Cape Chapeau Rouge is a coastal landmark fronting Placentia Bay at the entrance to St. Lawrence, NL. It is the highest point of land on the south coast and is located within the municipal boundaries of the Town of St. Lawrence. The designation encompasses the entire area.

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Cape Chapeau Rouge has been used as a navigational landmark for centuries. It was a signal too early fishers that a safe harbor was near and it's expansive beaches were useful for fishermen who exploited the cod fishery. There is a rarity of good harbors along this shore and the coast is often fogbound with treacherous currents. Cape Chapeau Rouge is found on rutters (sets of sailing directions) as early as 1579.

 

 Cape Chapeau Rouge is named for its appearance. Ancient records say that the cape changes shape as one moves towards it traveling by sea. Its appearance is most striking when fog is hovering about it and it has been said to resemble the crown of a hat, a lion, a bust, a broken turret, and a rough dome.

Cape Chapeau Rouge has a connection with the French migratory fishery. France was an important participant in the early exploration and exploitation of Newfoundland. By the time French explorer Jacques Cartier arrived in 1534, Breton, Norman, and Basque fishermen had been fishing there for decades. French Basque had a ready supply of salt and concentrated on the cod fishery. The French Basque set up summer rooms (fishing premises) at the base of Cape Chapeau Rouge, but no permanent settlement took place.

 

During the seventeenth century, the French migratory fishery reached its peak and it's only competitor, who they outnumbered by two to one in fishing vessels, was the English migratory fishery. The French concentrated their efforts in two main areas of Newfoundland, one of which took in Placentia Bay, including St. Lawrence. The area known as la cote du Chapeau Rouge and the fishers came mostly from ports in Brittany. In addition to the migratory fishery, the French set up year-round settlements in these areas. Cape Chapeau Rouge was used by the French to guide them to the fishing grounds and safe harbors, which was particularly important, considering the frequent fog and unpredictable currents.

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