West St. Modeste was given its name by Pierre Constantine, a merchant of New France, who named it in memory of his ancestral home in Normandy -- St. Modete, a Nordic saint. He gave his concession the title of "Seigneurie du Grand St. Modet" and directed his fishing operations from two locations, Grand St. Modet and Petit St. Modet. About 1800 these locations became the villages of East St. Modet and West St. Modet.

Over the years Modet has changed to Modeste. East St. Modeste has been abandoned. Grenfell opened the second co-operative store of Labrador in West. St. Modeste in 1903 and the Oblate Missionaries chose the community for their mission" Our Lady of Labrador" which was established in 1958.

West St. Modeste has two neighbouring communities, Pinware and Capstan Island. Both of these communities use West St. Modeste for services such as Canada Post and public Internet access.