Cobourg

The land which present-day Cobourg occupies was previously inhabited by Mississauga (Anishinaabe-speaking) peoples.Copy of the treaty made 31 October 1923 between his Majesty the King and the Chippewa Indians of Christian Island, Georgina Island and Rama Reprinted 1967. ©Roger Duhamel, F.R.S.C.. Queen's Printer And Controller Of Stationery Ottawa, 1967. Cat. No.: R33-1467. IAND Publication No. QS-0582-000-EE-A-17 [https://web.archive.org/web/20111014140353/https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100029004/1100100029017 https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1100100029004/1100100029017] The settlements that make up today's Cobourg were founded by United Empire Loyalists in 1798 within Northumberland County, Home District, Province of Upper Canada. Some of the founding fathers and early settlers were Eliud Nickerson, Joseph Ash, Zacheus Burnham and Asa Allworth Burnham.{{Cite web |last=Petryshyn |first=J. |date=October 18, 2012 |title=Cobourg |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/cobourg |access-date=February 17, 2024 |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia}} The Town was originally a group of smaller villages such as Amherst and Hardscrabble, which were later named Hamilton. In 1808 it became the district town for the Newcastle District. It was renamed Cobourg in 1819, in recognition of the marriage of Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (later Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who would later become King of Belgium).{{Cite book |last= |first= |title=Cobourg: Early Days and Modern Times |publisher=The Cobourg Book Committee |year=1981 |isbn=9780969088707 |editor-last=Spilsbury |editor-first=John R. |location=Cobourg, Ontario |pages=139–141}}

File:Victoria College-Cobourg-Ontario-CRHP8208-20240901.jpg

By the 1830s, Cobourg had become a regional centre, mostly due to its fine harbour on Lake Ontario. In 1835 the Upper Canada Academy was established in Cobourg by Egerton Ryerson and the Wesleyan Conference of Bishops. On 1 July 1837, Cobourg was officially incorporated as a town. In 1841 the Upper Canada Academy's name was changed to Victoria College. In 1842 Victoria College was granted powers to confer degrees. Victoria College remained in Cobourg until 1892, when it was moved to Toronto and federated with the University of Toronto. In 1842, John Strachan founded the Diocesan Theological Institute in Cobourg, an Anglican seminary that became integrated into the University of Trinity College in Toronto in 1852.

{{main|Cobourg and Peterborough Railway}}

The timber and other resources of Cobourg's large hinterland were identified as the key to its prosperity, and if they could be brought to the harbour, Lake Ontario opened up a large and prosperous market. Peterborough to the north, founded in 1825 by Peter Robinson, had become the principal source area, and in the 1830s the waterways were still the prime method of bulk transport. Rice Lake and the Otonabee River were brought into use when James Gray Bethune established a steamer running across the lake and up the Otonabee which was navigable through to Peterborough.{{cite web |url=https://www.cdhs.ca/histories/cobourg-peterborough-railway/85-opening-rice-lake |date=October 2002|title=Cobourg Peterborough Railway, part 3 Opening Rice Lake|author=Colin Caldwell|website=Cobourg and District Historical Society| access-date=30 December 2022}} This meant goods and passengers could be brought at least to the south shore of Rice Lake. The remaining 8 miles of rough tracks was viable for passengers and light goods, but no use for the valuable timber and mine products. By 1835, only 10 years after the first steam railway in the world, there was active discussion about building a railway up to what later became Harwood. However, the townspeople invested instead in a plank road, using 300,000 feet of 3-inch wooden planks, allowing horse-drawn vehicles to haul heavy goods. By 1850 the plank road was breaking up, and was impassible in wet conditions, so the railway scheme was revived.{{cite web |title=Cobourg Peterborough Railway, part 5: The Plank Road |url=https://www.cdhs.ca/histories/cobourg-peterborough-railway/87-the-plank-road |date=October 2002|author=Colin Caldwell| website=Cobourg and District Historical Society| access-date=30 December 2022}}

