatkeepers. The fisheries of Placentia played a large role in ultimately securing Newfoundland as the world's largest exporter of [[Dried and salted cod|salt codfish]].<ref name="fisher"/> After the war of 1689 had set back the colonial fishing industry, Placentia quickly renewed its [[Cod fishing in Newfoundland|seasonal fisheries]], and in 1698 had sent more than 3,916 tonnes of cod to France.<ref>James Pritchard, "In Search of Empire," 2004, 145, doi:10.1017/cbo9780511808555.</ref> Following the Treaty of Utrecht, Placentia's residential fisheries met their ultimate demise.<ref>James Pritchard, "In Search of Empire," 2004, 148, doi:10.1017/cbo9780511808555.</ref>

The American base at Argentia was scaled back in the 1970s, and closed totally in 1994. This, along with the [[collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery]] and the [[Moratorium (law)|moratorium]] introduced by the Canadian government a few years earlier, left the town of Placentia without an economic base for some time, although recent developments by [[Vale Limited|Vale Inco]] are beginning to stabilize the town's rocky economic situation.

== Education ==
Placentia is home to one primary education school: St. Anne's Academy, a K-6 school in Dunville. There currently exists one high school, Laval High School, which educates students from grades 7 to 12. The original Laval High School was demolished in 2010, with a new state of the art facility replacing it in September 2010. All schools are home to many extracurriculars, including student council, sports, drama and music, and volunteer organizations.

Placentia is also home to a post-secondary institution; a campus of the [[College of the North Atlantic]], offering programs in heavy duty equipment mechanics, heavy equipment operation, welding, machinist, and industrial machinery.

==Tourism and culture==
{{one source|section
| date = January 2018
}}
[[File:Placentia, Newfoundland.jpg|thumb|right|Lift bridge overseeing town.]]

Placentia has many features that make it a popular tourist attraction in Newfoundland and Labrador. It has a unique [[lift-bridge]] named the [[Sir Ambrose Shea Lift Bridge]] that spans the tumultuous tides of 'the gut' (the narrow opening to the harbour).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/2016/exec/0923n03.aspx|title=New Sir Ambrose Shea Lift Bridge in Placentia Officially Opens|website=Releases.gov.nl.ca|access-date=1 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/nl-placentia-lift-bridge-lawsuit-1.4983434|title=N.L. government facing $8.5M lawsuit over Placentia bridge contract|website=Cbc.ca|access-date=1 February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/placentia-lift-bridge-upset-1.4655557|title=Fishermen frustrated and fuming as Placentia lift bridge leaves boats stuck in harbour|website=Cbc.ca|access-date=1 February 2022}}</ref> Around Placentia, countless buildings and sites reflect the deep history of the area. In 1893, Harry Verran who was a mining engineer from [[Cornwall]], [[England]], worked for [[Cyrus Field]]. He built a historic house that now operates as a [[bed and breakfast]] called [[Rosedale Manor Bed and Breakfast Boutique|Rosedale Manor]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rosedalemanor.ca|title=Rosedale Manor|website=rosedale.ca|access-date=20 February 2023}}</ref>

There are many archaeological sites (some partially re-constructed), several excellent examples of late-19th century Newfoundland architecture, two museums ([[O'Reilly House (Placentia)|O'Reilly House]] and [[Castle Hill, Newfoundland and Labrador|Castle Hill]]), and one of the two [[Marine Atlantic]] ferry links from Newfoundland to [[Nova Scotia]] (via Argentia). The local historical society owns both the O'Reilly House and [[St. Luke's Cultural Heritage Centre]] (formerly ''St. Luke's Anglican Church'') which is used to host workshops, presentations, performances, and even an [[escape room]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.escapequest.ca/rooms/placentia-plunder/|title=Escape Quest - Placentia Plunder|website=escapequest.ca|access-date=25 January 2023}}</ref> It is {{convert|130|km|abbr=on}} from the capital city, St. John's, and is within easy distance of the scenic [[Cape Shore]] (including the [[Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve]]), and [[St. Mary's Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. Mary's Bay]], [[Conception Bay (Canada)|Conception Bay]], and the inner reaches of [[Placentia Bay]].

In 2009, Placentia celebrated the opening of the Placentia Bay Cultural Arts Centre with a month of artistic events, including drama productions, art exhibitions (three shows recognizing art from elementary students, high school students, and adults), and musical performances.

