Environment

Kilsyth is surrounded by a wealth of Flora and Fauna within a Green Belt which includes:-

North

The Kilsyth Hills.

The Carron Valley.

The Clanranald Trust are building a replica of a mediaeval Motte ( meaning large mound) and Bailey Fort in the Carron Valley. The site is east of the Carron Valley Reservoir off the B818 Denny to Fintry Road. It is set to become a major tourist and educational facility giving an authentic representation of life in the 12th century.

From Kilsyth a scenic route (entailing the negotiation of some bends and inclines) will enable the enjoyment of some remarkably distant views. From the A803 at Kilsyth, take the Tak-ma-doon Road which leads to Carron Bridge. Stop at the summit of the Tak-ma-doon where there is a car park, picnic area and viewing point.

Goatfell on Arran can be seen when looking to the West; the Forth Bridge when looking to the East, to the South you can see Tinto Hill and to the North, the Mountains of the Trossachs.

East

Colzium Estate.

Colzium House was built by the Edmonstone family of Duntreath. The work was started in 1783 and considerable additions were made in 1861. Some of the masonry from the castle was used in its construction. the architectural style is a mixture of the Scottish vernacular and the more modern renaissance mode. after the First world War, the family started to sell parts of the estate. W Mackay Lennox bought the house in 1930 and in 1937, on his retiral as Town Clerk, he presented the House and its policies to Kilsyth Burgh, in memory of his mother.

Colzium House is now used as a venue for conferences and weddings, and may be hired at a reasonable charge: Tel: 01698 403 120 (direct line to North Lanarkshire Council)
he site of the ruins of a castle built by the Earl of Lennox. Extensive walks through delightful ancient woodlands, romantic glen with many waterfalls, arboretum of rare trees, ice house, old clock theatre, curling pond, access to Banton Loch. State of the art children’s play area, football pitch, grassy open glades for picnics, kite flying, sledging. Colzium House with its collection of paintings and the Museum which houses historical artefacts are open to the public on selected dates.

The walled garden has an excellent display of conifers, heathers and rare plants of all kinds. The wrought iron gates to the garden were presented to the estate by a local youth club and many memorial seats have been gifted over the years.

The attractiveness of this unique garden has been highlighted by its being featured in a number of publications and on BBC Scotland broadcasts. The garden has a Scottish Tourist Board double-starred Visitor Attraction rating and forms part of VisitScotland’s annual Snowdrop Festival.

The 17th century Ice House is a rare and near perfect example of its type. Built deep into the west bank of the glen, it is a large vaulted structure with doors, passageways and a game pit. The subterranean ice chamber would be filled with ice from ponds in winter. Meat carcasses,barrels of fish, birds, eggs etc were stored here for future use. Excavated and fully reported with accurate diagrams by Dr Hugo Millar in 1977, this is an important part of Kilsyth’s heritage as well as currently providing a roost for four species of bats.

Situated nearer the top of the glen is the Granny’s Mutch. This semi-domed structure, a good vantage point to view the waterfalls, is remarkable for the weight of the individual stones and the precision of the masonry. The name derives from a type of close fitting bonnet worn by women in the past.

This building, situated to the immediate north of Colzium House was constructed in 1815 as a Chapel of Worship for the Edmonstone family. It was used as such until 1861 when a new chapel (now the Museum Room) was incorporated within the main house. The “Clock” building was then converted to a Laundry and a Stable, eventually falling into disuse. Restored in 1974 it was for some years used as a theatre by a local musical society.

A complete refurbishment has now taken place. It has become a state of the art Interpretation Centre for Kilsyth and the Kelvin Valley and includes a Café giving on to open air terraces There is direct access from the Visitor Centre to the Walled Garden.


Some of Colzium’s superb displays of trees are pretty old and exotic. But in the courtyard of Colzium House there are two trees that are even more ancient and exotic. Dating back 325 million years, these fossil trees grew tall in lush tropical swamps, when Scotland lay across the equator in Carboniferous times. Trees like these formed coal seams like the Kilsyth Coking Coal which were the source of our area’s wealth for two centuries.

The 2m high trunk about 30 cms or more in diameter was probably a Lepidodendron, a relative of today’s small club mosses. The much shorter stump beside it, of similar diameter, may well be a Calamites, relative of today’s mares-tails. Today these are small plants, but in Carboniferous times they were forest giants. Imagine the hot and steamy jungle, with giant millipedes and centipedes. But little noise, there were no birds and mammals back then, before even the dinosaurs.

