Musquodoboit Harbour is a rural community located in

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 within 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 ...

. The community is situated on the Eastern Shore at the mouth of the

Musquodoboit River The Musquodoboit River is a Canadian river located in central Nova Scotia in the northeastern part of Halifax Regional Municipality. The river is approximately in length with roughly being traversable by paddle. It has a watershed area of The ...

. The community lies 45 kilometres east of downtown Halifax. With a hospital, RCMP detachment, postal outlet, schools, recreational center, library, municipal office and other services, Musquodoboit Harbour is a serve centre for many of the surrounding communities.

Etymology

''Musquodoboit'' means ''foaming to the sea'', ''flowing out square'' or ''rolling out in foam, or suddenly widening out after a narrow entrance at its mouth''. The community is an anglicized version of the Mi’kmaq word ''Moosekudoboogwek'' or ''Muskoodeboogwek''.

History

The community was settled in the 1780s mainly by

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

. Through the late 18th and early 19th centuries many settlers from

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

immigrated to the area and they still have descendants in the area, evidenced by prominent family names such as Tibbo, Rowlings, Anderson, Gaetz, and Bayers.

Transportation history

Much early travel was by water as roads were rough. Beginning in 1852, the stage coach travelled from Musquodoboit Harbour to Dartmouth at a cost of 5 shillings. The first automobile was owned by Dr. Kennedy in 1909. The Dartmouth Eastern Railway commenced in 1912 to carry lumber and lime from Middle Musquodoboit to Dartmouth. A station was completed in 1918 and today houses the Musquodoboit Harbour Railway Museum, which also serves as the local tourism office in summer. The museum grounds contain a passenger car, snow plow from the

Dominion Atlantic Railway The Dominion Atlantic Railway was a historic railway which operated in the western part of Nova Scotia in Canada, primarily through an agricultural district known as the Annapolis Valley. The Dominion Atlantic Railway (DAR) was unusually divers ...

and a

caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting; as well as in keeping a lookout for load ...

from the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

. The museum is on the Canadian Register of Historic Places. Today, the former railbed has been converted into a

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

, which starts at the former railway station and parallels the river, running 15 km north-northwestwards to

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

. Several hiking trails branch off the main trail into the granite uplands, named the Bayers Lake Loop, Admiral Lake Loop, North Granite Ridge, and South Granite Ridge trails. Motorized vehicles are not permitted to use the trail; they must use Highway 357, which runs generally parallel to the trail.

Other services

The Rural Telephone system came into use around 1909.

The Fire Department

It all began one evening in 1957 when Garth Young was sitting at the table playing crib with friends. His sister ran in and said she could see flames in a window upstairs as she was driving down the road. Garth and his father each grabbed a bucket of water and ran upstairs, but there was nothing they could do. There was no fire department in Musquodoboit Harbour. They called Lands and Forests (now called the Department of Natural Resources) who showed up later with a portable pump and some hose. But by now, the two-story house was in flames and the dozen family members who lived there could only watch helplessly as it burned to the ground. The loss motivated Garth Young and other people in the community to establish their own fire department. By 1960 Garth Young was clearing land for the new station. A year later the Musquodoboit Harbour Volunteer Fire Department was born and he became one of its original members. The Musquodoboit Harbour Volunteer Fire Department formed in 1961 with the fire hall opening on October 6, 1964. The first piece of equipment they had was a trailer with a pump on it. It had compartments on each side into which they were able to put extra equipment, such as hoses. The first truck they had was a 1957 milk truck that they bought in 1963 from a farmer. The Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary formed in February 1967. In 1996, Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, and the County of Halifax amalgamated into what is today the Halifax Regional Municipality. Dozens of fire departments merged into the Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency Services, and the Musquodoboit Harbour Volunteer Fire Department received the designation of "Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency, Station 24." On June 13, 2008, The station was actively involved in the Porter's Lake fire, one of the biggest forest fire in Nova Scotia's history. Members spent 5 days working side-by-side with the Department of Natural Resources. On October 6, 2008, the station was staffed with career personnel for the very first time. From October 6, 2008 to December 31, 2008, the crew was made up of a career Lieutenant and a casual worker taken from the station's own volunteers. On January 1, 2009 the station was officially staffed with career personnel, Monday to Friday, with anywhere between 2 and 4 people, depending on the needs.

Martinique Beach Provincial Park

Located at the end of the East Petpeswick Rd, Martinique Beach is the longest sandy beach in Nova Scotia. This 5 kilometre long beach is a provincial park which boasts both picnic and swimming facilities. The excellent surf conditions at Martinique Beach draw in surfers from all over. The beach is named after Prince Edward who took part in the 1794 Capture of Martinique. There is a wildlife sanctuary adjacent to Martinique Beach. Canada Geese and Black Ducks can often be seen during migratory periods. There is even a protected nesting area for the Piping Plover, an endangered species. The site is an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

Yacht Club

Just 2 kilometers down the East Petpeswick Road is Petpeswick Yacht Club. PYC is home to a learn-to-sail program, small marina and a kayaking program. The yacht club hosts an annual regatta-the Shearwater to Petpeswick Race, Canada Day festivities and a number of dances and social events throughout the year. The clubhouse was newly renovated in 2011 and is available for private hire.

Healthcare

The Twin Oaks Memorial Hospital, which opened in 1976, is located on Highway 7. It has a 24-hour emergency department and provides a variety of outpatient and inpatient services.

Churches

* Jeddore Baptist Church * Kingdom's Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses * Marine Drive Pentecostal Church * St James Anglican Church Hall * St. Phillip Neri Roman Catholic Church * United Church of Canada, Musquodoboit Harbour * St Thomas' Anglican Church, Musquodoboit Harbour

Transportation

Roads

* Trunk 7 * Highway 107 * Route 357 * East Petpeswick Road * West Petpeswick Road

Greenways

* Musquodoboit Trailway

Communications

* The

postal Code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

is B0J 2L0. * The

Telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a central component of a telecommunications system in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It facilitates the establishment of communication circuits ...

902 __NOTOC__ Year 902 (Roman numerals, CMII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Adalbert II, Margrave of Tuscany, Adalbert II, margrave of March of Tuscany, Tuscany, revol ...

889, 891 -

Bell Aliant Bell Aliant is a brand name used by Bell Canada for Telecommunications in Canada, telecommunications services in Atlantic Canada. Prior to 2015, Bell Aliant Inc. (formerly Aliant Inc.) was a separate company providing telecom services in the Atl ...

; 342 - Eastlink; 878 - Rogers

Demographics

* Total Population - 977 * Total Dwellings - 1364 * Total Land Area - 207.042 km²

Schools

* Eastern Shore District High School (10 to 12) *Oyster Pond Academy (P-9)

References

External links

Musquodoboit Harbour Railway MuseumMusquodoboit Trailways AssociationHRM Community Information PageHalifax Public Libraries - Musquodoboit Harbour BranchPetpeswick Yacht ClubEastern Shore Recreation CommissionExplore HRMEastern Shore Jr. Mariners Hockey Club
{{Halifax Regional Municipality Communities in Halifax, Nova Scotia Important Bird Areas of Nova Scotia