Blaketown, named after Sir Henry Arthur Blake, Governor of Newfoundland (1887–1889), was settled in 1888 as an agricultural district. Thirty two families from the Conception Bay communities of Upper Island Cove, Bishops Cove, Spaniards Bay and Bay Roberts settled along the Dildo Agricultural Road, a stretch of road between South Dildo and Whitbourne. A Church of England school/church was constructed around 1890 to accommodate an approximate population of 262. The agricultural experiment failed as the land in the area was not suitable for farming and the settlers who had been fishermen were not properly trained in farming. By 1911 the number of full-time farmers in Blaketown had decreased to only three. The lumber industry had taken over a significant part of the economy. In 1955 the Govern