DOLLAR, a town and parish, in the county of Clackmannan;
containing 1562 inhabitants, of whom
1131 are in the town, 7 miles (X. E.) from Alloa. This
place, the name of which, in the Gaelic language, is descriptive
either of a vale at the base of a hill, or of a
secluded plain, belonged as early as the fifteenth century
to the Campbell family, of whose baronial residence,
Castle-Campbell, there are still considerable remains.
By whom or at what period this ancient fortress, which
is of formidable strength, was first erected, is not distinctly
known; the style of the building indicates different
dates, and evidently shows that the original
structure received various subsequent additions. The
later portions are in a state of ruin; but the keep, the
oldest part, is in rather good preservation: it is a tower
of quadrilateral form; the walls are of vast thickness,
and the spiral staircase forming an ascent to the roof is
still tolerably entire. To the south of the keep are extensive
vaults, continued far beyond the walls of the
castle. From the rugged and precipitous acclivities of
the height vifhereon it is built. Castle- Campbell is almost
inaccessible. In the year 1556, Archibald, the fourth
Ear! of Argyll, resided in the castle, where he was
frequently visited by the reformer, John Knox, who
administered the sacrament of the Lord's Supper here
previously to his departure for Geneva. The castle was
burnt in 1644, by the Marquess of Montrose (after his
victories at Auldearn and Alford), on his route to the
south, on which occasion his troops burnt every house
in the parishes of Dollar and Muckart belonging to the
vassals of the Earl of Argyll. The lands are at present
divided among various proprietors, of whom the principal
are the Globe Insurance Company.
The PARISH is bounded on the north by the Ochil
range, and is about three miles in length from north to
south, and about a mile and a half in breadth, comprising
nearly 4500 acres, of which 1740 are arable, 250
woodland and plantations, 3500 hill-pasture, and the
remainder moss and waste. The surface, sloping gradually
from the base of the hills towards the south,
forms a gently inclined plain to the river Devon, by
which the parish is intersected from east to west, and
beyond which the ground rises by degrees to a ridge of
table land of considerable breadth. The principal of the
Ochils connected with Dollar parish are King's Seat,
Dollar Hill, and the "Wisp, none of which, however, exceed
1900 feet in elevation. At the western extremity
of the range is Damiett, commanding an interesting
view of the surrounding country, including Stirling,
Alloa, Linlithgow, and Falkirk, and reaching to the
centre of Lanarkshire, with the range of mountains from
Perth on the east to Loch Katrine and Loch Lomond
on the west. The river Devon flows through the vale
of Dollar, in a beautifully winding stream, between
banks richly wooded, and, after a course in which it
forms many picturesque cascades, falls into the Forth at
Cambus; it abounds with trout and par, and trout are
also found in the numerous burns that flow into it from
the Ochils. The bridge connecting this parish with that
of Fossoway was built by Thomas Forrest, Vicar of Dollar,
who suffered martyrdom in 1538, and hence it is
called Vicar's Bridge. Though various, the soil is generally
fertile; the crops are oats, wheat, barley, turnips,
and potatoes. The system of agriculture is advancing,
and the lands have been greatly improved by draining;
the farm-buildings are substantial and commodious, and
most of the fences are kept in good order. The hills
afford excellent pasture for sheep, of which considerable
numbers are reared. The plantations, which are interspersed
throughout the parish, are oak, ash, elm, beech,
plane, and the various kinds of fir; birch and alder
appear to be indigenous, and recently American oak,
chesnut, and walnut, with various other trees, have been
introduced, which appear to thrive. The annual value
of real property in the parish is £4313. The rocks are
chiefly of two classes, namely, trap rocks and coal formation
rocks; and some veins of copper and lead have
been found: there are sandstone of various colours,
ironstone, limestone, and coal. Some unsuccessful attempts
to work the copper were made a few years since.