By 1852, there was considerable enthusiasm for the railway project within the town. River traffic had become seen as yesterday's solution by this time, so the plans were expanded to include a {{convert|4|km|mile}} long bridge across Rice Lake, to take the railway right up to Peterborough. By 1854 the rails reached the shore of the lake, and it found good work transporting passengers and nearly 2 million feet of lumber from the Rice Lake down to Cobourg that summer.{{cite web |url=https://www.cdhs.ca/histories/cobourg-peterborough-railway/90-building-the-bridge |date=October 2002 |title=Cobourg Peterborough Railway, part 8 Building the Bridge |author=Colin Caldwell| website=Cobourg and District Historical Society| access-date=30 December 2022}} However, revenue from the project had to be diverted into building an ill-fated bridge, using hundreds of wooden trestles, 31 Burr Truss spans, and a centre-pivot swing bridge to allow boats to pass.{{cite web|url=https://www.steampowerpublishing.org/cobourg--peterborough-railway.html| website=Steampower Publishing| title=Destiny Derailed: A History of Cobourg's Railroads 1833-1893| author=Ted Rafuse| access-date=14 March 2018}} The prime mover locally for getting the Railway company off the ground was D'Arcy E. Boulton, a lawyer based in Cobourg, who enthused the town with the plan. They agreed to begin funding the scheme that was initially expected to cost £150,000, but ended leaving many people with worthless railway bonds and the town council with a debt that was only finally repaid in the 1930s. The man appointed to manage the project was Samuel Zimmerman, who had previously been instrumental in building the Great Western Railway (Ontario).{{cite web |title=Cobourg Peterborough Railway, part 6 D'Arcy Boulton's Dream|url=https://www.cdhs.ca/histories/cobourg-peterborough-railway/88-d-arcy-boulton-s-dream |date=October 2002|author=Colin Caldwell| website=Cobourg and District Historical Society| access-date=30 December 2022}} The bridge was constructed over the summer of 1854 and was officially opened on 29 December that year. Three days later, it collapsed when ice movements shifted the trestles out of line, splintering the Burr Truss sections. The proposed solution was to stabilise the trestles (or 'stilts' as their critics dubbed them) by an infill of soil, which did happen on the southern side, still visible as a strip of land still remaining running into the lake near Harwood. But funds were not forthcoming for the northern side, and winter ice and shifting lake mud meant that it was frequently unusable.{{cite web |url=https://www.cdhs.ca/histories/cobourg-peterborough-railway/91-the-ice |date=October 2002|title=Cobourg Peterborough Railway, part 9 The Ice|author=Colin Caldwell| website=Cobourg and District Historical Society| access-date=30 December 2022}}

A further problem emerged when Port Hope, not far along the coast, pursued its own plans for a Railway to Peterborough. In 1857, the Port Hope and Lindsay line was constructed, and the following year opened a branch to Peterborough, going round the western end of the lake, in direct competition with the struggling Cobourg route. The response of the Cobourg directors was to oust D.E. Boulton, who then invested in the Port Hope line. Conflicts of interest among various personnel resulted in the deliberate removal of the bolts on sections of the bridge in early 1861, ensuring that when the ice moved again the bridge was destroyed, and this time it was left unrepaired.{{cite web |url=https://www.cdhs.ca/histories/cobourg-peterborough-railway/93-the-yanks-are-coming |date=October 2002|title=Cobourg Peterborough Railway, part 11 The Yanks are Coming|author=Colin Caldwell| website=Cobourg and District Historical Society| access-date=30 December 2022}} The railway reverted to linking Cobourg harbour with Harwood and the Rice Lake water traffic.

In 1865, the railway was bought by a consortium of Pittsburgh steel manufacturers, who had already bought the Marmora Iron quarries north-east of Rice Lake. They established an iron-ore supply route using barges up the Trent River and across Rice Lake to the railway at Harwood. From there it was brought along the Railway to Cobourg Harbour for shipment across Lake Ontario to feed the steel mills of America. This provided a steady income for the railway and the town until the ore ran out in 1878.{{cite web|url=https://www.cdhs.ca/histories/cobourg-peterborough-railway/94-the-marmora-connection |date=October 2002|title=Cobourg Peterborough Railway, part 12, The Marmora Connection|author=Colin Caldwell|website=Cobourg and District Historical Society| access-date=30 December 2022}} It also had two longer term spin-offs in the form of a rail car company and the beginnings of a tourist industry.

