J.W. Hodge (Firm)

J.W. Hodge was a Newfoundland fish and fishery supply business headquartered in Fogo, with branches at Twillingate, Change Islands, and Joe Batt's Arm, which operated from 1887 to 1918. John Wheadon Hodge (d. 1936) established himself at the head of a business that became one of the most prominent mercantile firms in northeastern Newfoundland. Hodge also owned a small fleet of fishing schooners.

The Hodge business at Fogo was originally established by John Slade of Poole in the eighteenth century. This was followed by a succession of partnerships and mergers until the 1870s, when Thomas Dorman Hodge became the agent for William Waterman & Co. at Fogo. For at least part of the period between 1870 and the 1890s, the business was run by a partnership of the Waterman and Hodge families. The original partners were Thomas Dorman Hodge, Richard Dorman Hodge, William Waterman, and William Edward Waterman, trading under the name of William Waterman & Co. In September 1887, John Wheadon Hodge purchased the Fogo and Change Islands businesses from the partnership.

J.W. Hodge retired from the business in 1918 when the tragic deaths of two of his sons caused him to leave the area. His successor was the St. John's-based Newfoundland and Labrador Export Company, which bought out the Fogo business in 1918 and the Change Islands branch in 1922.

Created - May 27, 2013

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