Cumnock, Ontario

Cumnock, Ontario
Cumnock, Ontario
Unincorporated rural community
	Highway 6 in Cumnock
	Cumnock, Ontario Cumnock, Ontario
	Coordinates: 43°45′35″N 80°27′25″W / 43.75972°N 80.45694°W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
County	Wellington
Township	Centre Wellington
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
GNBC Code	FAUXS

Cumnock is an unincorporated rural community in Centre Wellington Township, Wellington County, Ontario, Canada.^[1]^[2] Cumnock was part of Nichol Township until 1999.^[3]^[4]

The settlement is located on Highway 6, 9 km (5.6 mi) northwest of Fergus.

Once a thriving rural community, little remains of the original settlement.

History

James Samson, a Scottish immigrant, purchased 7,367 acres (2,981 ha) of land in the area in 1852. Samson built a general store and tavern along the Owen Sound Road (now Highway 6), and named the settlement after his hometown of Cumnock, Scotland.^[6]^[7] A post office was established in Samson's store in 1855, with Samson as postmaster.^[8]

In 1855, Richard Gluyas laid out Gluyasville a short distance north of Cumnock. Gluyasville was eventually absorbed by Cumnock.^[7]

The Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railway built a line through Cumnock in 1871, and a station was built there.^[9]^[10] That same year, Cumnock was noted as having a saw mill, a wagon maker, and two hotels (the British Hotel and the Red Lion).^[10] The Red Lion Hotel was owned by Scottish immigrant John Muir, who "went back to Scotland several times to bring back wives to Cumnock".^[6]

The Cumnock Methodist Church was built in 1877.^[11]

Cumnock was noted as having a cheese factory in 1880.^[12]

Decline

At its peak, Cumnock had a population of 200, though by 1908, the settlement had one hotel, two stores, two churches, and a population of 86.^[6]^[13]

The post office closed in 1915, and the Methodist church closed in 1924.^[8]^[11]

An author writing in 1933 described the northern boundary of Nichol Township "where Cumnock used to be",^[14] and by 1969, Cumnock was no longer listed on provincial maps.^[6]

The railroad line through Cumnock was eventually taken over by Canadian National Railway, and was abandoned in 1983.^[9]^[10]

Cumnock Tract

In 1964, the County of Wellington purchased two parcels of forested land at Cumnock for recreational use. Located within the westernmost parcel is the Cumnock Tract, a 1.5 km (0.93 mi) walking trail.^[15]