The barony of Auchinleck had been forfeited to the crown and was granted by King James IV to his "good and faithful servant" Thomas Boswell.

The New Statistical Account of 1837 documents early mining and quarrying in the area which was to become the impetus for the region to boom.

By 1881 the parish population had blossomed and was 6,681, four times what it had been in 1831[4] Nationalisation of coal in 1947 brought investment and with the building of the Barony Power Station, which was commissioned in 1957, the future of the region seemed assured.

The village is home to the junior football club Auchinleck Talbot, who play at the 4,000-capacity Beechwood Park.

They share a fierce rivalry with near neighbours Cumnock Juniors in the West of Scotland Premier Division, the sixth tier of Scottish football.