The economy around Lake Melville was historically based around the fishery and fur. Fort Smith (present-day North West River) was the seat of the Hudson's Bay Company factor for the surrounding territory. After John McLean discovered convenient riverine routes into the interior, it also was the supply centre for Fort Naskaupi. Fish and fur prices plummeted with the stock market crash beginning in 1929, weakening the meager though meaningful subsistence-based economy. Construction of an air base at Goose Bay in 1941 and radar installations along the coast offered Southern Inuit their first wage employment. Today, the town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay is one of the largest communities in Labrador and the tenth-largest community in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.