West Covehead was the local school district and it became the identifying name for a municipal electoral district when the community was incorporated in 1974. The bay and the area around it have been called Covehead since early in the 1800's. In fact, before the sand formed a narrow channel to Brackley Bay, it was customary to call the big double bay Cove Head. The Post Office address at Confederation was Covehead, but over time it became customary to identify areas by their school district names.

The community surrounds Covehead Bay to the South of Stanhope. It is still an agricultural community, but there are fewer active farmers and the land in the Coastal Zone has been gradually developed for housing.

The Community Center, and the Fire Hall are here, as is the district's only commercial operation, Allan's Potato Handling Equipment.