Mushaboom is a rural community on the Eastern Shore of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It is a part of the

Halifax Regional Municipality Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

and lies along the Marine Drive on Trunk 7. The community is located about southwest of

Sheet Harbour Sheet Harbour is a rural area, rural community in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located in the eastern reaches of the Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality, approximately northeast of the central urban area of the municipality, co ...

. and east of Taylor Head Provincial Park. The name Mushaboom is likely a shortened form of the

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

word ''Moosaboon-elagwaak'' which means "a pile of hair".

legend says that fairies would play ball and run, pulling at one another's hair as they did so. They would pull so hard that locks of hair would come away and then the fairies would scatter the locks on the ground. An early name for the settlement was "Winchelsea Harbour", likely named for a ship on which the founders of Halifax arrived in 1749. The area was barren and unsettled in 1818, but by 1827, 14 families lived here and the community was referred to as '"Taylor's Bay" or "Chelsea Bay". Mushaboom is located primarily on the eastern shore of Mushaboom Harbour. Taylor Head Provincial Park comprises the western shore of the harbour. Numerous islands are located in the harbour, the largest of which include Malagash Island and Boutilier Island. Various coves along the harbour indent the coastline of the community. A beluga whale sanctuary had been proposed between two islands south of the community, in a passage known locally as "The Gates". The sanctuary was declined by the public and has been relocated to

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...

. Canadian singer-songwriter Leslie Feist's song " Mushaboom" on her breakthrough album '' Let It Die'' was inspired by seeing a small house for sale in the area in the early 2000s.

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{{Authority control Communities in Halifax, Nova Scotia Unincorporated communities in Nova Scotia