MINNYHIVE, a village, in the parish of GlenCAIRN,
county of Dumfries, 17 miles (N. W. by W.)
from Dumfries; containing 667 inhabitants. It is situated
nearly in the centre of the parish, on the south
bank of the small river Dalwhat, one of three streams
that unite a little below the village, and form the Cairn.
This place has latterly much increased in extent and
population, and the houses which have recently been
built are of a superior description; the inhabitants are
partly engaged in agriculture, and partly in handicraft
trades and manufactures. A post-office has been established;
and fairs are held in March, July, and October,
chiefly for hiring servants. The Dalwhat is crossed here
by a bridge leading to the pleasant village of Dunreggan;
and the turnpike-road from Dumfries passes in the
vicinity. In Minnyhive is a cross, erected about the year
1638, when a charter was granted constituting the place
a burgh of barony, with power to hold a weekly market.
Within a quarter of a mile, on rising ground, a monument
was erected in 1S2S to the memory of the Rev.
James Renwick, executed at Edinburgh in 1688, and
popularly known as " the last of the martyrs".