Wabana

Wabana, NL, incorporated as a town in 1950, population 2346 (2011c), 2418 (2006c). The Town of Wabana is located on the north end of BELL ISLAND in Conception Bay and is the principal community on the island. The community grew up around the site of iron-ore mines opened in the 1890s and is said to have been named by a mining official for an Abenaki word meaning "place of first light." The community grew as a mining town and service centre for the island until the closing of the mines in 1966. Its population dropped quickly after the closure, but lately the decline has slowed. Since the 1960s, Wabana has been the site of the island's hospital and vocational school, and recently of a fish plant and a community co-operative which has engaged in diverse projects for the town.