The taller trunk is said to have been excavated from the Garrel Glen, with the shorter stump found in the Colzium Estate. If you get the chance to visit the courtyard, do take a closer look. References to the fossilized trees can be found in: Rev. Robert Rennie, Old Statistical Account, vol 18 number 11 pages 236-239, County of Stirling, Parish of Kilsyth 1796. Reprint 1978 pages 429-432.

Rev. Wm. Burns. New Statistical Account, Stirlingshire, Parish of Kilsyth page 142 1841.
The Lade was built in the mid-18th century to supply water to the Forth and Clyde canal via the Banton loch. It comes down from the Garrel Mill skirting the grounds of Criagengoyne Nursing Home, then flowing through the estate to Banton Loch. It flows gently alongside a mature beech avenue approach from the Tak Ma Doon Rd., to join Banton Loch at the site of the Battle of Kilsyth.

Some of the original boundary stones along the path of the Lade remain in situ, bearing the inscription FCN denoting Forth and Clyde Navigation Company (the labourers digging such courses came to be known as ‘navvies’)

Very much older stones – erratic boulders from the glacial age – can be seen in the nearby wooded area of Craigstone.

What little remains of the 16th century Colzium Castle is now part of a cottage wall. The estate was originally owned by the Earls of Lennox who built a motte at nearby Castlehill during the 12th century. The estate passed to the Callenders and, through marriage, became the estate of the Livingstons of Callender, who constructed an L-plan tower. Towards the end of the 16th century the family added a large hall to the tower, the few remains of which have survived to this day.

In 1645, James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, camped his army on the estate before going out to defeat General Baillie’s covenanter army at the Battle of Kilsyth. The battleground, now the Townhead Reservoir, was flooded in the 18th century as part of the construction of the Forth and Clyde Canal. In 1703, the third Viscount Kilsyth had Colzium Castle razed, shortly before he inherited the estate.

Then, 80 years later, the Edmonstones took possession of the land, and during the 19th century they completed the construction of Colzium House, less than 400 yards from the ruins of the old castle. The Edmonstones returned to their ancestral seat at Duntreath in the early 1930’s and the near-derelict house was bought by the Lennox family who handed it over to the burgh of Kilsyth in 1937.

Location The main entrance to the estate is on the A803. There are car parks at the Curling Pond, at the Children’s Play Area and at the House and Walled Garden.

Public transport – First Bus X35 (Glasgow to Falkirk via Moodiesburn, Croy, Kilsyth, Banton and Bonnybridge) Hourly service Mon -Sat. Bus stop for Colzium situated near main entrance on Stirling Rd, Kilsyth.

Many different woodland pathways lead into the estate from Tak-ma-Doon Road, Stirling Road and Banton Loch providing an endless choice of short or longer pleasant circular walks.

The Kelvin Valley.

This organisation has been set up to support the Kelvin Valley, proposed by North Lanarkshire Council as part of their Kelvin Valley Action Plan. The area includes the whole of the Kelvin Valley between the northern edge of Cumbernauld and the southern slopes of the Kilsyth Hills. Banknock and Twechar are considered to be a natural part of the area although situated in neighbouring council areas. Countryside attractions include the Forth and Clyde Canal, Colzium Estate, Antonine Wall, Dumbreck and Dullatur Nature Reserves, Banton Loch, woodlands, wetlands and an extensive path network.

South

The Forth & Clyde Canal

The canal towpath makes an ideal short walk.

Parallel to the Antonine Wall, and extending for 56 km (35 miles) from the village of Bowling on the River Clyde in the west of Scotland to the large town of Grangemouth on the River Forth, the Forth and Clyde Canal was built during the later part of the 18th century (begun on 10th June, 1768) and operated until 1st January, 1963. Navigation along its entire route is now possible through the Millennium Link project and Falkirk Wheel.

As the shortest (and easiest!) route across Scotland, the canal towpath provides an ideal weekend walking tour or cycling excursion, with a good choice of overnight accommodation at the midway point in Kilsyth for the traveller and many other local attractions to make a longer stay a worthwhile experience. It’s easy to reach by public transport or car from anywhere in Scotland. The Forth and Clyde Society arrange sailings on the canal, including sailings from the Auchinstarry Basin. For details please see their web site.

Kilsyth-Auchinstarry Basin (B802) The Forth and Clyde Society arrange sailings on the canal, including sailings from the Auchinstarry Basin. For details please visit

The world’s only rotating boat lift connects the Forth and Clyde and Union Canals, replacing a series of 11 locks. The spectacular official opening ceremony was performed before Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on May 24th 2002.