{{main|Cobourg Car Works}}

When the iron ore scheme was getting underway, a small iron foundry based in Cobourg, was approached to cast the wheels and frames of wagons to move the Marmora iron ore down to the harbour. James Crossen saw an opportunity to combine his cast-iron products with the abundant local timber to produce railway rolling stock. With the foundry located near both the Cobourg line and train station of the Grand Trunk Railway, which had been built along the shore of Lake Ontario in 1856, it was well placed to expand as Canada's railway network grew. It was later named the Crossen Car Manufacturing Company and went on to become the largest builder of timber-framed rail cars in Canada, making everything from coal and freight wagons through to dining cars and first-class carriages. By 1910, wood was going out of date, when all-steel cars took over, and in 1915 the company, unable to adapt, went into liquidation, and parts of the site reverted to being an iron foundry.{{cite web |url=https://www.cobourghistory.ca/histories/cobourg-industries/25-crossen-car-manufacturing |title=Cobourg Industries, part 1, Crossen Car Manufacturing|author=Andrew Merrilees| website=Cobourg History| access-date=22 March 2018}} A replica of one of the Crossen ore cars was built in 2016 and is on display near Cobourg waterfront.{{cite web |url=https://www.cobourghistory.ca/histories/short-histories/73-ore-car-replica |date=2016| title=Cobourg Ore Car Replica| website=Cobourg History| access-date=23 March 2018}}

The connections and trade links which developed through the iron shipments brought many American industrialists to Cobourg, which became a popular summer destination. High class hotels were established, followed in the late 19th century and early 20th century by enormous summer homes for wealthy Americans, a few of which still stand today. One notable home, on King Street East, later became the Brookside School, a youth detention centre. (It has now closed, and the property stands idle.) A major ferry service connected Cobourg and Rochester, New York from 1907 to 1952, transporting passengers and cargo across Lake Ontario, allowing Americans to reach the town more readily.

For a brief moment in 1856, the town, with both its new railway link to the interior and an east–west rail connection along the Grand Trunk Railway, was feeling secure in its future prosperity, and thought a new Town Hall would encourage further investment and be an asset to the area.{{CRHP|7550|Victoria Hall / Cobourg Town Hall|14 July 2014}}{{cite web|title=Victoria Hall - Cobourg's Town Hall|url=http://www.cobourghistory.ca/victoria_hall.htm|work=Cobourg History|publisher=Cobourg Internet|access-date=28 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130824213324/http://cobourghistory.ca/victoria_hall.htm|archive-date=24 August 2013}} Victoria Hall stands at the heart of the downtown, a building that now serves as the town hall, as well as home of the Art Gallery of Northumberland, the Cobourg Concert Hall, and an Old Bailey-style courtroom that is now used as the Council chamber. Victoria Hall was designed by architect Kivas Tully. The landmark is known for its impressive stone work. Charles Thomas Thomas (1820-1867), an English-born master stonecarver and building contractor, executed the fine stone carvings, including the bearded faced keystone over the main entrance into the building.{{cite journal|title=Charles Thomas: A Stonemason's Legacy Restored|journal= SSAC Bulletin|volume= 14 |number= 3|date=December 1989|publisher= Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada (SSAC)|location= Ottawa|first= Jim |last=Leonard}} Victoria Hall was officially opened on September 6, 1860 by the Prince of Wales, later to become King Edward VII.{{Cite book |last=McQuarrie |first=John |title=Cobourg and Northumberland County: Sense of Place |publisher=Magic Light Publishing |year=2023 |isbn=9781894673945 |location=Ottawa |pages=70}} At that time, Cobourg was a significant town in the Province of Canada, and some townspeople felt that Cobourg would be a suitable capital for the newly united provinces; this privilege went to Ottawa, Ontario, however.

One of the oldest buildings in the town was for many years known as The Barracks, suggesting military connections. However it is equally likely that it was built for industrial uses, either in the very early 1800s or as a malting house and brewery by James Calcutt in the early 1830s. It probably served that purpose until a larger brewery was built by the McKechnies in 1863.{{cite web|url=https://www.cobourghistory.ca/architecture/sifton-cooke-centre-building| website=Cobourg History| title=The Sifton Cook Heritage Centre- An historical review| author=Catherine Milne| access-date=28 March 2018}} The old stone-built building had a variety of industrial and storage purposes, and twenty different owners. In 2000 it was acquired in a run-down state by the Cobourg Museum Foundation, who have restored it and it is now open as the Sifton-Cook Heritage Centre.{{cite web|url=https://www.cobourgmuseum.ca|title=Cobourg Museum Foundation| access-date=28 March 2018}}

In 1906 on 77 Albert Street the Cobourg Jail, originally referred to as The County Jail, began to house inmates.{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://jailescapehotel.com/ |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=Home |language=en-US}} Over time the Cobourg jail continued to expand to house the increasing population of inmates. In 1998 the jail closed and the year after in 1999 was purchased by private buyers. The jail has since been converted to a tourist attraction called the King George Inn with the jail still intact to see or stay in. Additionally, a family restaurant was implemented for guests and non-guests of the hotel.

