Originally created in 1974, the ward was initially within Cumnock and Doon Valley District Council before the local government reforms in the 1990s.
The ward elected one councillor using the first-past-the-post voting electoral system.
The ward was a Labour stronghold as the party successfully held the seat at every election from its creation in 1974 until it was abolished.
In 2007, the ward was abolished and replaced by the multi-member Cumnock and New Cumnock ward as council elections moved to a proportional voting system – the single transferable vote – following the implementation of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004.
In 1998, the Third Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements made minor alterations to the ward's western boundary ahead of the 1999 election.