Salt Store Registered Heritage Structure

The Salt Store has been designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador for its historic and aesthetic values.

The Salt Store is historically valuable for its association with several notable merchant firms. Mercantile fishing premises were established at Battle Harbour by the firm of John Slade and Company of Poole, England in the early 1770s. Battle Harbour was a gateway to the rich fishing grounds of Labrador and was a primary port of call for fishing schooners involved in the Labrador fishery. Battle Harbour eventually became the capital of the Labrador floater fishery and developed into a year-round settlement. In 1871 John Slade and Company sold Battle Harbour to Baine Johnston and Co. Ltd., who operated from the site until 1955, when the premises were sold to Earle Brothers Freighting Services, who continued mercantile operations at Battle Harbour until the decline of the inshore fishery in the early 1990s.

The Salt Store also has historic value due to its age and as a physical reminder of a time when the cod fishery was the main industry in Newfoundland and Labrador. Studies suggest that the Salt Store, along with other mercantile buildings in Battle Harbour, was built in the first half of the 19th century. The building was used to store salt, which would be delivered to the first floor and stored on the second floor. Nets and sails belonging to different businesses and individuals were also stored in the second floor. The building was later used for general storage. For generations buildings such as the Salt Store were a common sight in coastal communities where the fishery was an economic mainstay.

The Salt Store has aesthetic value as it is an excellent example of the type of building constructed by mercantile firms in the 19th century. Built with a steeply pitched gable roof, two side wings with shed roofs and clad in wooden clapboard, such buildings were designed for practical use and had to endure the rigours of a harsh environment. At two-and-a-half storeys high with two-storey wings on each side, the Salt Store is the largest of the mercantile buildings at Battle Harbour. The Salt Store and other designated mercantile buildings in Battle Harbour are well-known buildings in the province and the entire premises is one of a few intact mercantile premises left in Newfoundland and Labrador.