Pictured: The construction of Coughlan United Church on Water St East, Harbour Grace, 1949.  On August 17, 1944, its predecessor burned during the third ‘Great Fire’ of Harbour Grace. This new church would be the fifth Methodist institution in the town’s history. Rev. Walter H. Macabe opened and dedicated the present-day Coughlan United Church on August 29, 1950. More than 1,000 people, including visitors from St. John’s, attended the opening service.

The cemetery in the foreground holds the grave of Rev. William Ellis, the first British Methodist missionary to be buried in Newfoundland. The community of Elliston (formerly Bird Island Cove) takes its name from the Reverend. Nearby, rumours have it Easton buried men killed during a Basque raid in an unmarked mass grave.

Photo courtesy MUN Digitial Archives Initiative / Canada United Church.