On 20 December 1951, Cobourg experienced media attention as a chartered Curtiss C-46 Commando airplane, bound for Newark, New Jersey, made an emergency landing in local farmer Charles Wilson's field, alongside Highway 2 and Roger's Road. The pilot had lost his way after losing radio contact, and unwittingly drifted north. The 44 passengers and three crew escaped unhurt, but extremely cold in the sub-zero temperatures. The plane, having crash landed on deep snow, was able to be repaired and the field smoothed out enough for it to get airborne again.{{cite web|url=https://www.cobourghistory.ca/stories/32-plane-landing-in-cobourg-1951| website=Cobourg History| title=Plane Landing in Cobourg - 1951| author=Larry Wilson|access-date=13 March 2018}}

Cobourg was the site of No. 26 Ordnance Depot, later Canadian Forces Station Cobourg, from 1953 to 1971.

Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, the town invested heavily in purchasing property along the waterfront and beautifying the area. A boardwalk was developed to connect the harbour and large sandy beach while further pathways were created to encompass Victoria Park and the historic downtown. Because of this renewal and revitalization, many community activities now revolve in and around these spaces.

Cobourg has a humid continental climate (Dfb) with warm summers and cold winters.{{Weather box

|location = Cobourg (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1955–present)

{{cite web |url= https://api.weather.gc.ca/collections/ltce-stations/items?f=csv&limit=30000&ELEMENT_NAME_E=TEMPERATURE |title= Technical Information and Metadata |work= Daily climate records (LTCE) |publisher= Environment Canada |access-date= October 15, 2024}}

