Tilting is one of the most historically significant settlements in
Eastern Canada. It is located on Fogo Island, one of the earliest venues for the prosecution of the migratory Atlantic cod fishery. Fogo was well known to early Basque, Portuguese and French fishers. French explorer Jacques Cartier sailed directly to Notre Dame Bay, in which Fogo Island is located, in 1534. Though Tilting was located on the "
French Shore" area of Newfoundland, and was likely visited by
French fishing crews in the early 16th century, there is no evidence that the French ever settled in Tilting. The style of fishery practised by the French did not require them to have permanent bases on land, but they did use temporary shore stations to process fish. The French also spent time on shore in order to collect wood and water, to wait out storms, and to repair their fishing craft. Local oral history indicates that Tilting was a French harbour before becoming a venue of Irish settlement. This is highly likely, given the traditional commercial and cultural links between southern Irish and northern French fishing ports. French documents from the 18th century refer to Tilting as "Tilken". Beginning around the 1720s,
English migratory fishing crews began to probe northward from
Trinity and
Bonavista, and it is at this time that the first settlers probably over-wintered at places like Tilting. By the 1780s, Tilting evolved into an exclusively
Irish enclave, beginning with the first visitors from
Ireland around 1752, and continuing with the arrival of other Irish planters through the end of the 18th century. In 1787,
Notre Dame Bay was surveyed by Michael Lane, who had been working with the famous Captain
James Cook, until Cook was recalled to
England. Lane's map clearly shows that Tilting was a substantial and important fishing station and settlement by the 1780s. , 1787. Look closely to see the key features of the map: Flakes in the outer harbour, sunken rocks (small x-marks) and Dominey's Brook in the northwest part of the Harbour. National Archives of the U.K., WO78/721 The origins of the name "Tilting" are unknown. Since Notre Dame Bay, in which Tilting is situated, was first used by French ship fishermen, the word "Tilting" may be French in origin. This is the case, for example, for nearby
Twillingate, which was initially named "Toulinguet" by the French. For a while, colonial officials in
St. John's mistakenly referred to Tilting as "Tilton Harbor" in some official documents. By the early 20th century, it was known as "Tilting Harbour" again. The first settlers in Tilting were probably English bye-boat fishermen and planters; many of the prominent landmarks in Tilting have English names, such as Henning's Hill, Dominey's Brook, Chalk's Hill, and Trugard's. Eventually the Irish focused their settlement on Tilting, and the English moved away. This may have been because the large merchant in the area, Lester's of Trinity, placed an Irish agent named Ryan at Tilting, to serve the Irish and manage their accounts with Lester. Lester's initial interest in Tilting centred on the late-winter seal fishery. Lester sent large numbers of Irish passengers and workers to Tilting in the 1760s and 1770s, and good-naturedly referred to the planters of Tilting as "", probably because they had a reputation as hard bargainers. Thomas Burke was probably the first Irish planter to settle in Tilting, apparently in 1752. He had a substantial fishing business based out of Tilting and carried his fish and seals directly to St. John's rather than selling them to merchants on Fogo Island. Burke was a strong
Catholic and allowed
Mass to be said in his large stage, when this was technically forbidden by British officials. At the time, the Catholic faith was outlawed in England and its colonies, but travelling Irish priests occasionally visited outports like Tilting. Other early Irish settlers at Tilting were men named Foley, Dwyer, McGrath, Broders, Mahoney, Lane, Reardon, Keefe, Sexton, and Greene. These names all still survive today among the residents of Tilting. The oldest house in Tilting, the Lane House, is currently used as a museum. It may have been built in the late 18th century. Another very old house is known as "Ryan's House" and may have belonged to Lester's agent Ryan (see above.) It is located on the Keefe premises. The Irish Cemetery in Tilting may be the oldest existing exclusively Irish cemetery in
North America. France's Cove, just inside the entrance to Tilting Harbour, is probably the site of the early French summer fishing operations. Kelly's Island, adjacent to France's Cove, is thus the likely site of the earliest European settlement in the Tlting area. Tilting has a large collection of original and restored Irish Newfoundland houses, stages, and other outbuildings. There are also traditional early-modern complexes of gardens outside and throughout the community, as well as traditional root cellars, slide paths, and wells. This substantial and rare collection of traditional structures and material culture contributed to Tilting's being designated a Registered Heritage District in 2003 (see below.) Tilting's population was 393 in 1940 and 401 in 1956. On March 1, 2011, the Town of Tilting amalgamated with other communities to become the Town of Fogo Island. == Tilting National Historic Site ==