Once dubbed Anse aux Sauvages (Cove of Savages) by French seamen who had most likely encountered a Beothuk settlement in the area, the harbour was permanently settled in the 1830s by an English seaman named George Gaulton.

Nearby Sandy Cove was settled by Thomas White and George Coles of Devonshire, England along with the former's wife Ann Gould of Anchor Point in 1843.

It was eventually renamed for the unusual presence of a small amount sand found on the shore near its wharf.

The Canadian Saltfish Corporation had built a processing facility in the area making Savage Cove the focus of long liners who would conduct their fishing in the straits on the Labrador side.

With the demise of the cod fishery, Savage Cove, as well as many other neighbouring communities, are suffering financially.