|metric first = Y

|single line = Y

|Jan record high C = 13.0

|Feb record high C = 14.4

|Mar record high C = 20.0

|Apr record high C = 26.0

|May record high C = 29.0

|Jun record high C = 33.3

|Jul record high C = 36.0

|Aug record high C = 34.0

|Sep record high C = 31.1

|Oct record high C = 24.4

|Nov record high C = 20.6

|Dec record high C = 15.5

|year record high C = 36.0

|Jan high C = -1.1

|Feb high C = -0.4

|Mar high C = 3.4

|Apr high C = 9.6

|May high C = 15.4

|Jun high C = 20.4

|Jul high C = 23.6

|Aug high C = 23.6

|Sep high C = 20.4

|Oct high C = 13.3

|Nov high C = 7.2

|Dec high C = 1.8

|year high C = 11.4

|Jan mean C = −4.9

|Feb mean C = −4.3

|Mar mean C = -0.3

|Apr mean C = 5.8

|May mean C = 11.4

|Jun mean C = 16.4

|Jul mean C = 19.8

|Aug mean C = 19.7

|Sep mean C = 16.3

|Oct mean C = 9.6

|Nov mean C = 3.8

|Dec mean C = −1.5

|year mean C = 7.7

|Jan low C = -8.7

|Feb low C = -8.1

|Mar low C = -3.9

|Apr low C = 2.0

|May low C = 7.4

|Jun low C = 12.4

|Jul low C = 15.9

|Aug low C = 15.8

|Sep low C = 12.2

|Oct low C = 6.0

|Nov low C = 0.3

|Dec low C = -4.8

|year low C = 3.9

|Jan record low C = -39.0

|Feb record low C = -27.8

|Mar record low C = -26.0

|Apr record low C = -13.9

|May record low C = -5.0

|Jun record low C = -1.0

|Jul record low C = 5.0

|Aug record low C = 1.0

|Sep record low C = -5.0

|Oct record low C = -10.0

|Nov record low C = -17.2

|Dec record low C = -29.0

|year record low C = -39.0

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 66.7

|Feb precipitation mm = 54.1

|Mar precipitation mm = 56.8

|Apr precipitation mm = 76.2

|May precipitation mm = 81.2

|Jun precipitation mm = 80.5

|Jul precipitation mm = 64.8

|Aug precipitation mm = 71.7

|Sep precipitation mm = 93.2

|Oct precipitation mm = 76.3

|Nov precipitation mm = 93.2

|Dec precipitation mm = 75.8

|year precipitation mm = 890.4

|rain colour = green

|Jan rain mm = 34.0

|Feb rain mm = 32.9

|Mar rain mm = 42.7

|Apr rain mm = 74.3

|May rain mm = 81.2

|Jun rain mm = 80.5

|Jul rain mm = 64.8

|Aug rain mm = 71.7

|Sep rain mm = 93.2

|Oct rain mm = 76.3

|Nov rain mm = 89.2

|Dec rain mm = 53.1

|year rain mm = 793.9

|snow colour = green

|Jan snow cm = 32.7

|Feb snow cm = 21.2

|Mar snow cm = 14.2

|Apr snow cm = 1.8

|May snow cm = 0.0

|Jun snow cm = 0.0

|Jul snow cm = 0.0

|Aug snow cm = 0.0

|Sep snow cm = 0.0

|Oct snow cm = 0.0

|Nov snow cm = 4.0

|Dec snow cm = 22.7

|year snow cm = 96.5

|unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 11.2

|Feb precipitation days = 8.3

|Mar precipitation days = 9.3

|Apr precipitation days = 11.2

|May precipitation days = 10.9

|Jun precipitation days = 9.8

|Jul precipitation days = 8.5

|Aug precipitation days = 10.0

|Sep precipitation days = 10.0

|Oct precipitation days = 11.6

|Nov precipitation days = 12.1

|Dec precipitation days = 10.8

|year precipitation days = 123.6

|unit rain days = 0.2 mm

|Jan rain days = 4.6

|Feb rain days = 4.2

|Mar rain days = 6.5

|Apr rain days = 10.7

|May rain days = 10.9

|Jun rain days = 9.8

|Jul rain days = 8.5

|Aug rain days = 10.0

|Sep rain days = 10.0

|Oct rain days = 11.6

|Nov rain days = 11.3

|Dec rain days = 6.6

|year rain days = 104.8

|unit snow days = 0.2 cm

|Jan snow days = 7.0

|Feb snow days = 4.6

|Mar snow days = 3.4

|Apr snow days = 0.65

|May snow days = 0.0

|Jun snow days = 0.0

|Jul snow days = 0.0

|Aug snow days = 0.0

|Sep snow days = 0.0

|Oct snow days = 0.0

|Nov snow days = 0.92

|Dec snow days = 4.6

|year snow days = 21.2

|source 1 = Environment Canada (precipitation/rainfall/snow 1981–2010){{cite web

| publisher = Environment Canada

| url = https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1991_2020_e.html?searchType=stnProv&lstProvince=ON&txtCentralLatMin=0&txtCentralLatSec=0&txtCentralLongMin=0&txtCentralLongSec=0&stnID=159000000&dispBack=0

| title = Cobourg, Ontario

| work = Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020

| access-date = Mar 23, 2025}}{{cite web

| publisher = Environment Canada

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190725143939/http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?searchType=stnProv&lstProvince=ON&txtCentralLatMin=0&txtCentralLatSec=0&txtCentralLongMin=0&txtCentralLongSec=0&stnID=4905&dispBack=0

| archive-date = 25 July 2019

| url = http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/results_1981_2010_e.html?searchType=stnProv&lstProvince=ON&txtCentralLatMin=0&txtCentralLatSec=0&txtCentralLongMin=0&txtCentralLongSec=0&stnID=4905&dispBack=0

| title = Cobourg STP, Ontario

| work = Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010

| date=25 September 2013 | access-date = 25 July 2019

| url-status = live}}

{{cite web

| url = https://api.weather.gc.ca/collections/ltce-temperature/items?VIRTUAL_CLIMATE_ID=VSON75V&sortby=VIRTUAL_CLIMATE_ID,LOCAL_MONTH,LOCAL_DAY&f=csv&limit=10000&offset=0

| title = Long Term Climate Extremes for Cobourg Area (Virtual Station ID: VSON75V)

| work = Daily climate records (LTCE)

| publisher = Environment Canada

| access-date = Mar 23, 2025}}

}}

Highway 401 and Northumberland County Road 2 (formerly Highway 2) pass through town. County Road 45 (formerly Highway 45) begins in Cobourg and heads north-east to Norwood.

The Canadian Pacific and Canadian National main railway lines (Toronto – Ottawa/Montreal) traverse the town. Via Rail offers passenger service to Cobourg railway station with multiple daily departures on the Toronto – Ottawa/Montreal route.

Cobourg Transit is a fully accessible community transit system that provides daily bus service to the town. The community transit system ends its runs by 7pm, which can hamper travel for those without other means of transportation. It formerly ran until 9:30pm however the hours were reduced.

The Ontario Waterfront Trail passes through Cobourg and cyclists can be found moving through daily during the warmer months.

