Burgoyne's Cove was first settled by British immigrants coming over from England to take advantage of the fishing, logging, and to mine slate (of which there is a very large deposit).
A British general, John Burgoyne, who fought in the Revolutionary War and also served for several months in Newfoundland in the late 1700s, lent his name to the new community.
On 18 March 1953, Brigadier General Richard E. Ellsworth was co-piloting a Convair RB-36H Peacemaker bomber on a 25-hour journey as part of a simulated combat mission flying from Lajes, Azores back to the Rapid City Air Force Base.
At 4:10 am near Burgoyne's Cove, with sleet, fog,[2] freezing drizzle, and visibility estimated at less than 1⁄8-mile (200 m), the plane struck an 896-foot (273 m) hill at 800 feet (244 m) with a ground speed of 202 knots (374 km/h; 232 mph).
The aircraft's propellers severed the tops of pine trees while the plane's left wing hit the ground, tore off, and spilled fuel.