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Fortune, NL, Town, pop 1458 (2006c), 1615 (2001c), inc 1946. Fortune is located on the west end of the Burin Peninsula at the mouth of Fortune Bay. Its name, dating from the early 1500s, is thought to come from the Portuguese word, fortuna, meaning "fortune" or "luck." Situated near the GRAND BANKS, it and the nearby town of GRAND BANK were likely utilized by Portuguese, French and Basque fishermen throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Fortune appeared on Spanish and Italian maps as early as 1527 and is in the 1687 French census. English settlement began sometime after when the Lake family moved here from Paradise Sound, Placentia Bay in 1763. They were followed by English settlers who were forced to leave French SAINT-PIERRE - an island only 50 km from Fortune - after the Treaty of PARIS (1763). During the 19th century, the inshore and bank fisheries continued to attract settlers and shipbuilding grew in importance. In the 20th century, furniture manufacturing (1907-17) and wholesale and retail businesses added to the local economy. Fortune's founding industries suffered with the COD moratorium, in place since the early 1990s, and today one plant remains and processes a variety of species.
The discovery of FOSSILS at Fortune Head in 1977 led to the site being designated as an ecological reserve in 1992. That same year it was chosen as the Global Stratotype Section and Point marking the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary (see GEOLOGICAL HISTORY). An interpretation centre in town explains Fortune Head's geological and paleontological significance. Other points of interest in Fortune include its marina, picturesque fishermen's sheds, Victoria Hall Museum (built in 1883) and George and Mary Lake Heritage House (built in the late 1880s). Known as the "Gateway to St Pierre and Miquelon," Fortune provides the only regular ferry service to the French Islands.
 Fortune
Author
ROBERT D. PITT Revised: FAY HERRIDGE
Links to Other Sites
Fortune
The website for the Town of Fortune, located on the extreme tip of the Burin Peninsula, on the southeast coast of the province of Newfoundland & Labrador.
Fortune Head Ecological Reserve
Information page about the Fortune Head Ecological Reserve. Features rock formations that represent the geological boundary between the Precambrian Era and the Cambrian Period. From the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
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