The historic county was founded in 1759 when the English system of administration was installed to complement settlement during the Charles Lawrence governorship, and was later divided at the partitioning of the province and in 1840.

The county includes two towns, Amherst and Oxford, and two large population centres, Parrsboro and Springhill.

The name Cumberland was applied by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Monckton to the captured Fort Beauséjour on June 18, 1755, in honour of the third son of King George II, William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, victor at Culloden in 1746 and Commander in Chief of the British forces.

Cumberland County was founded on August 17, 1759, the largest of Nova Scotia's five original administrative divisions.

Cumberland County is rich in natural resources with extensive forest land supporting lumber mills and pulp contractors.

Agriculture is concentrated on wild blueberry harvesting throughout the Cobequid Hills, as well as mixed farms located in the Tantramar Marshes region, the Northumberland Strait coastal plain, and the Wentworth Valley.

The northwestern edge of Cumberland County forms part of the Isthmus of Chignecto, the natural land bridge connecting the Nova Scotia peninsula to North America.