St. Jone’s Within is a tiny community that is located on the Southwest Arm. This community is situated in a land-locked harbour and provides residents with easy access to boating activities.

Winter people visited St. Jone’s Within before the community became permanently settled. These people would have been here for the rich timber stands in the area. Local lore has two different people who may have been the first settlers. One account lists Samuel Holloway as being the first resident while another has Hezekiah Benson living here in the 1800’s, with both of these men coming from the Conception Bay area.

People believe that this community was settled for the close proximity to rich fishing grounds and because of the landlocked harbour, which provided excellent shelter for schooners. The main industry was fishing during the summer months. Many of the residents would travel to Labrador to partake in the fishery. This fish would be brought to the community for processing and then would be shipped elsewhere for sale. There was also a herring factory located in Ford’s Cove, which processed the fish for shipping to other places.

St. Jone’s Within was the first home for the famous schooner, “Norma and Gladys”. This schooner was designed in 1941 for Allan Tucker after his brothers decided to go their separate ways in the fishing industry. Mr. Tucker wanted a bigger schooner for fishing on the Labrador and had the schooner constructed at Stone’s Shipyard in Harcourt. The schooner was constructed from locally obtained wood and was named after Mr. Tucker’s two daughters, Norma and Gladys. This schooner only fished the Labrador for one summer before Mr. Tucker realized it was too big for him and sold it to Steers Company in St. John’s.

The community residents were also very involved in the lumber industry. There were 2 watermills and 7 sawmills in earlier years. Men would cut logs during the winter for sawing during the summer months, with the lumber being shipped by schooner to St. John’s.

Until the 1980’s, the community had a co-op store as well as several general stores but those have since closed.

The community is predominately of the United Church faith. The first church was built in 1850, with the first minister being Rev, Lesley W. Blundon. That church was later closed with a new church being built in 1980. The community also had a two-room school, which closed in the early 1990’s, with the students being bussed to Clarenville. The Orange Lodge has been in the community for many years.

Many of the residents of St. Jone’s Within are retired, but there is one family of fishermen and several other residents who work in nearby communities. The community is located approximately 25 minutes from Clarenville, where banking, medical and shopping needs are available.

Many residents enjoy an excursion to nearby coves and resettled areas, which offer a relaxing day away viewing seabirds and other wildlife. The beautiful fall landscape, with it’s multicolored trees provides serenity for those wishing to walk through the quiet countryside listening to the wild birds.