Marystown

Physical environment

Marystown lies on hummocky pyroclastic volcanic rock of mixed composition. This rock is overlain by very stony sandy loam glacial till which has a classic podzol soil profile in undisturbed areas; this is named as Toslow soil association. The vegetation at the time of the soil survey was a barren dominated by sphagnum mosses, heath-type shrubs, and mountain alder. Forest vegetation, mostly of coniferous trees, has developed in many areas around town as can be seen on Google Street View.

Education

Marystown and surrounding area is home to four public schools, Marystown Central High School, Sacred Heart Academy, Pearce Junior High, and Donald C. Jamieson Academy. Post secondary institutions include two public trade-colleges, College of the North Atlantic, and Keyin College.

Marystown's public schools are serviced under the Eastern School District of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Sports/community life

Despite being in a province reporting one of the highest obesity rates in Canada, Marystown has sport enthusiasts in disciplines including softball, soccer, swimming, track and field and hockey can find endless outlets to express support or participation in these active groups and clubs. Marystown has many attractions for both residents and visitors:

The urban centre is surrounded by rolling hills and densely wooded areas, as a result Marystown is frequented by hunting, fishing, camping and ATV enthusiasts.

Religion

While the town contains a diverse mixture of churches of varying denominations, the town is almost entirely Christian. The information presented from a 2001 census from Statistics Canada indicates that 68% of the population is Roman Catholic.

Sacred Heart Parish

Established in 1910, the original edifice, constructed in the early 1900s had to be reconstructed in the late 1970s due to a fire. In more recent years, the church has received much attention from the news when a family of illegal immigrants from Israel resided there as a place of sanctuary. Alexi and Angela Portnoy and their five children (the three youngest of whom were born in Canada) stayed in the church's basement for a total of 962 days while seeking citizenship status. The family was ultimately deported to Israel, but their supporters vowed to try to help the family to return.

Calvary Pentecost Church

Establishment of the church began in 1956. It was not until 1958 that the first Pentecost church in Marystown was officially completed. Since then there have been three Pentecost churches erected in the Marystown area: the original edifice in 1958, the second in 1974, and the current church that was built in 1995.

Seventh-Day Adventist Church

It wasn't until the 1970s that the Seventh Day Adventists established a significant population in Marystown. The construction of the first church began in 1985 along with a Seventh-Day school. Though the construction was completed much earlier, 1987 denotes the official church opening.

Shipyard

The shipyard consists of two essentially independent facilities, namely the older Marystown portion (built in 1967) and the newer Cow Head facility (built in 1992).

First opening in 1967, Marystown's shipyard existed as the backbone of the economy until the early 1990s, when the yard was privatized by the provincial government. Today the shipyard is seeing renewed interest as the current owner, Peter Kiewit and Sons, strives to secure contracts for the facility.

Fish plant

For many years the fish plant in Marystown created hundred jobs in the small town. Originally operated by Fishery Products International (FPI) the plant was sold to Ocean Choice International (OCI) in 2007. In 2011, the plant employed roughly 240 people seasonally. In November 2011, provincial government-appointed auditors backed up claims by OCI that they were losing millions of dollars each year operating the fish plant. On December 2, 2011, the company announced that they would permanently close their Marystown and Port Union fish plants and invest money into other plants in the province. Demolition of the plant began in 2015.

Tourist attractions

Attractions to the town include:

Shrine of Marymount

The Shrine of Marymount, or The Marymount as it is locally referred to, is one of the largest Marian statues erected in Newfoundland. It stands at fifteen feet tall, and overlooks the entirety of Marystown, sitting at one of the highest points in the area.

Radio

Marystown currently receives numerous radio stations including:

Television

Print

Marystown is the home of The Southern Gazette, a newspaper that covers the entire Burin Peninsula.