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54-585: The Selkirks were named after Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk . In 1857 gold was discovered in the Selkirks. Coal , copper , marble , mercury , silver , and zinc were also found in the mountains. During the development of Western Canada , the Selkirks presented a formidable barrier to the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway , until A.B. Rogers discovered the mountain pass that bears his name in 1881–1882. As

108-563: A sedan chair to bask in the sun and admire the snow-capped Pyrenees. On his death, his heir and successor Dunbar was only 10 years old and thus Selkirk's estates were put into a trust and managed by four executors named in his will. The Board of Trustees consisted of Andrew Colville (Colvile) of Achiltrie and Crommie, John Hallbrith (Halkett) of Waring, Adam Maitland of Dundrennan, and Sir James Montgomery, 2nd Baronet . Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( / k ɜːr ˈ k uː b r i ʃ ər / kur- KOO -bree-shər ) or

162-719: A boatload of sailors. As the Americans approached the Selkirk mansion, a governess saw them coming and removed young Thomas to safety. The Americans knocked on the front door and were greeted by the butler. Lady Selkirk came from the breakfast room to see what the fuss was about. She invited the American officers into the drawing room, told the butler to make tea and to find some whisky for the sailors who were waiting outside. When they explained that they had come to kidnap her husband, Lady Selkirk replied that unfortunately Lord Selkirk

216-547: A converted pair of late 18th century houses. A large extension was built in 1952 to the rear of the building facing Daar Road. Kirkcudbrightshire was abolished as an administrative county in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 . A two-tier system of regions and districts was put in place instead, with the area becoming part of the Dumfries and Galloway region. Most of Kirkudbrightshire became part of

270-542: A rallying point for their shared identity. A flag and a national anthem were born during this period in time. A Manitoba Historical Plaque was erected in Winnipeg , Manitoba by the province to commemorate Lord Selkirk's role in Manitoba's heritage. At the age of seven, Thomas was almost kidnapped by John Paul Jones , commander of an American ship. Peter C. Newman tells the story as follows in his history The Empire of

324-656: A result of the railway's construction via that route, Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks (Canada) in the heart of the Selkirks were among the first national parks created in Canada, along with Yoho and Banff National Parks in the Rockies. Until the completion of the Trans-Canada Highway via the Rogers Pass , automotive traffic between most of British Columbia and the rest of Canada necessarily

378-513: A short period. The treaty of Norham (24 March 1550) established a truce between the nations for ten years; and in 1552, the Wardens of the Marches consenting, the debatable land ceased to be matter for debate, the parish of Canonbie being annexed to Dumfriesshire, that of Kirkandrews to Cumberland . McCulloch and Gordon families were of Cardoness Castle, Anwoth Parish and Rev. Rutherford

432-603: A shortage of food in 1814, Macdonell issued the Pemmican Proclamation , prohibiting the export of food from the entire area. The Métis, who made a living selling pemmican to the N.W.C. traders, responded by arresting Macdonell and burning the settlement. Robert Semple was appointed as governor of the Red River Colony. By 1816, the violence intensified between the Métis and the newcomers, which resulted in

486-530: A small mass forms the Cairnsmore of Carsphairn . Much granite was quarried from Kirkmabreck, near Creetown for dock construction from 1830 on. Glacial deposits occupy much of the low ground; the ice, having travelled in a southerly or south-easterly direction, has left abundant striae on the higher ground to indicate its course. Radiation of the ice streams took place from the heights of Merrick, Kells, etc.; local moraines are found near Carsphairn and in

540-524: Is bounded on the north by Ayrshire , on the west by Wigtownshire, on the south by the Irish Sea and Solway Firth , and on the east by Dumfriesshire . The county town is Kirkcudbright. The country west of the Nith was originally peopled by a tribe of Celts called Novantae , who long retained their independence. After Gnaeus Julius Agricola 's invasion in 79 AD, the country nominally formed part of

594-520: The Battle of Seven Oaks , causing the deaths of 21 of Lord Selkirk's men, including the newly appointed governor, and one Métis. N.W.C. partners were accused of having aided the Métis attackers. All were exonerated at trial, and again when re-tried under Selkirk's instigation, which back-fired when they successfully counter-sued Selkirk. Selkirk and his men responded to the Battle of Seven Oaks by seizing

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648-611: The British government for a land grant in the Red River Valley , a part of Rupert's Land . The government refused, as the Hudson's Bay Company (H.B.C.) had been granted a fur trading monopoly on that land. However, Selkirk was very determined, and together with Sir Alexander Mackenzie bought enough shares in H.B.C. to let them gain control of the land. This position of power, along with his marriage connections (his wife Jean

