What is "maxwelltown"

Maxwelltown was formerly a burgh of barony and police burgh in the county of Kirkcudbrightshire in south west Scotland. In 1929 Maxwelltown was merged with Dumfries. Map ref.

Maxwelltown lies to the west of the River Nith. The river was formerly the boundary of Kirkcudbrightshire and Dumfriesshire. Maxwelltown was a hamlet known as Bridgend up until 1810, in which year it was erected into a burgh of barony under its present name. Maxwelltown comprises several suburbs, including Summerhill, Troqueer, Janefield, Lochside, Lincluden, Sandside, and Summerville.

The oldest remaining building within the Dumfries urban conurbation is on the Maxwelltown side of the Nith, Lincluden Abbey. Queen of the South football ground is also on the Maxwelltown side. Some of the most notable local players for the club hail from the same side of the Nith, including Ian Dickson, Billy Houliston and Ted McMinn. Other buildings of note are the former Dumfries Mill, now the Robert Burns Centre Museum, that in the evenings becomes a film theatre; Dumfries Museum and observatory up on the hill; the Sinclair Memorial; the former Benedictine Convent of the Immaculate Conception; Dumfries Prison; and the former Maxwelltown Court House. Maxwelltown railway station in the Summerhill area on the Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway closed in 1965.

The song "Annie Laurie" references this burgh. A version of this song can be found in "The Male Chorus No. 1" by Ira D. Sankey and Geo. C. Stebbins 1888, No. 113.