In 2011, Bay Roberts celebrated the 60th anniversary of its incorporation. On February 24, 1951, the town, which is an amalgamation of five smaller communities: Bay Roberts East, Bay Roberts, Coley's Point, Shearstown / Butlerville, and Country Road, officially became an incorporated municipality. The town of Bay Roberts has matured from its humble beginning as a fishing settlement to one of the most prosperous towns in the province. While the town flourished as a commercial centre during the early part of the 1900s, it was after incorporation in 1951, that it firmly established itself as a major service hub for the Avalon Peninsula. Robert J. Mercer was the town's first mayor in 1951 and Fred Winsor became deputy mayor. Others elected included: Eric Dawe of Avalon Coal Salt & Oil Ltd; Alton Churchill of Churchill's Building Supplies; John North, an early volunteer fireman with the town and later owner of a popular outdoor skating rink on Central Street; Victor Sparkes, Principal of St. Mark's School; Eric Marshall (Marshall's Hardware and later Marshall's Restaurant); Magistrate William E. Mercer, and Ray Cave, Cave's Barber Shop.