Baytona is a small rural community found in Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated off of Route 340, which runs from Lewisporte to Twillingate island, aptly named "Road to the Isles". A bay separates Baytona from a neighboring town called Birchy Bay. The first settlers of Baytona were fishermen, with women mainly staying home to raise children; however, with a depletion in cod stocks and lobsters, there was a shift away from the fishing industry.
Baytona has a fire department, town council and a recreation committee. There is currently one running convenience store. The community has a playground, and a basketball court.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Baytona had a population of 251 living in 111 of its 162 total private dwellings, a change of -4.2% from its 2016 population of 262.[1] With a land area of 15.15 km2 (5.85 sq mi), it had a population density of 16.6/km2 (42.9/sq mi) in 2021.[3]
Name change
Originally, Baytona was known as "Birchy Bay North". In 1958 the name was changed to "Gayside" to help the flow of mail delivery. The name was a play on the word "gay", which at that time meant happy, implying that Gayside was the more pleasant of the two communities. However, in 1985, due to a change in definition of the word "gay", and subsequent joking and harassment of neighbouring communities, the name of the town was, once again, changed from "Gayside" to "Baytona".[4][5]