The 115ft high structure at Camelon near Falkirk is able to lift eight boats at a time. It has taken two years to build and is part of a £78 million Millennium Link Scheme which allows boats to pass along the 68 miles of canals between Glasgow and Edinburgh and between the rivers Clyde in the west and Forth in the east.

This organisation has been set up to support the Kelvin Valley, proposed by North Lanarkshire Council as part of their Kelvin Valley Action Plan. The area includes the whole of the Kelvin Valley between the northern edge of Cumbernauld and the southern slopes of the Kilsyth Hills. Banknock and Twechar are considered to be a natural part of the area although situated in neighbouring council areas. Countryside attractions include the Forth and Clyde Canal, Colzium Estate, Antonine Wall, Dumbreck and Dullatur Nature Reserves, Banton Loch, woodlands, wetlands and an extensive path network. Visit the website here for more details.

Falkirk Wheel

The world’s only rotating boat lift connects the Forth and Clyde and Union Canals, replacing a series of 11 locks. The spectacular official opening ceremony was performed before Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on May 24th 2002.

The 115ft high structure at Camelon near Falkirk is able to lift eight boats at a time. It has taken two years to build and is part of a £78 million Millennium Link Scheme which allows boats to pass along the 68 miles of canals between Glasgow and Edinburgh and between the rivers Clyde in the west and Forth in the east.

The Antonine Wall (World Heritage Site)

West

Dumbreck Marsh Nature Reserve. The second “Walkers are Welcome” town in Scotland, Kilsyth boasts a network of well marked countryside pathways for walkers, horse riders and cyclists, extending to the four surrounding villages (Banton, Croy, Twechar, Queenzieburn) and connecting to longer distance routes such as the West Highland Way and the John Muir Walkway.

Rock climbing, sailing and angling can also be enjoyed around the district.

All are easily accessible by public transport serving Kilsyth – Phone Traveline Scotland 0871 200 22 33

From its source with the Birkenburn to the north of the town, the Garrel tumbles down almost 1000ft, waterfall by waterfall, then crosses the historic old town of Kilsyth more sedately, flowing under a number of ornate cast iron bridges. It ultimately joins the River Kelvin to the south of the town.

Its main tributary, the Colzium Burn, flows spectacularly down through Colzium Glen, becoming known as the Ebroch Burn as it reaches more level ground at Stirling Road and continues on its course to join the Garrel at Burngreen.

A partial diversion of the Garrel, the Lade, was engineered almost 250 years ago to act as a feeder to supply water to the Forth and Clyde Canal (opened 1790) A series of the old boundary stones engraved FCN, Forth and Clyde Navigation Company, can still be seen within Colzium Estate where the Lade meanders through woodlands to Banton Loch, officially known as Townhead Reservoir. A watercourse links the reservoir to the canal at Craigmarloch. Still standing here are the old stables once used for resting the barge horses.

In years gone by, the Garrel provided essential power for various mills. On Tak-ma-doon Road a an existing example, now in residential use, shows the dates1700, 1774, and 1808.The shallower waters at Burngreen were used for”retting” flax – a process of prolonged soaking to remove the tough outer fibres, while Burngreen itself served as a bleaching green in the subsequent processes.

It is claimed that total immersion was carried out by a local church using a pool just to the north of Innsbridge but this practice was soon abandoned by dint of being “too cold”!

When Main St was pedestrianised three round structures to serve as seating were built on the paving (the paving is set in a wavy pattern to represent the Garrell Burn which runs through the town)

One structure was set at the top end of the street, one in the middle position and one at the lower end of the street.

The following three verse poem was inscribed – one verse on each of the structures, although the one bearing the first verse was subsequently removed. This poem was composed by local man William Bell

Waters of the Garrell flow
By bracken slopes, by wooded walls
By rapid gushing waterfalls
Between the gorges through the glen
And through half hidden swirling dens
Remember rest and pause.
Comes and goes
Fades and grows
Donner roon aboot
And search for minnows in the burn
Till come the time to home return
Wee place to leave my heart.

Kilsyth Today

The Founding of Kilsyth Within the centre of Kilsyth are many interesting structures – decorative and commemorative – and all can be very easily located.

