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Rawlins Cross, St. John's

History of St. John's, Newfoundland and LabradorNeighbourhoods in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
RawlinsCrossStJohnsNewfoundland
RawlinsCrossStJohnsNewfoundland

Rawlins Cross (also Rawlin's), formed by the intersection of Prescott and Flavin Streets, Monkstown, Rennies Mill, Queens, and Military Roads, is a well known St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador landmark. Military Road, built in 1773, was one of the first roads in this area that joined Fort William with Fort Townsend. Monkstown Road (formerly Georgetown Road) was built in the early 19th century and Prescott Street around 1840. It is on the edge of Monkstown, which is part of the Georgetown Improvement Area and Downtown St. John's. Rawlins Cross takes its name from the Rawlins family who had a grocery store there from at least 1864. Another early business was grocer, James G Pennicuick. T J Eden later had a grocery business in Rawlins Cross, which was bought out by W J Murphy in 1919, as well as O'Mara-Martin Drugs, established in 1892. W J Murphy had initially worked in the drugstore, and T J Eden's before establishing a grocery store nearby at the top of Prescott Street.It was the site of the first traffic light for the city that was manually operated by a police constable. A commemorative plaque for the St. John's Electric Light Company is located at Rawlins Cross, although the business was established on nearby Flavin Street in 1885. The popular Newfoundland Celtic Rock band, Rawlins Cross, formed in 1988, takes its name from this St. John's landmark.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Rawlins Cross, St. John's (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Rawlins Cross, St. John's
Prescott Street, St. John's

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Latitude Longitude
N 47.568797222222 ° E -52.7082 °
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Prescott Street 84
A1C 3V2 St. John's
Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
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RawlinsCrossStJohnsNewfoundland
RawlinsCrossStJohnsNewfoundland
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Benevolent Irish Society
Benevolent Irish Society

The Benevolent Irish Society (BIS) is a philanthropic organization founded on 17 February 1806, a month before the Feast of St. Patrick, in St. John's, Newfoundland. It is the oldest philanthropic organization in North America. Membership is open to adult residents of Newfoundland who are of Irish birth or ancestry, regardless of religious persuasion. The BIS is a charitable, fraternal, middle-class social organization founded on the principles of "benevolence and philanthropy", and had as its original objective of helping the growing numbers of poor in St. John's, and providing the necessary skills which would enable people to better themselves. The rules of the BIS prohibited members from formally discussing political or religious questions, but the Society occasionally took a public political stand. In 1829 it participated in a large parade through St. John's to celebrate Roman Catholic Emancipation. In the early years of the nineteenth century, St. John's had a large Irish population with some members of affluence. Many of these Irish both saw social needs which were not being met by government, and desired to belong to a fraternal, gentlemanly organization. Under Bishop O'Donel's patronage, they founded the BIS under the motto He that gives to the poor lends to the Lord. By the 1820s, many BIS members were beginning to play prominent roles in the political life of Newfoundland and the Irish community in St. John's. By the 1840s the BIS had become so wealthy and influential that, next to the House of Assembly and the governor's council, the BIS was able to marshal considerable resources to address social problems and needs. In 1876 it sponsored the establishment in St. John's of the Irish Christian Brothers, and assisted with the maintenance of the Saint Bonaventure's College and the opening of St. Patrick's School. In 1996, the then Taoiseach of Ireland, John Bruton, visited the BIS in St. Patrick's Hall on St. Patrick's Day. The headquarters of the BIS, fronting on Queen's Road, backing on Military Road opposite of the Basilicia, with its side on Garrison Hill, was converted into a condominium residence in the late 1990s/early 2000s; the price of a single condo unit can reach over 1 million Canadian dollars. The BIS is now based about two minutes walk west at 30 Harvey Road.