Biography: Darius Blandford (1813 - 1879)
(The Telegram Aug 10, 1999, Bert Riggs, archivist)

Darius Blandford came to Greenspond, a thriving island community in northern Bonavista Bay, in 1829. A lad of 16 from Farnham, Dorset, England, he was not long in Greenspond before he had set up a blacksmith shop. He later established a fishery and supply business, marking the beginning of a mercantile dynasty which would complement Greenspond's ascendency as the unofficial capital of the northeast coast. Darius Blandford lived in Greenspond for 50 years; he died there on March 1, 1879. He had turned his businesses over to his sons some years before.