There is much ornate Victorian and Edwardian cast-iron work including the work incorporated in five of the Bridges over the Garrell and Ebroch Burns, which flow through the town. These bridges, of several designs, can be seen at Innsbridge (Stirling Road/Tak-ma-doon Road junction), Station Road, Burngreen Road, King Street and Main Street, their strong stylized patterns providing a contrast to the soft foliage of the trees and greenery of the banks and the everchanging movement of the water, whether in spate or meandering along.

Burngreen,with its well kept formal flowerbeds, paths and trees has, as its very handsome centrepiece, an Edwardian Bandstand (1910) and nearby, a Drinking Fountain(1910) which depicts the daughter of the Emperor Antoninus Pius. This was gifted to the town by Provost Murdoch. These pieces were cast not far from Kilsyth, at the Lion Foundry in Kirkintilloch.

Installed in Burngreen also is the monument dedicated to the International Peace Year (1986). A formal dedication was made by Provost James Pollock along with Madame Marie-Thérèse Pirolli, Mayor of Meulan , Kilsyth’s Twin-Town, which is in France, N.W of Paris. In 2011, to mark the 25th anniversary of the Year of Peace, Friends of Burngreen Park donated 25 rose bushes of the variety “Peace” and the planting is marked by a plaque donated by Kilsyth Community Council.

In 1923 the town’s War Memorial, an imposing 18ft Celtic cross of Aberdeen granite, was erected in a prominent position, again in Burngreen, and was unveiled by Sir Archibald Edmonstone. All those lost in the First World War and those who lost their lives in the Second World War and in the conflict in Northern Ireland are honoured and their names recorded. Plaques affixed to the Bandstand record and commemorate those members of the Kilsyth Public Band and of the Kilsyth Town and Victoria Band who laid down their lives in the First World War.

In 1990, the Rotary Club of Kilsyth buried a ‘Time Capsule’ containing various items representative of the era with the proviso that it be opened in 2040. This is sited near to the Ebroch Burn and the Cats’ Close.

On the site of the ancient meal market, at Market Square, there is a Drinking Fountain (1869) which had been gifted by a baronet of the aforementioned family, the Edmonstones. He was of an earlier generation but bore the same name, Sir Archibald Edmonstone, a name passed down from father to son over many centuries.

A monument erected by the district miners in 1996 and designed by pupils of Kilsyth Academy and St.Maurice’s High School commemorates the History of Mining in the district. This monument is situated in the small memorial garden which is near to the Garrell Burn, adjacent to Charles Street. Part of the mile-long Provost McCann Walkway runs alongside the burn at this point and there is a memorial plaque here(1995) which acknowledges the splendid civic contribution to the town and community made by Provost Patrick McCann during his many years of office.

Benno Schotz, the well known sculptor, was commissioned in 1954 by Kilsyth Burgh Council to create a Memorial to Provost John Jarvie who had been the first freeman of the burgh. This is in the form of a portrait in relief and can be seen in the appropriately named John Jarvie Square, off East Burnside Street.

Main Street, winds from Market street northwards. It is a pedestrian precinct and the paving materials have been varied to echo the windings of the burns which cross the town, while poetry incised on the stonework of the focal points has the same theme and was contributed by members of the local community. An inset medallion on the paving is inscribed with ‘North Lanarkshire Council’, ‘Kilsyth Community Council’ and the date of the official renovation works, 2005.

A similarly inset medallion was commissioned at the same time by the the Rotary Club to mark the centenary of the founding of Rotary International in 1905 and of the local Rotary Club in 1974 This is sited at the junction of King Street with Main Street near to three spectacular steel trees of modern design which contrast with three natural trees of the same height which are planted in likewise fashion at a pathway a short distance away.

A Memorial to the Reverend Dr Jeffrey (1910) at Howe Road was gifted by the members of a religious group who held meetings on Sunday afternoons. These were referred to, at the time, as the PSA (Pleasant Sunday Afternoons) A magnificent banner depicting the PSA is still extant. North Lanarkshire Council had this banner restored and it now hangs in the Museum within Colzium House.

Burngreen, along with the former Kilsyth Miners’ Welfare Park has now been designated Burngreen Park. In this account the older name Burngreen is used and the area referred to is the formal area which includes the bandstand but which in the days of linen production, was a bleaching green. After gathering, the flax was first retted (placed in the waters of the Garrell Burn in order remove the external covering of the fibres by rotting) Following retting the linen would be spread out on the ‘green’ to be bleached.

Occupying a prominent position at Balmalloch overlooking the town, Kilsyth Academy is an early example of the work of Sir Basil Spence who was later to become well known as architect of Coventry Cathedral.

