Gambo, Bonavista Bay is located in a richly forested valley where the Gambo River flows into Freshwater Bay. Many small sawmills were built in the area between 1876 and 1906 to harvest the abundant forest resources nearby.

During the winter of 1862-1863, David Smallwood established a sawmill on the Gambo River. It was the first sawmill in Newfoundland to be powered by a large steam plant and employed 18-20 men.

In 1876 another mill was set up at Mint Brook to harvest spruce, pine, and fir. The Mint Brook mill attracted large numbers of people from Bonavista Bay in search of employment. In 1907 the town and the mill were destroyed by fire.

In 1878 sawmills were constructed at Dark Cove and Middle Brook. The availability of abundant forest resources and close proximity to waterways provided the incentive for the construction of many sawmills in the Gambo area. However, with few exceptions, these sawmills operated for only short period of time.

In the 1930s Bowater of Corner Brook and the Anglo-Newfoundland-Development Co. of Grand Falls began to harvest pulpwood in the area. Many men were employed in the woods until the mid-1960s when large-scale woods operations ceased. Depleted by forest fires the forest resources were no longer commercially viable.