 Early in the 20th century, with the establishment of the Grand Falls pulp and paper mill, Southport fishermen drew upon this tradition of woods work to find seasonal employment cutting pulpwood.As the Labrador fishery declined in the early 20th century, the tradition of working away from the community for much of the year continued, with the emphasis being on woods work and general construction labour.By 1956, when Southport received its first road connection with the Province's highway system, the population of the community had topped 200.