702-599: The County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland , covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative county used for local government . Since 1975, the area has formed part of Dumfries and Galloway for local government purposes. Kirkcudbrightshire continues to be used as a registration county for land registration. A lower-tier district called Stewartry covered

756-636: The Kingdom of Northumbria . A hoard that has been attributed to either a Northumbrian metal-worker, or a Viking campaigner, was deposited near Talnotrie c.875-900. During the next two hundred years the area was subject to incursions by Danes, Saxons and Scandinavians. After Malcolm Canmore defeated and killed Macbeth in 1057, he married the dead king's relative, Ingibiorg, a Pictish princess, (the view that there were Picts in Galloway in historical times cannot be wholly rejected) an event which marked

810-475: The North West Company (N.W.C.) from competing with H.B.C. for furs in the region. By placing the Red River Colony astride the trade routes used by the N.W.C. coureurs des bois , Selkirk could cut off the easy flow of furs. However, the local Métis people who already inhabited the area had long-standing ties with the N.W.C. and refused to accept Selkirk's control over the area, which was contrary to

864-698: The Roman province of Britannia , but the evidence is against there having been a prolonged effective Roman occupation. There was a Roman temporary marching camp at Shawhead, in Kirkpatrick Irongray. After the retreat of the Romans, the fate of the Novantae is unknown. By the 6th century, Galloway was part of the Brythonic kingdom of Strathclyde . During the ninth century, the region was part of

918-477: The Royal Proclamation of 1763 . The first colonization attempt started in 1812, consisting of 128 men led by the new governor, Miles Macdonell . Arriving late in the season they had just arrived and built homes when the winter cut off any hope of planting, and the colony became reliant on the support of the Métis. Even with a full growing season the next year, the colony never thrived. Because of

972-691: The Stewartry district. The two parishes of Kirkmabreck and Minnigaff in the west of the county went instead to the Wigtown district, whilst the five parishes of Kirkbean , Kirkpatrick Irongray, New Abbey , Terregles , and Troqueer in the east of the county went to the Nithsdale district. Further local government reform in 1996 saw the Stewartry, Wigtown and Nithsdale districts abolished and their functions passed to Dumfries and Galloway Council, which continues to operate area committees based on

1026-520: The 13th century. In 1369, the part of Galloway east of the River Cree was placed under the control of a steward based in Kirkcudbright and so that area became known as the "Stewartry of Kirkcudbright". The rest of Galloway remained under the authority of a sheriff based in Wigtown , and so became known as Wigtownshire . Kirkcudbrightshire was occasionally referred to as East Galloway. It

1080-526: The Bay . In 1778, John Paul Jones, in the sloop Ranger , was cruising between Scotland and Ireland looking for prizes. Benjamin Franklin had suggested that he might capture a British nobleman to exchange for American prisoners. Having been born near the Selkirk estates, Jones selected the elder Lord Selkirk. At the last moment, Jones decided not to go himself, but to assign the duty to two lieutenants and

1134-513: The Deagh and Minnoch valleys. Glacial drumlins of boulder clay lie in the vales of the Dee, Cree and Urr. The climate and soil suit grass and green crops rather than grain. The annual rainfall averages 1,160 millimetres (45.7 in). The mean temperature for the year is 9 °C (48 °F); for January 4 °C (39 °F)and 15 °C (59 °F) for July. Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway

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1188-516: The Douglases went down the Maxwells rose, and the debatable land on the south-east of Dumfriesshire was for generations the scene of strife and raid, not only between the two nations but also among the leading families, of whom the Maxwells, Johnstones and Armstrongs were always conspicuous. After the Battle of Solway Moss (1542) the shires of Kirkcudbright and Dumfries fell under English rule for

1242-536: The Navy and return it to the Selkirks. Lord Selkirk wrote back that he could not possibly countenance the return of his silver without the consent of the Continental Congress . The objects, which became the subject of protracted legal negotiations, were returned seven years later. Lord Selkirk married Jean Wedderburn-Colville, sister to James Wedderburn and Andrew Colville , in 1807, and fathered: In

1296-553: The Pyrenees stretching along the horizon, resembled, by their rugged summits, the back bone of the globe...The sight of all this grandeur determined the party upon making Pau their winter quarters." The Selkirks were the first notable British family to have resided at Pau having taken half of the Hotel de Bayard. