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Johnstone History Museum is in Johnstone, Scotland. It contains local industrial and social artefacts and memorabilia. For opening times and directions follow the Schedule and Direction buttons on this page. [Overview] The origin of Johnstone can be traced precisely to the 23rd February 1782, when George Houstoun, the Laird of the Lands of Johnstone, sold the first tracts of land feus from his estate. Using the power from the River Black Cart the town's cotton and flax spinning industry rapidly expanded until over 20 mills were in operation. The cotton mills gave rise to a need for engineering skills to maintain the water wheel machinery and the spinning machines. These were boom times for the spinning industry in Johnstone. But this was not going to last.
As a result of the cotton famine caused by the American Civil War and the advent of steam power, by 1850, cotton spinning began to decline. But as the mills closed all was not lost for the people of Johnstone. The engineering businesses, built on cotton, survived the decline, and they then prospered in their own right. New firms were created that manufactured machine-tools of all kinds (see the photographs in our Gallery). Foundries were built to support the engineering works and there was a demand for the heavy machine tools being built on the Clyde for the construction of iron ships. By the 1900s, Johnstone designed and built machines were in demand all over the world. This was the second Industrial Revolution for the town of Johnstone.
The Museum exhibits trace the History of the Town from its inception though the rise and fall of the Textile industry and on to the various Engineering business. Some Engineering businesses survive in the Town to this day.
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From our members...
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Rees Clark02-Feb-2024
We've made it easier to donate to the museum. Both financial and volunteer support are very much appreciated. Just follow the helping hand. Or click LINK at the end of this post. johnstonehistory.org
Tom Stout13-Oct-2023
Tom Stout 1946-2019. Tom was an industrial arts teacher in California. His maternal grandparents left Johnstone for the USA in 1882 with their two daughters. In 2013 he visited the Museum and later...
Administrator08-Sep-2023
We've made a few style changes and added a video page that is still under development. Member feedback is appreciated. If you're not yet a member, this would be a good time to join.
The Museum is open to the public on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10.30 a.m. till 4 p.m. The Museum can also be opened to accommodate school and local interest groups at other times by arrangement. Our Museum is manned on a voluntary basis by members of Johnstone History Society. Volunteers are welcome. Our website, of course, never closes.
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Johnstone was one of Scotland’s quickest growing towns in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. The town, of course, was planned by George Houston, Esq, the local laird, and the first houses were built in 1782. Johnstone prospered and, eleven years later in 1793, it was described as “a neat and regularly built village.”
The following photograph of the public park football team from 1954 was uploaded to the Johnstone history Facebook page and is surely worth reposting here.
The following article was published by
Eddie McRorie on 19th August 2023 on the Johnstone History Facebook page and is
reproduced here with his kind permission.
David Crawford was a farmers son from Sproulston Farm
in Howwood and attended school in Lochwinnoch. He spent his early years working on
the farm until the family... Continues...
We have added a new feature to our web site. You will find a Videos link on the banner. Have a try! (Please note: This feature is developing rapidly and may change from day today.)
By Angela Gillespie.
While searching the London Gazette I found the following entry in a Supplement dated 24 Feb. 1942, page 894 - The Military Cross awarded to Lieutenant (Temporary Captain) Thomas Stevenson Craig (85709), Royal Tank Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps (Johnstone, Renfrewshire).
This is another Angela Gillespie Story. Click the link below.
Ardrossan Canal and Railway
By the late E.S.Nicoll, edited and contributed to
Johnstone History Museum
by Stuart Rankin.
On October 2, 1903, the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald contained a paper on the above subject, read at Ardrossan by Clement F. Stretton of the Society of Engineers.
Follow the link to the full story