The town has an established summer stock theatre troupe, Placentia Area Theatre D'Heritage (PATH),<ref>[http://www.placentiatheatre.com Placentia Area Theatre d'Heritage Inc.], Placentiatheatre.co; accessed January 21, 2018.</ref> which performs historical plays of significance in the Placentia area. The primary production is Faces of Fort Royale, performed at [[Castle Hill, Newfoundland and Labrador|Castle Hill National Historic Site]], depicting the lives of the early inhabitants of Placentia under the leadership of Governor [[Jacques-François de Monbeton de Brouillan|De Broullion]]. They also perform a dinner theatre cabaret set in the 1950s during the Argentia Base heyday, and a ghost walk. The troupe generally consists of post-secondary students under the direction of the province's finest theatre producers.

==Placentia in literature==
*''Hannah: The Lighthouse Girl of Newfoundland'' by Don Ladolcetta<ref>{{cite web |url=https://lighthousehannah.com |title=Hannah: The Lighthouse Girl of Newfoundland |access-date=2023-02-02}}</ref>
*''The Garden Gate: Argentia's Sacrifice for WWII'' by Darrell Duke<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.ca/Darrell-Duke/e/B07ZYMY6KX%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share |title=Darrell Duke Amazon |access-date=2023-02-02}}</ref>
*''Thursday's Storm: The August Gale of 1927'' by Darrell Duke
*''Swept Away'' by Darrell Duke

==Notable people==
* [[Rex Murphy]], commentator and journalist (born in Carbonear but raised in the area)<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/rex-murphy|title=Rex Murphy &#124; The Canadian Encyclopedia|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca}}</ref>
* [[Patricia Murphy (restaurateur)|Patricia Murphy]], restaurateur who operated nine Patricia Murphy Candlelight restaurants in New York and Florida<ref>"Obituary: Patricia Murphy" ''Newsday'' (Melville, NY) Nov. 24, 1979, p. 16</ref>
* [[Greg Power]], lyric poet and influential promoter of confederation with Canada<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tMQfAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Power,+gregory+j%22+AND+%22Placentia%22|title=The Power of the Pen: Writings of Gregory J. Power|last=Power|first=Gregory J.|publisher=H. Cuff Publications|year=1989|isbn=9780921191438}}</ref> 
* [[Leonard J. Miller]], businessperson and politician
* [[Harry Verran]], politician and member of the [[House of Commons of Canada]] for [[West Nova|South West Nova]]
* Alastair Ralphs, known as [[A-1 (wrestler)]], professional wrestler
* [[Sylvana Tomaselli]], married to [[George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews]]
* [[Shannon Tweed]], actress
* [[Agnes Walsh]], poet and playwright<ref name="Heritage NL">{{cite web |url=https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/arts/agnes-walsh.php |title=Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador - Agnes Walsh |website=Heritage.nf.ca |access-date=2019-10-26}}</ref>
* [[Ray Guy (humorist)|Ray Guy]], humorist and journalist
* [[Pat and Joe Byrne]], Newfoundland traditional folk music group<ref name="SingSong Inc">{{cite web |url=https://www.singsonginc.ca/index.php/artists/pat-and-joe-byrne-with-baxtor-wareham |title=Pat and Joe Byrne with Baxter Wareham |website=SingSonginc.ca |access-date=2023-02-06}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of municipalities in Newfoundland and Labrador]]
* [[Newfoundland Railway]]
* [[List of lieutenant governors of Newfoundland and Labrador|Governors of Placentia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Placentia (Newfoundland)}}
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.placentia.ca/ Town of Placentia's official site]
* [http://www.capeshoreloop.ca Around the Cape Shore Loop]
* [http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/plac0.htm GCatholic - ecclesiastical history]
* [http://www.placentiabay.ca/pub/Events/Events Placentia Area Event Calendar on placentiabay.ca]
* [http://www.thecharter.ca/ The Charter, Placentia's local newspaper]
* [http://www.placentiahistory.ca/ Placentia Area Historical Society]
* [http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/cns_enl/id/2215 Placentia - Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, vol. 4, p. 317-318.]

{{Town of Placentia}}
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{{Subdivisions of Newfoundland and Labrador|towns=yes|ICG=yes}}
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[[Category:Populated coastal places in Canada]]
[[Category:Towns in Newfoundland and Labrador]]