Milngavie (pronounced mill-guy), like its neighbouring town of Bearsden, does not lie on the banks of the River Clyde, unlike the remainder of the
places in this site, but lies to the north of the river, Northwest of the City of Glasgow and Northeast of the town of Clydebank.
The mediaeval village of Milngavie grew up on the banks of the River Allander. The Allander's water was used as a source of power for grain mills. There has been a mill in the town centre since at least the fifteenth century; the historic buildings and wheel of Gavin's Mill, from which the village probably got its name, were restored in the 1960s and can still be seen today.
The Allander and its tributary, the Craigton Burn, were also sites for cotton-spinning, bleachfields, a distillery and a dyeworks, and industrialisation spread further upstream than is found today.
Up to about 1793 the village was recorded as having only about 200 inhabitants. However, this number increased rapidly during the Industrial Revolution, and by the 1870s stood at over 2000.
The cotton mill site was later taken over as a paper mill and, although this particular location is no longer used for industrial purposes, cardboard boxes are still manufactured in Milngavie on the banks of the River Allander. Many of the industrial sites upstream of the town centre have reverted back to nature.
The oldest house now standing in Milngavie is believed to be the eighteenth century farm building Corbie Ha' in Park Road. It is currently the headquarters of Milngavie Pipe Band.
Mugdock reservoir, lying just north of Milngavie village, was opened in 1859 for the storage of water piped from Loch Katrine and destined for Glasgow. As the City of Glasgow's population grew during the Industrial Revolution, so did its demand for water, and so a second adjacent reservoir, Craigmaddie, was opened in 1896. The two reservoirs provide a pleasant walk both for residents and for those from further afield.
The Milngavie and Glasgow Junction Railway opened from Westerton to Milngavie in 1863. Although Milngavie was at this time only a small village, the railway builders had the foresight to realise that it would expand rapidly as a result of the rail link to Glasgow and that the line would carry many commuters. As well as a passenger service, Milngavie station boasted a large goods yard, and in the 1890s a short freight line was constructed northwards to Ellangowan paper mill; the start of the "West Highland Way" now follows this route, and the paper mill site is occupied by the local library, community education centre and housing. A further freight branch was built at about the same time to serve the Burnbrae dyeworks on the boundary of Milngavie and Bearsden. This line became famous in the 1930s as the site of the overhead test track for the George Bennie railplane, the terminus building of which still stands on the main road and is occupied by Kelvin Timber.
Trams did not reach Milngavie until 1934, whereas they had served Bearsden since 1906. The tram service only survived, however, until 1956, at which time buses took over.
By the 1970s the narrow streets of Milngavie centre were choked with traffic. This was alleviated by the construction of a bypass, Woodburn Way, linking Main Street and Station Road, and pedestrianisation of the village's shopping streets in 1981, making Milngavie once more a pleasant place to stroll.
