“The spot is called Barbour’s Tickle*, and contains the old sheds and stores, as well as several splendid houses owned by the Barbours, the family that was once the local merchant. When we worked our way through the displays, and heard the excellent commentary of the guides (at least one of whom is a member of the Barbour clan), all was revealed.
The surrounding village was really a cluster of independent or co-dependent people. And in the old days, before road transport, it was the merchant who ran the show. He bought the cod, took it to St. Johns, and back-loaded all the essentials. There was no commercial centre because he controlled the lot.”
(*In Newfoundland, a “tickle” is an inlet with both an entrance and an exit.)