The nearest large service area is Stephenville.

The town was created in 1970 by amalgamating the small villages of Port au Port West, Aguathuna and Felix Cove.

The area grew from workers at the nearby limestone mine site at Jack of Clubs Cove.

The Dominion Iron and Steel Company opened a quarry there in 1911.

Howley suggested Aguathuna believing it to be a Beothuk word for white stone.