[5] Weston was among the first permanent settlers in the district, cultivating 20 acres of wheat and constructing a water-powered mill to make flour from his crops on the southern bank of the Castlereagh River (now Neilson Park), being appointed postmaster in 1849, and establishing the first inn, the "Castlereagh Inn" in the early 1850s.

[5] European settlement continued to grow from the 1860s, as the wheat industry moved from coastal areas to further inland, encouraged by the Robertson Land Acts.

Built from local sandstone by Edmund Pye of Gunnedah at a cost of £1,300, the clock tower was officially dedicated on 23 August 1928 by Major General Charles Frederick Cox.

A dozen other telescopes are on Siding Spring Mountain, a number of which are operated by the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the Australian National University.

Siding Spring is also home to the Uppsala Telescope where Robert H. McNaught discovered his now famous daylight comet C/2006 P1 in August 2006.

A recent addition to the town was the construction of the world's largest virtual solar system drive[27] on the roads leading to the observatory.

Coonabarabran markets itself as the "astronomy capital of Australia", many of the businesses and government buildings in the town feature astronomically themed information plaques.

The Anglican Christ Church at 94 Dalgarno Street was opened in 1939 by Bishop Arnold Wylde to a design by Lindsay Gordon Scott.

Independently owned and operated, the Coonabarabran Times newspaper circulates throughout the Warrumbungle Shire area.

Approximately 2700 copies are distributed each Thursday across the townships of Coonabarabran, Binnaway, Baradine, Coolah, Dunedoo, Mendooran and Mullaley.

It continues to be a solid publication, consisting of local news and issues facing the community, sport, events and advertisements.

[34] Coonabarabran High School (established 1962) is on the Oxley Highway and is Government funded providing secondary education to the surrounding area.

[35] St Lawrence's Catholic Primary School is on Dalgarno Street, founded in 1888 by the Sisters of Saint Joseph.