Another notable landmark exemplifying modernism is the “A” listed St. Patrick’s Church by Gillespie, Kidd and Coia. This is situated on Low Craigends.

Kilsyth’s Twin Town is Meulan in France. If you are interested in joining our association or learning more about it, please email ktta1968@hotmail.com or call John Bauld on 07870 365872

Photo Gallery

Four Other Kilsyths

There are at least four other places called Kilsyth – two in the USA, one in Australia and one in Canada. We thank Rob Kay for permitting us to use the following information he compiled and we would also take this opportunity to send greetings from Kilsyth Scotland to our counterparts in the following places.

United States of America

Kilsyth, part of Mount Hope, West Virginia, United States is in Fayette County; location is 37°53’25″N 81°10’57″W. The town of Mt Hope was hit by disastrous flooding in autumn 2001, and is still struggling to get back on its feet. KCC is trying to get in touch and would welcome any news.

Mount Hope, West Virginia, USA

A driving or walking tour through Mount Hope provides visitors with a rare opportunity to view many of the sights that were once commonplace throughout the coal fields of Southern West Virginia. Although the dozens of coal mining operations have disappeared from the hills surrounding the town, along the streets of Mount Hope visitors can still view many examples of the grand structures built by the coal barons and coal companies. The town’s downtown section remains virtually the same as it did during the 1920’s, the decade when the town was one of the most important communities in the vast coal fields of the region. The offices of the region’s largest coal company, the New River Company, still exist as well as the company’s repair shops and foundry building. Just outside town, in Kilsyth, two large smokestacks loom over the former repair shop used by the McKell Coal & Coke Company, also used by the company’s railroad, the Kanawha, Glen Jean & Eastern Railway. And these sites are just a few of the many historic sites located in and near the town.
The town of Kilsyth (originally spelled as “Kilsythe”) was a company town created, built and controlled by the McKell Coal & Coke Company. In 1903, Kilsyth was incorporated as a town, not long after the McKell Kilsyth mine was opened. Virtually all of the major businesses located in the town were owned by the McKell interests, which included the large Company Store and a small movie theater. The homes of the town were lighted by power provided by a generating plant located on the McKell coal mining site.

As the mining operations and the railroad owned by McKell continued to grow during the early decades of the 1900’s, Kilsyth became home to a sprawling mining and railroad repair shop complex located adjacent to the Kilsyth mine. Much of the old McKell repair shop complex remains standing today, including the former KGJ & E engine-house, one of a very few, and perhaps the only remaining engine including the former KGJ & E engine-house, one of a very few, and perhaps the only remaining engine-houses remaining in Southern West Virginia. Although Thurmond receives its notoriety for being the region’s “historic railroad town,” the community of Kilsyth actually contains a far greater number of historic railroad structures than does the present-day town of Thurmond. The huge twin-smokestacks, still standing in the centre of the McKell complex at Kilsyth, grace the skyline serving as highly visible landmarks that can be easy spotted from miles away. The old smokestack are regarded by many as an eyesore, while others see them as one of the last remaining examples of the massive industrial edifices that was once typical throughout the hillsides and valleys throughout Southern West Virginia.

The final chapter of saga of the McKell Coal & Coke Company was written in 1939, with the death of William McKell. Having never married, and having no children of his own, William McKell had not been able to groom a replacement for himself. Although the McKell coal empire had a vast amount of coal lands that had not yet been mined (most of it located in the Garden Ground area) the McKell coal empire ceased to function for lack of a new “king.” The following year, the McKell heirs, having no interest in entering the coal business, sold the McKell Coal & Coke Company to the New River Company. Thus ended the reign of one of the area’s pioneering coal companies that had a profound effect upon the towns of Mt. Hope and Kilsyth and virtually the entire region for more than four decades.

Kilsyth, Tennessee, United States is a small settlement in Campbell County; location is 36°25’43″N 84°4’59″W about four miles from La Follette.
Perhaps some coal miners came to this area from Scotland earlier on as this region was dotted with numerous small coal mining towns. Most are only a memory now to some folks and before long that will eventually pass on.
Mr. McDonald has devoted much of his time to putting the history of Campbell County in print.

Kilsyth was located approximately 5 miles north of La Follette on Hwy. 25w. There was not much to it; a beer joint, a dance hall, gas station, coal tipple and a few houses. At one time when passenger trains ran there may have been a train stop.
Some family names associated with the area are Hutson, Spradlin, Guy, Burger, Wallace, Smith.

