The community now known as Elliston was settled in the early 1800s by families who left the crowded community of Bonavista in search of good land with water frontage needed for the making of fish. Back then the area was called Bird Island Cove, and although it offered no protected anchorage it was a successful fishing centre because of its proximity to the rich fish stocks of the Dollarman Banks. Over time more settlers arrived, many as indentured servants from the Old Country, and the community grew to a population of about 900.

The absence of a good harbour at Bird Island Cove made land connections with nearby Bonavista and Catalina even more important than usual. In the 1840s, the colonial government provided some funds to build a road connecting Bird Island Cove with Bonavista by way of Lance Cove and Spillars Cove. Coster Street in Bonavista was the western end of this rough track, which was named “Klondike Road” for some reason long forgotten.