{{Historical populations

|title = Historical populations

|type = Canada

|align = right

|width =

|state =

|shading =

|percentages =

|footnote ={{cite web |title=Census Profile, 2016 Census: Cobourg, Town | date=8 February 2017 |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3514021&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&SearchText=cobourg&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1&type=0 |publisher=Statistics Canada |access-date=25 June 2019}}

|1841|3347|1871|4442|1881|4957|1891|4829|1901|4239|1911|5074|1921|5327|1931|5834|1941|5907|1951|7470|1961|10646|1971|11282|1981|11385|1991|15079|1996|16185|2001|17172|2006|18210|2011|18519|2016|19440|2021|20519}}

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Cobourg had a population of {{val|20519|fmt=commas}} living in {{val|9134|fmt=commas}} of its {{val|9520|fmt=commas}} total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:20519-19440}}|19440|1}} from its 2016 population of {{val|19440|fmt=commas}}. With a land area of {{convert|22.41|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|20519|22.41|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.{{cite web | url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000203&geocode=A000235 | title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Ontario | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=9 February 2022 | access-date=30 March 2022}}

{{Canada census

|location = Cobourg

|2021_population=20,519 | 2021_pop_delta=+5.6 | 2021_land_area=22.41 | 2021_pop_density=915.7

|2021_median_age=54.8 | 2021_median_age_m=51.2 | 2021_median_age_f=56.8

|2021_total_pvt_dwell=9,520 |2021_occ_pvt_dwell=9,134 |2021_mean_hh_income=77,000

|2021_geocode=2021A00053514021 | 2021_access_date=2023-10-19

|2016_population=19,440 | 2016_pop_delta=+5.0 | 2016_land_area=22.36 | 2016_pop_density=869.3

|2016_median_age=53.5 | 2016_median_age_m=51.5 | 2016_median_age_f=55.1

|2016_total_pvt_dwell=8,958 | 2016_mean_hh_income=64,328 | 2016_access_date=2019-06-25

|2006_population=18,210 | 2006_pop_delta=+6.0 | 2006_land_area=22.37 | 2006_pop_density=814.0

|2006_median_age=46.1 | 2006_median_age_m=44.0 | 2006_median_age_f=48.0

|2006_total_pvt_dwell=7,571 | 2006_mean_hh_income=53,573 | 2006_access_date=2012-03-15

|2001_population=17,172 | 2001_pop_delta=+6.1 | 2001_land_area=22.37 | 2001_pop_density=767.6

|2001_median_age=41.9 | 2001_median_age_m=40.1 | 2001_median_age_f=43.6

|2001_total_pvt_dwell=7,142 | 2001_mean_hh_income=47,046 | 2001_access_date=2012-03-15

|2011_population=18.519|2011_land_area=22.37|2011_pop_density=827.8|2011_pop_delta=+1.7|2011_median_age=49.6|2011_median_age_m=47.7|2011_median_age_f=51.3|2011_total_pvt_dwell=8,541|2011_occ_pvt_dwell=8,047|2011_mean_hh_income=$57,371}}

File:Age Distribution in Cobourg 2006.png.]]

Age Profile

• Age 0-14: 18.1%
• Age 15-24: 11.9%
• Age 25-44: 24.7%
• Age 45-64: 24.2%
• Age 65-74: 10.8%
• Age 75+: 10.3%

Religious Make Up

• 56.1% Protestant
• 23.9% Catholic
• 2.2% other Christian
• 0.7% other religions
• 17.1% non-professing

Racial Profile

• 91.4% White
• 4.4% Indigenous
• 3.8% Korean
• 0.7% Black

The Town of Cobourg is governed by a seven-member town council.{{cite web|url=https://www.cobourg.ca/en/council-members.aspx#|title=Council Members|publisher=Town of Cobourg}} The Town is responsible for delivering a variety of local services, including planning, transit, fire and police protection, and the maintenance of local roads and parks. Certain responsibilities, such as waste management or paramedic services, are the responsibility of Northumberland County.{{cite web|url=https://www.cobourg.ca/en/town-hall/Public-Works.aspx|title=Public Works|date=20 September 2023 |publisher=Town of Cobourg}}

There are six advisory committees appointed by the city council. These bodies are made up of city councillors.

