Armed with such knowledge, Sam Cliffe formed a syndicate, which in 1869 staked claims on Perseverance (formerly Coal) Creek that flows northwest into Comox Lake.

[4] In 1887, Robert Dunsmuir bought the enterprise and incorporated the Union Colliery Co.[7] He arranged for a sawmill to be brought to the mine area.

For the 5-kilometre (3 mi) gap, Grant and Mounce built a wagon road while advancing, taking two to three months to reach the mine.

Strikebreakers were protected by special police, until riots broke out at Cumberland, which prompted the BC government to send in troops.

[15] Exports from the Cumberland Coalfield in Great Britain were known for a high quality also found at the Union mine.

Consequently, the principal avenues of Maryport, Windermere, Penrith, Derwent, Allen and Keswick, were named after places in Cumberland County.

[23] Opened as an opera house in 1914, the historic Ilo-Ilo Theatre began showing silent movies, and held dances.

[3] In 1969, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) detachment closed, and the three officers moved to Courtenay.

[28] According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Cumberland included:[29] About 1.2 kilometres (0.7 mi) west was a Chinatown, the population peaking at around 2,000, served by 100 business establishments.

[3][35] Residents drained the wetlands, planted market gardens, and created one of Canada's largest Chinese communities by the end of World War I.

About 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) west of Cumberland was a Japanese hamlet, comprising about 36 homes and two general stores.

The residents permanently abandoned the site in 1942 on their relocation to internment camps for Japanese Canadians during World War II.

Weldwood (now called West Fraser Timber), which had purchased large tracts of land from the colliery, gifted the 104-acre (42 ha) site encompassing the Chinese and Japanese settlements to the Village of Cumberland in 2002.