The community was settled in the 1780s mainly by
Loyalists. Through the late 18th and early 19th centuries many settlers from
Scotland,
England and
Germany 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. The train 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 and a
caboose from the
Canadian National Railway. The museum is on the Canadian Register of Historic Places. Today, the former railbed has been converted into a
rail trail, which starts at the former railway station and parallels
the river, running 15 km north-northwestwards to
Gibraltar. 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. Not much is known about this company but the area was controlled by the
Maritime Telegraph and Telephone Company by the late 1990s. 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 and 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 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==