With many thanks to Charles Hutson and Don Branam for the information.

Kilsyth, Australia Kilsyth and Kilsyth South are residential suburbs between Mooroolbark and Boronia, 32 km. east of Melbourne. The name presumably was inspired by Kilsyth, Scotland, but no record has revealed the reason for any such connection.

Kilsyth is in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges and the cleared land was suitable for orchards. The original village centre was on Mt. Dandenong Road, which was the linking route between the Croydon railway station and the Dandenong Ranges. Kilsyth primary school was opened in 1910, by when there was a public hall, store and post office. A Kilsyth and District Horticultural Society was formed in 1913.

Residential settlement along the Mount Dandenong Road grew as weekenders and hillside retreats were built. By 1954 Kilsyth had an estimated population of 1,500 persons. In 1971 a second primary school, Kilsyth East, was opened. Pembroke secondary school was opened in 1970 and a third primary school next to it several years later.

Kilsyth is generously provided with recreation reserves, the largest having a sports centre in Liverpool Road. The Elizabeth Bridge Reserve includes a lake and a community house.

Kilsyth South consists of undulating land reducing to flat land in the west, between Canterbury Road and the Dandenong Creek. Drainage works have enabled residential settlement in parts, mixed with industrial uses, the Eastwood Golf Club and a water-retarding basin. The Ghilgai (Steiner) school is in Kilsyth South.

Kilsyth has a small shopping centre in Mt. Dandenong Roadnear the first primary school Mt. Dandenong Road is also the address of a Catholic primary school, elderly persons’ accommodation, the Linley reception centre and a larger shopping centre, Churinga Village, near the Kilsyth Hall.

Kilsyth’s estimated populations have been 1,500 (1955), 4,000 (1970) and 10,250 (1994).

The community is well served with sporting facilities and recreation reserves including the Elizabeth Bridge Reserve which embraces a lake and community house. A pleasant drive east on the Mt Dandenong Tourist Road takes you to Kalorama and the Yarra Ranges Shire Council’s Karwarra Australian Plant Garden. Slightly more than half of the 2ha reserve is made up of landscaped gardens, while the rest conserves native grasses, herbs and trees including stringy bark, narrow leaf peppermint, mountain grey gum and blackwood wattle.

The Kilsyth Country Dance Society are based in a suburb not far from Kilsyth (Australia) This photo shows the group with one of the original members holding a depiction of their logo which was specially designed for them by Mr William Chalmers of Kilsyth, Scotland.

Kilsyth, Canada Kilsyth was the early village of importance in Derby, situated near the centre of the township on the Owen Sound and Saugeen Stage Road. The first school in the township was built on the Fleming farm, near Kilsyth, Jessie Fleming being the first teacher. The first church in the township was the English church, in what is known as the “Irish Settlement” in the third concession; and the first post office was established here, Andrew Fleming being the first postmaster.

It contained a post office, tavern, smithy, stores, and several other places of business. Most noted perhaps was the potter works started by Messrs. Walmsley and McCluskie which at one time was quite a large concern, the works producing articles of common use as well as ornaments. Among the early business men were, Thomas Sloan – merchant and postmaster; William Fleming – merchant; George Smith – keeper of the “Sloan Hotel”.

The village of Kilsyth was founded in 1845 by Alexander Fleming, a stonemason, and his wife Jean, along with their seven children. They were natives of Ballinluig, Perthshire, Scotland. As emigrants, they travelled from their home to Kilsyth with all their possessions in three one-horse carts. At Kilsyth they embarked onto a horse drawn barge on the Forth and Clyde canal, built just eleven years earlier. This was the last place they set foot on Scottish soil, never to return.

Once at Port Glasgow, they moved their belongings directly onto a four masted sailing ship, the Jeanie Deans, 298 tons, which sailed on May 1st, 1843, the journey taking eleven weeks. Once arrived at Toronto, they stayed with relatives, and finally chose a plot of land they named Springfield Farm, where they built a log cabin by a pond which still exists to this day.

The village of some seventy inhabitants is a quiet rural place set in pleasant rolling farmland. It has a fine church – the Kilsyth United Church, and a village hall, and cherishes its Scottish roots. There is also a school with an enrolment of three to four hundred pupils drawn from the surrounding district. Descendants of the Fleming family still live in the village.

(With many thanks to Mr. A Bulloch for the information on Kilsyth Canada and the story of the Fleming family)