About

The Indian Meal Line Project

This summer's project at the History House wanted to delve into the unique history of the Indian Meal Line in Torbay. We were intrigued by its name and Torbay's connection to "Indian meal." This has led us on an insightful journey of discovery, revealing many of the challenges faced by Newfoundlanders more than a century and a half ago. 

​

In the 1840s, Newfoundland faced many consecutive blows. 

​

The second of three "Great Fires" in St. John's lit the harbour ablaze and caused significant loss to fishery equipment. A hurricane less than three months later destroyed much of what was left. Having been set back so far, the already unstable fisheries (following the war of 1812) failed once more, and, to top it all off, the very same blight that was striking the potatoes in Ireland came to our shores. Reports arose quickly of the island's lack of food; we had practically lost our fishery and one of our staple crops in a burgeoning agricultural sector within an extremely short time. For fear that too many would turn to the government and rely solely on assistance, the still-fledgling responsible government devised a temporary solution thought to be able to benefit all: in exchange for "Indian meal" (an out-of-date term for cornmeal) and molasses, men across the island would work on improving the roads and infrastructure out of and around St. John's. Roads, which ultimately came to include ones like the Indian Meal Line. 

​

However, questions remained: how did Newfoundlanders use their cornmeal and molasses? If it wasn't grown here, where did they get it? Did they know what to do with it, or did they have to have recipes imported alongside? How did these recipes taste? We are onto making these discoveries now, as we strive to re-create "Indian meal" recipes from the 1840s to both better understand and help us interpret our not-so-distant past. You can see each new recipe as it is posted every Friday on the Recipes menu page, or right here.