• Accessibility Advisory Committee - effective 2023
• Civic Awards Advisory Committee - to re-convene in 2024
• Cobourg Heritage Advisory Committee - effective 2023
• Cobourg Police Service Board - effective 2023
• Cobourg Public Library Board - effective 2023
• Committee of Adjustment - effective 2023

Previous bodies include:

• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee - no longer active
• Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee - no longer active
• Planning and Development Advisory Committee - no longer active
• Sustainability and Climate Change Emergency Advisory Committee - no longer active
• Transportation Advisory Committee, Zero Emission Ad Hoc Committee (on hold) {{Cite web |title=Advisory Committees |url=https://www.cobourginternet.com/council/advisory-committees |access-date=2023-12-04 |website=Cobourg Internet}}

The Town maintains an independent municipal police force, the Cobourg Police Service, which provides policing services to all areas of the municipality as well as seasonal by-law enforcement services in the neighbouring Township of Hamilton.{{Cite web |url=https://www.northumberlandnews.com/news/cobourg-police-helping-with-parking-bylaw-enforcement-in-township-of-hamilton/article_05435c91-7fcb-5184-b5e0-7e1f50bf9715.html|title=Cobourg police helping with parking bylaw enforcement in Township of Hamilton |date=31 May 2023|publisher=Northumberland News|access-date=2022-08-20}}

The Town of Cobourg had an approved operating budget of {{CAD|28.1 million}} in 2023 and a capital budget plan of {{CAD|33 million}}.{{Cite web |date=2023-11-29 |title=Budget and Finance |url=https://www.cobourg.ca/en/our-government/Budget-and-Finance.aspx |access-date=2023-12-04 |website=www.cobourg.ca |language=en}} The town's revenues include subsidies from the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario (for programs mandated by those governments). The town's largest operating expenditure is the Harbour Rehabilitation project costing nearly {{CAD|23 million}} in 2023.

Public education in Cobourg is under the management of the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, and Catholic education is by the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board.

Cobourg also has a satellite campus of Fleming College.

In 1871, Cobourg's first Collegiate Institute was erected on King Street East.{{Cite web |title=Cobourg; The Spirit of the Place by Mikel, Robert - 2017 |url=https://www.biblio.com/book/cobourg-spirit-place-mikel-robert/d/1275827138 |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=Biblio.com |language=en}} In 1899, the student population at the original Cobourg Collegiate Institute had outgrown the school. New plans for another school on the west end of King Street were put in place and the new school building on 135 King Street was built. This new building was called the West high school and the older school building was then named the East high school. The West high school had many additions in the 1920s as the school continued to grow. The two schools co-existed for 116 years until the closing of both schools in 2015. The purpose of closing the two schools was to bring them back together with the fabrication of a brand new Cobourg Collegiate Institute in 2015. The new school was built on the property of the old east high school. The old west high school was not demolished, but renamed William Academy Cobourg West and is a functioning co-ed private school for grades 7-12.{{Cite web |title=William Academy |url=http://williamacademy.ca/ |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=William Academy |language=en-US}}

{{Education in Cobourg}}

File:Victoria Park-Cobourg-Ontario-20220819.jpg

Cobourg retains its small-town atmosphere, in part due to the downtown and surrounding residential area's status as a Heritage Conservation District. The downtown is a well-preserved example of a traditional small-town main street. Victoria Hall, the town hall completed in 1860, is a National Historic Site of Canada.{{CRHP|7763|Victoria Hall/Cobourg Town Hall|14 July 2014}} The oldest building in the town is now open as the Sifton Cook Heritage Centre and operated by the Cobourg Museum Foundation.

File:Downtown Cobourg Aerial View.jpg

File:Victoria College in Cobourg (I0005603).tif

Cobourg has several parks. The Cobourg Waterfront Festival, held in Victoria Park and the nearby beach and harbour, is an annual arts and crafts event occurring on Canada Day. It began in 1987 as part of the town's sesquicentennial celebrations, and was conceived by the Art Gallery of Northumberland's former Director/Curator Peter Tulumello and former Concert Hall Manager Mark Finnan. Cobourg's oldest annual event, the Cobourg Highland Games, was started in 1963 in Donegan Park by Dave Carr to celebrate the Scottish culture in the area.{{cite web |title=History of the Cobourg Highland Games |url=https://www.cobourghighlandgames.ca/history#:~:text=The%20origins%20of%20Cobourg's%20Highland,an%20annual%20event%20ever%20since. |website=59th Cobourg Scottish Festival & Highland Games |publisher=Cobourg Highland Games Society |access-date=10 February 2023}} The event is now held in Victoria Park in June.{{cite web |title=Cobourg Highland Games |url=https://www.cobourghighlandgames.ca/ |website=59th Cobourg Scottish Festival & Highland Games |publisher=Cobourg Highland Games Society |access-date=10 February 2023}}

