Markland was founded as an experimental land settlement or agricultural community in 1934. The "Markland experiment" began in the spring of that year when a group of private citizens in
St. John's vouched for the Commission of Government to give them relief payments for farming and agriculture. The Commission advanced payments to the trustees and offered a block of land for the settlement on the road between
Whitbourne and
Colinet. The name Markland was chosen from "forest land" of the
Viking (Norse) from the
Icelandic Sagas. The Vikings that chose that name was
Leif Erikson and
Bjarni Herjólfsson on their exploration to
Vinland. Despite initial success, by 1940 the government was not participating as actively in the land settlement scheme and other aspects of the experiment, such as
communal farming and interdenominational schooling, had been abandoned. As employment prospects increased in Newfoundland during
World War II, many families ceased farming. Markland residents were employed at
Argentia after 1941 and by the end of the war, Markland was becoming less of a farming community. == Geography ==