"While today's Woodlawn Inn offers its guests the best in contemporary dining and lodging comforts, its place in the past is not be forgotten. The original structure was built by United Empire Loyalist Ebenezer Perry in 1835, and today houses the dining rooms and several of our larger suites. After arriving in the area in 1815, Mr. Perry played a central role in numerous town projects. One of the major investors in the Cobourg Harbour Commission, Mr. Perry was also a contributor to the stock company that designed and operated a town steamboat, and he was director of the Cobourg Railway Company. While living at 420 Division Street, Mr. Perry actively lobbied for the incorporation of the Town of Cobourg and served as the first President of the town's Board of Police. Cobourg, like the Woodlawn, has a rich history. Founded in 1798 by United Empire Loyalists, the town was originally called Amherst. The name was changed to Cobourg in the 1820s, however, to honour the marriage of Princess Charlotte to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, Germany.With dreams of becoming the economic and political capital of the province, Cobourg in the 1850s enjoyed a building boom that produced, among other structures, Victoria Hall. Still the seat of municipal government today, and the focal point for numerous town events, the impressive Hall was opened in September 1860 by the Prince of Wales. In this same decade, the Cobourg - Peterborough railway opened. Unfortunately, the railway failed soon after its launch due to the collapse of a bridge over Rice Lake. The failure of the railway and the exorbitant cost of Victoria Hall left Cobourg in dire financial straits and it took a few years for the local economy, and many of the town's leading citizens, to recover. "