Clackmannanshire

Clackmannanshire, the smallest county of Scotland, lies between the counties of Perth, Fife, and Stirling, and slopes from the green Ochil Hills to the Forth. Its greatest length is 10 miles; area, 48 sq. m. Pop. (1871) 23,747; (1891) 28,432. A ridge of high ground, with inferior soil, often resting on clay, runs west through the middle of Clackmannanshire, between the very fertile alluvial lands resting on the coal-measures in the south, and the North Devon valley in the north. The 'Hillfoots' have long been celebrated for their woollen manufactures; ale and glass bottles are largely produced, and there is a trade in iron and shipbuilding. Clackmannan is the county town, but Alloa is the most important place. Clackmannanshire, with Kinross-shire, returns one member to parliament; since 1895 it includes the parish of Alva, formerly attached to Stirlingshire. See Beveridge, Between the Forth and the Ochils (1888).