The town of Placentia occupies an important place in Newfoundland's early colonization and military history. Placentia is referred to as the old French capital of Newfoundland, with the name Plaisance, meaning "pleasant place". The name Plaisance changed to Placentia after the English took control of the land from the French in 1713. It is said that before the French had colonized Placentia in 1662, we had European settlers visit our shores as early as the 1300's. Basque, Spanish, Portuguese, French and English fishermen all visited Placentia during the sixteenth century.

The first organized settlement of Placentia occurred in 1662, when the French established a permanent community here. The French chose Placentia for it's settlement because of its natural advantages. Placentia Bay was noted for it's fine fishery and it's abundant source of bait. The port was well-sheltered and had a significant stretch of beach that was suitable for splitting and drying fish. The harbour was also free of ice, allowing the boats early access to the fishing grounds.
In addition to these natural advantages, Placentia also had two strategic benefits:

• first, it was situated on the Cabot Strait, keeping communication between France and the New World open at times of war

• second, Placentia was located within easy striking distance of St. John's, therefore serving as an easy way to keep down the English population.

Towards the end of the seventeenth century, war broke out between England and France mainly over the ownership of the western world. This war caused the French to build various forts surrounding the areas of attack, such as Fort Louis and the fort at Castle Hill. The French used these forts at Placentia to help protect themselves from the many attacks of the English.

After repeat attacks by the English, the French lost the long lasting battle. As a result of the Treaty Of Utrecht in 1713, the French were forced to leave Placentia's shores and give up ownership to the English. This agreement stated that England had supremacy over the island of Newfoundland,leaving France with some fishing and fish-drying rights between Cape Bonavista and Cape Riche.

When the English arrived at Placentia, Europeans were still at war, which affected the colony at Placentia. The English settlers decided to repair the forts left by the French and build a fort of their own, Fort Frederick. These forts would help them protect themselves from future invasions by enemies.

In the next 100 years or so, Placentia was still known for its fine fishery, but it was also turned into a main trading, supply and transportation center for the western shores of the Avalon Peninsula. Because of Placentia's many natural advantages, the English population in the area grew.

Unfortunately, this great outcome of success did not last forever. The failure of the fishery in the nineteenth century caused a decline in Placentia's successfulness. At that time most companies moved away.

The construction of the railway and the growth of the bank fishery around the late 1880's, allowed Placentia to regain it's role as a local retail and service center. By this time the fishery had improved and again was of great importance to our area.The community was forming and changing each year to meet the needs of the demanding times.

In 1941, the Argentia Naval Base was built. This provided many jobs for local people and it increased the population once more for the community of Placentia and the surrounding communities of Jersey Side, Freshwater, South East, Point Verde and Dunville.

Two major events in 1945 changed Placentia in a big way:

First, our town formed its first town council to help meet the communities needs,
the corner stone of St. Edward's Regional High School was laid and blessed.