Cumberland–Navan–Vars

Fast Facts

• Population: 10,998 (City of Ottawa Neighbourhood Study (sum of "Cumberland", "Vars", and "Navan - Sarsfield", the last including Sarsfield))
• Size: 240.99 km² (Computed from the combined City of Ottawa Neighbourhood Study boundary polygons)
• Distance from Parliament Hill: About 26.4 km east (straight-line distance)

Overview

Cumberland–Navan–Vars groups three rural villages in Ottawa's far east end, each founded in the 19th century and now popular bedroom communities surrounded by farmland and forest. Cumberland Village, on the Ottawa River, is home to the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum, a recreated 1920s-30s village; Navan hosts the long-running Navan Fair each August; and Vars is a compact French-speaking community centred on its church and school.

Boundaries

The City of Ottawa Neighbourhood Study covers this area with three separate boundaries — Cumberland, Vars, and a combined Navan-Sarsfield area — merged here into a single shape. Together they span a large, mostly rural area of farmland and forest between the three village centres.

Map

History

Cumberland was founded in 1800 and originally named for the English Duke of Cumberland; it grew as a village on the Ottawa River. Navan was founded in 1861, named for a town in Ireland. What is now Vars began as a settlement in the 1830s called Bearbrook Station, renamed Vars in 1886.

The three villages remained largely agricultural and rural through the 19th and much of the 20th century, developing into the small population centres they are today — roughly 2,000 people in Cumberland, 1,000 in Navan and 1,500 in Vars.

Cumberland Township became a city in 1999, but its independence was short-lived: the municipality was amalgamated into the City of Ottawa in 2001, and all three villages are now part of Ottawa while retaining their distinct rural character.

The Cumberland Heritage Village Museum opened to recreate rural life in the 1920s and 1930s, marking its 50th anniversary in 2026, while the Navan Fair, dating back to 1946, remains one of the area's best-known annual events.

Claim to Fame

This area's defining feature is its rural character within Ottawa's city limits — three distinct village communities, anchored by the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum's recreated 1920s-30s settlement and the long-running Navan Fair.

Surrounding Neighbourhoods

Orléans lies west, the Ottawa River and Gatineau, Quebec lie north across from Cumberland, and the rural municipality of The Nation and the village of Russell-Embrun lie east and south.

Architecture

Cumberland Village retains 19th-century heritage homes such as the Old Wilson House and Cameron House, alongside the reconstructed period buildings of the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum. Navan and Vars are predominantly low-density rural residential communities built around their historic village cores.

Restaurants

• Ze Kitchen — Gastropub

  Gastropub at 2607 Old Montreal Road in Cumberland Village, set in a 143-year-old heritage building.

Grocery Stores

• J.T. Bradley's Country Store — General store

  Historic country convenience store at 1220 Colonial Road in Navan, run by the Bradley family since 1898.

Pedestrian and Cycling

This is a rural, car-dependent area with limited sidewalks outside the three village cores; Cumberland Village and the riverside pathway near the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum offer some of the more walkable stretches.

Schools

• École élémentaire catholique Saint-Guillaume — Conseil scolaire de district catholique de l'Est ontarien

  French Catholic elementary school at 5750 Buckland Road in Vars.

  Visit website

Amenities

• Cumberland Heritage Village Museum — Museum

  A recreated 1920s-30s rural village at 2940 Old Montreal Road, with over 29 buildings including a working sawmill, blacksmith shop, one-room schoolhouse and heritage breed animals.

  Photo: ceedub13, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsVisit website
• Navan Fair — Annual fair

  Agricultural fair in Navan dating back to 1946, featuring a midway, antique tractors and machinery, demolition derbies, and horse, truck and tractor pulls each August.

  Photo: ImagePerson, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsVisit website

Transit Options

OC Transpo does not provide rapid transit service to Cumberland, Navan or Vars; residents travel primarily by personal vehicle along Highway 174, Old Montreal Road, Trim Road and Frank Kenny Road.

Nearby on This Site

No listings yet in this area.

Official Information

• Find your ward and City Councillor (City of Ottawa)
• Trip planning and routes (OC Transpo)