Cobourg's beach, Victoria Park Beach, is used as a location for volleyball tournaments, events, beach days, family picnics and other events. The beach is equipped with a splash park, playground set, park area for eating, local restaurants and a pier. Additionally, there is a small trailer park located directly next to the beach. There are lifeguards on duty some days and it is safe to swim and play in. Close to the downtown, tourists can shop in local shops and eat out at many of Cobourg's restaurants.{{tone inline|date=February 2020}}

Cobourg is home to the Port Hope Drive-In, Canada's oldest drive-in.{{cite web |last1=Kinos-Goodin |first1=Jesse |title=At the Drive-In: Port Hope Drive-In is 'a really laid-back experience' |url=https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/at-the-drive-in-port-hope-drive-in-is-a-really-laid-back-experience |website=National Post |access-date=5 September 2019 |date=2012-01-10}}

• Northumberland Today, owned by Osprey Media, is a daily newspaper with content contributed from the Cobourg Star and Port Hope Guide.

Five radio stations are licensed to Cobourg, providing music, news and local programming to Northumberland County and surrounding areas.

• FM 89.7 - CFWN, not-for-profit community-based, volunteer driven, programming focused on the community
• FM 90.7 - CHJJ, Christian music
• FM 93.3 - CKSG, adult contemporary
• FM 103.1 - CFMZ, classical
• FM 107.9 - CHUC, classic hits

Cobourg uses cable 10 to broadcast local events and weather. Apart from that, Cobourg has no local terrestrial television stations; the closest is CHEX-TV in Peterborough, Ontario.{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}

• John Douglas Armour, Puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Canada
• Ada Blenkhorn, hymn writer who wrote "Keep on the Sunny Side" and "Let the Sunshine In"
• Charles Arkoll Boulton, militia leader in the Red River Rebellion
• Fern Blodgett Sunde, first Canadian woman to serve with the merchant marines during the Second World War
• Alan Bradley, author
• Jeremiah Brown, Canadian Men's Eight Rowing Team, won silver at the 2012 London Olympic Games
• Mandy Bujold, Canadian boxer
• James Cockburn, lawyer and Father of Confederation
• cleopatrick, rock band
• Martin Dobkin, first mayor of the City of Mississauga, Ontario and served as Mayor from 1973 to 1976.
• Marie Dressler, silent film actress, Academy Award winner best actress 1931
• Francis P. Duffy, Canadian-born military chaplain of the Fighting 69th New York Regiment during WWI
• Sandford Fleming who helped create and define the idea of time zones
• Rev. John Weir Foote, politician, chaplain, and Victoria Cross recipient
• Ed Greenwood, author of the Forgotten Realms setting for Dungeons & Dragons
• W. A. Hewitt, sports executive and journalist, Hockey Hall of Fame inductee{{cite news|title=After 60 Years In Sport: 500 Sportsmen To Honor William "Billy" Hewitt|last=Sullivan|first=Jack|author-link=Jack Sullivan (journalist)|date=8 December 1953|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=19|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-dec-08-1953-2975367/}}{{free access}}; {{cite news|title=Sportsmen Honour W. A. (Billy) Hewitt at Dinner Tonight|last=Sullivan|first=Jack|author-link=Jack Sullivan (journalist)|agency=The Canadian Press|date=8 December 1953|newspaper=The Kingston Whig-Standard|location=Kingston, Ontario|page=11|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97010768/hewitt-1953/}}{{free access}}
• Paul Kane, Irish-born Canadian painter
• Henry Bowyer Lane, English born Toronto architect
• John Murray, pioneering oceanographer, marine biologist and limnologist. Considered the father of modern oceanography.
• Ebenezer Perry (1788–1876), politician and Cobourg's first police commissioner
• Josh Richards, internet personality, musician and actor
• William Renwick Riddell, judge and historian
• Dave "Goldie Rogers" Sherwin, professional wrestler
• Virna Sheard, poet and novelist
• Steve Smith, NHL hockey player
• Justin Williams, NHL hockey player, 3-time Stanley Cup champion, winner of 2014 Conn Smythe Trophy

Cobourg is twinned with:

• {{flagicon|GER}} Coburg, Germany

• Royal eponyms in Canada

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|Cobourg, Ontario}}

• {{wikivoyage inline|Cobourg}}
• {{Official website|http://www.cobourg.ca/}}

{{Geographic location

| Centre = Cobourg

| North = Hamilton Township

| Northeast =

| East = Hamilton Township

| Southeast =

| South = Lake Ontario

| Southwest =

| West = Hamilton Township

| Northwest =

}}

{{Northumberland County, Ontario}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario

Category:Populated places on Lake Ontario in Canada

Category:Towns in Ontario