Townhead Street was once the main throroughfare south and known as the High Street. It was the location of the Mercat Cross and early fairs are thought to have been held there. In the early 19^th century it housed mainly weavers. The houses were single-storey, thatched with two main rooms, one of which held the handloom.  Almost every house would have a handloom – some having as many as six.  In 1791 Cumnock had 35 handlooms plus 39 muslin weavers and 7 stocking weavers.  By 1811 there were 70 muslin weavers and by the 1820s over 120 looms were in operation.

The American Civil War and the introduction of the power loom c1860 led to the decline of the trade and by 1899 only three weavers remained.