Dildo

The name has been recorded here since at least 1711 and nobody has established where it came from; the leading suggestions are a nautical term for a thole pin used in rowing, an Iberian place name, or a corruption of something else entirely. Several campaigns in the twentieth century to change it came to nothing. In 2019 Jimmy Kimmel adopted the village on his show, gave it a hillside sign in the style of the Hollywood sign, and was named honorary mayor, which brought a surge of visitors. The village itself has a whale interpretation site, a small museum in the former school and one of the oldest cod hatcheries in North America.

History

Maritime Archaic people lived at Anderson's Cove as far back as 2000 BC, and by AD 700 people of the Dorset culture inhabited Dildo Island. In 1613 Henry Crout, sailing up Dildo Arm, met the Beothuk who were then living on the island, traded with them and left gifts; the name, then written Dildoe, is recorded for the island in 1711, and the town was founded in the late 18th century to work the cod, whales and seals of Trinity Bay (Wikipedia, Dildo, Newfoundland and Labrador).

What you'll find

• The village sign - the most photographed object in the community.
• The Kimmel connection - the hillside sign and honorary mayoralty from 2019.
• The whale viewing - humpbacks in Trinity Bay in summer.
• The museum - local history including the nineteenth-century cod hatchery.

When to go

June to September for whales and the open museum; the village is quiet in winter. Trinity Bay whale numbers peak in July when the capelin arrive.

Practical notes

Most visitors come for a photograph with the sign and leave. The village is small with limited services. The name's origin genuinely is unknown, not a joke with an answer.

Nearby

Cupids lies east; Heart's Content is north.

Key facts