The first settler and founder of Sandy Cove was Thomas White. People settled in Sandy Cove because of the fishery. In the early 1900's, the Whites' and Coles' made much of their living from netting seals in the Straits, fishing for cod on the Labrador Coast, and fur trapping in the country. In the mid 1800's, Sandy Cove had a reliable cod fishery for the first time. The main denomination (religious group) was Anglican. Sandy Cove was once named Poverty Cove; however, the name was changed due to its sandy shoreline.

The limestone barrens in the Sandy Cove Provisional Ecological Reserve support a species of plant found nowhere else in the world. Long's Braya (Braya longii) is a small plant that grows only on a 10 km stretch near the community of Sandy Cove. The reserve protects two small parcels of land. Collectively these two parcels protect 15 hectares of limestone barrens along the Strait of Belle Isle.