Mulgrave is a small picturesque town situated on the western side of the Strait of Canso. The Town has had a long history attached to the sea and to transportation and continues these ties today.

Mulgrave's first settlers were European Loyalists looking for a safe place to reside from the American Revolution in 1800. This area the loyalists took up residence was originally named McNair's Cove and would not be changed until 1859. At this time the lumber trade was flourishing and McNair's Cove became a part of it with the English Government. When the lumber trade ended in 1818 the area looked toward the fishing industry and by 1830 it would prove to be their major source of income. Ferry services were also established in Mulgrave in 1833, carrying passengers from Mulgrave to Port Hawkesbury. This service provided rail and road gateways for traffic from mainland NS and the rest of Canada to CB and NFLD.Mulgrave was to be it's future name, named after Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, George Augustus Constantine Phipps, Earl of Mulgrave.

Mulgrave would soon find depression and hard times in 1870 when the fishing industry collapsed because trade agreements were cancelled to protect the American fish market. Due to this loss the population of Mulgrave would drop by one third in 1880 because of a migration to the New England area in search of employment. For those who stayed the beginning of the 1900's would prove to be prosperous as local people were finding employment with the railway, new rail ferry's had arrived and a new lobster factory was built. Mulgrave was quickly becoming a thriving town meeting the needs of the railroad industry. Mulgrave would become the major terminus of all rail and auto traffic between Cape Breton Island and Mainland Nova Scotia.

With the economy growing, the resident's of Mulgrave felt that the Guysborough Administration was not meeting the demands of their new growth. On November 5, 1923 a vote was held, with results showing the majority of the citizens in favor of incorporation. Mulgrave officially became incorporated on December 1, 1923 as an independent body despite the concerns of some citizens who felt Mulgrave would not survive on it's own.

Since Mulgrave became a major terminus for rail and auto traffic to and from Cape Breton Island more ferries were required. In 1894, the SS Mulgrave was built to transfer passengers and would tow a wooden barge of freight cars across the Strait of Canso. By 1902, the SS Scotia I was introduced to transfer both passenger and freight cars. In 1915, a slightly larger ferry was built to alleviate the congestion of traffic due to the war, the SS Scotia II, which left the SS Scotia I as a standby vessel.

With this added traffic through Mulgrave, the Town was beginning to see more growth and prosperity. New people and businesses were relocating to the area, such as a bakeshop, meat market, grocery stores, restaurants, a hotel, doctors and dentist offices, the Royal Bank and many more. The formation of the Branch of the Canadian Legion of British Empire Services (now known as Branch 37 of the Royal Canadian Legion), the Fire Brigade (known today as the Mulgrave Volunteer Fire Department), the Acadia Fisheries which purchased the old Loggie Fish Plant and employed over 400 people, and the opening of Mulgrave Memorial School.

The Town of Mulgrave was booming. By the early 1950's, long lines of traffic were forming at times at each terminal, which meant both the Scotia's would be working at full speed. With this huge amount of traffic, added pressure was put on the government to supply a better and more dependable way to cross the strait all year. There solution would be the construction of the Canso Causeway in 1955. With the completion of the Canso Causeway, an ice free port was created and thus pushed Cape Breton into a new industrial era of oil refineries, a world famous pulp and paper mill and a heavy water plant. Also, Cape Porcupine became a year round rock and sand quarry that now sends rock and gravel to places all over the world via barge, which passes through the Strait and Canso Causeway. For Port Hawkesbury, and the surrounding area the Causeway would bring with it great prosperity and growth. For Mulgrave, this meant that the ferry services to Cape Breton Island would be eliminated, thus employment with these services would be terminated. For many families living in Mulgrave who have been dependent on these services for survival hardship would soon replace their prosperity. With this loss of traffic, economic turmoil would soon follow. Despite these economic hardships optimism remained with the residents of Mulgrave and still exists today.