The first colonists were a group of Flemish settlers captained by Willem van der Haegen, who selected the valley of Ribeira da Cruz for his settlement.

They made their homes in the small grottoes along the river-valley, but when they realized that there were no deposits, they abandoned their settlement and moved to the area of Topo, on the island of São Jorge.

The area remained uninhabited for many decades until the 16th century, as Father Gaspar Frutuoso noted is his historical tome Saudades da Terra and where he mentioned the community but omitted whether it was populated.

Although supported by emigres to the United States and notable local residents, such as the Visconde da Silva Figueira, the main chapel wasn't completed until September 11, 1880.

It is said that a survivor of one of these storms, hungry, wet and cold, appeared along a windy and rugged part of the north-east coast, where he was given food, dry clothes and cared for by the local residents.

Although a good Christian man, he had many ideas that were considered heretical: for example, he exclaimed that prayers for the dead had no meaning and he negated the existence of Purgatory or Hell.

After some time afterword there started to appear a skull (Portuguese: caveira) with an inner light, and the local residents believed that it was Demétrio's soul trying to obtain prayers in order to be delivered from Purgatory.

At the top of the rugged rock the family constructed a niche, with a panel representing the skull, but the name of the village began to referred to as Caveira.

Near the mouth of the Ribeira da Cruz is the large cliffs of Rocha Fernão Jorge, a semi-triangular physical feature formed from basaltic prisms originating from lava flows.

The catholic faith community is guided by Nossa Senhora do Livramento, although officially still holding onto the primitive Benditas Almas canonical titles.

The gradual de-population of this community spelled the extinction of the private butter industry, as the União das Cooperatives swallowed-up smaller businesses.