There is a quarry in operation, producing excellent stone
for building; and the coal has been extensively wrought
at Dollar, near the Ochils j and at Sheardale, on the
table land to the south of the Devon. In both these
coalfields are found splint and main coal, in seams of
three and five feet in thickness, at depths respectively
of nine and eleven fathoms from the surface. The
works at Dollar have been discontinued; but those at
Sheardale are in full operation, producing annually about
6000 tons for the supply of the neighbourhood.
The VILLAGE or town, which has greatly increased ft)
since the establishment of the Dollar Institution, is
pleasantly situated on the sloping plain in the centre
of the parish, and contains several handsome houses,
the residences of families connected with that establishment,
in addition to those inhabited by persons employed
in the works in the neighbourhood. There is a
bleachfield here, belonging to Mr. Haig: in 1787 it comprised
only about four acres; but the concern has been
much extended, and at present not less than thirty
acres are appropriated to the bleaching of linen goods,
and more than sixty persons are employed, of whom
nearly one-half are women. The woollen manufacture,
for which a mill has been erected, is carried on to a
small extent; and a manufactory of bricks and tiles has
been established, in which about twenty persons are
engaged. A branch office under the post-office at Alloa
has been established here; and fairs, chiefly for cattle,
are held annually in May and October. Facility of communication
is afforded by the turnpike-road from Kinross
to Stirling, which passes through the parish. For
ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs tlic parish is within the bounds
of the presbytery of Stirling, synod of Perth and Stirling.
The minister's stipend is about £160, of which a
small part is paid from the exchequer; with a manse,
and a glebe valued at £18 per annum: patrons, the
Globe Insurance Company. Dollar church, built in
1775, being insufficient for the increased population,
and also in a dilapidated condition, a new church was
erected in 1842, at a cost exceeding £2500, defraj'ed by
heritors and feuars; it is a handsome structure in the
later English style, with a square embattled tower, after
a design by Mr. Tite, of London, and contains 6OO sittings.
There is a place of worship for members of the
United Original Secession. The parochial schoolmaster
has a salary of £25. 17-, with a house and garden, and
the fees average about £12 annually.
The Dollar Institution was founded in 1825, from the
proceeds of a legacy by Mr. John Macnab, a merchant of
London, who in 1 802 bequeathed £90,000 three per cents,
for the erection and endowment of a school, or some
other charitable institution, for the benefit of the poor
of his native parish. The trustees, originally consisting
of the minister and elders of the parish, appropriated
the funds to the estabhshment of a general seminary of
instruction in all the various branches of learning, and
have appointed six masters, to each of whom they give
a minimum salary of £140 per annum, with a large
house and garden, and the privilege of taking boarders.
There is also a female teacher, who receives a salary of
about £50, and has a house and garden. The branches
taught by the masters are, the English language, writing
and arithmetic, the Latin, Greek, and Oriental languages,
the modern languages, mathematics, drawing, and geography.
The number of scholars is about 300; and the
school fees, averaging £120 per annum, are paid to the
treasurer of the funds, which produce about £2000 per
annum. The buildings of the institution were erected
after a design by Mr. Playfair, of Edinburgh, at an expense
of about £10,000, and form a spacious structure
in the Grecian style, 186 feet in length and 63 feet in
breadth. In the centre of the principal front is a stately
portico of si.x columns, supporting a cornice and pediment;
and the upper portion of the walls is crowned
with a handsome parapet. The building contains a hall
and library forty-five feet square, lighted by a cupola
forty-five feet in height, sustained on fluted columns; a
museum, spacious class-rooms for the different masters,
and other apartments. It has a large lawn, and the
grounds on the north of the academy park, consisting
of several acres, have been formed into gardens and
nurseries, for the instruction of the pupils in horticulture
and botany. Connected with the institution is also
an extensive infant school, the teacher of which has a
salary of about £.50, with a house and garden. Thus,
altogether, there are eight teachers in the establishment.
An act was passed in 184/ for increasing the number
of trustees, and for incorporating them. The poor of
Dollar have, besides, the interest of other charitable
bequests amounting in the aggregate to £319.