KILLEARN, a parish, in the county of Stirling;
containing 1224 inhabitants, of whom 390 are in the
village of Killcarn, 4 miles (li. S. K.) from Urymcn. The
name of this place is supposed to have been derived
from the compound Celtic term Kill-mr-rliiii, signifying
" the church of west point ", which is descriptive of the
situation of the church near the western extremity of a
mountainous ridge about twenty miles in length, extending
from Killearn to Kilsyth, and called Campsie Fells.
The parish lies in the western part of the county. It is
twelve miles in length, varies in breadth from two and a
quarter to four miles, and comprises about 17,000 acres,
of which 7000 are under tillaL;--, 1 140 in plantations, and
the remainder pasture and waste. The river Endrick
runs along the northern boundary, separating the parish
from Drymen and Balfron; and from this stream the
surface gradually rises towards the south, where the
mountainous ridge already referred to has an elevation
of 1'200 feet above the level of the sea. The intermediate
lands comprehend, in succession from the river, first, a
rich though narrow tract of alluvial soil on its banks;
secondly, an arable portion from one to two miles broad,
on which are situated the village and church, and which
from its commanding height, in some parts, of 500 or
600 feet above the sea, affords extensive and beautiful
prospects; and, thirdly, a belt of pasture land about a
mile broad, which is followed by the lofty ridge of trap
rock, at the southern boundary. In the western extremity
of the ridge of trap rock are several semicircular
excavations, known by the name of Corries. Some of
these measure a mde in diameter, and have a highly interesting
aspect, from the variety of stone of which the
rocks consist j and in the same part of Killearn, where
it joins Kilpatrick, is an artificial lake of 150 acres,
affording a supply of water in summer to the Partick
mills, situated on the Kelvin, near Glasgow. The Endrick
is a turbid impetuous stream, which is joined by
the river Blane in the lower part of the parish, and flows
in a western direction, for several miles, till it falls into
Loch Lomond. There are also numerous rivulets and
mountain streams, forming strikingly picturesque cascades
in their precipitous courses through rocky fissures:
the most romantic of these cascades is in the
glen of Dualt, where there is a fall of sixty feet.
The SOIL is various, but in general mossy; in some
places it is rich and fertile: it produces barley, abundance
of oats, a little wheat, and good crops of potatoes,
hay, turnips, and beans. The annual value of the milchcows,
fat-cattle. Highland and English sheep, and other
live stock, kept or reared in the parish, is about £6000.
A large portion of the waste land is capable of being
brought under the plough; but little attention is paid
to this circumstance, the extensive and effectual draining
of the parts already under cultivation being found to
make a better return for the employment of capital.
The estate of Killearn, especially, has received the advantage
of this kind of improvement; and in 1837 the
proprietor built a kiln, in which about 500,000 tiles for
draining are annually made. This parish is not so forward
as many others in scientific husbandry; but much
has been effected within the last thirty or forty years,
and the amount of produce has been doubled. The
annual value of real property in Killearn amounts to
£6850. The prevailing substratum is red sandstone;
in several places are limestone and freestone, and of the
latter some quarries are in operation, the material being
used for building, and occasionally formed into millstones,
which, however, are in little repute for durability.
The higher parts of the mountains are trap rock, which
is supposed, from the numerous fissures, to have been
thrown up through the sandstone, in a state of fusion.
Coal is said to exist, but the numerous attempts to find
it have all failed. In this parish the wood consists
chiefly of young oak, which has been cultivated for the
sake of the bark: on account, however, of the deteriorated
value of this article, the firs are beginning to receive
more attention. The original plantations, comprising
larch-fir and a variety of other trees, were formed about
the beginning of the last century by one of the Graham
family, whose ancestors had possessed almost the whole
parish; and the late Mr. Dunmore, who many years
afterwards projected turnpike-roads, and introduced
the cotton manufacture and various rural improvements,
encouraged also the planting of waste lands. In the
vicinity of his residence at Ballikinraiu are some fine
yew-trees, of large bulk, and in a very flourishing condition;
and near the old mansion-house of Killearn are
beautiful specimens of oak and silver-fir, of great height.
On the last-named estate, an elegant seat has lately been
erected, on the margin of the river Blane; and there is
a mansion in the castellated style at Carbeth, which, as
well as several other neat residences of proprietors, is
richly ornamented with wood.
The village of Killearn, which is traversed by the turnpike-
road to Glasgow, is built in an irregular straggling
form. It is principally inhabited by families occupying
small plots of ground, let on long leases by Sir James
Montgomery about 17*0 with the privilege of building,
a circumstance which operated to produce a gradual
increase of the population, previously to that year reduced
by the consolidation of several small farms. There
is a woollen-factory, in which the raw material, amounting
to about 400 cwt. annually, passes through the various
processes till made into cloth. A post-office has been
established under Glasgow. For ecclesiastical purposes
the parish is in the presbytery of Dumbarton, synod of
Glasgow and Ayr, and in the patronage of the Duke of
Montrose. The minister's stipend is £152, with a manse,
built in 1825, and a glebe of eight acres, valued at £13
per annum. Killearn church was rebuilt in the year 1826,
and contains 500 sittings. The parochial schoolmaster
receives a salary of £31, with £8 in lieu of house and
garden, and about £10 fees. There is a mineral spring
in the parish, one of the ingredients of which is lime,
and which petrifies the moss growing near it. At a
place called Blaressen Spout-head, marked by several
erect stones, tradition asserts that a battle was fought
between the Romans and the Scots. George Buchanan,
the celebrated historian, was born in 1506, at Moss, to
the south of the church, in a farm-house occupied by
his father, part of which remained till IS12, when a
modern edifice was erected on its site. An obelisk 103
feet high, after the model of that erected on the Boyne
in Ireland in honour of the victory gained there, was
raised in the village in 1788, by several gentlemen, in
memory of this distinguished Scotsman. Napier of
Merchiston, also, the inventor of logarithms, held property
in Killearn.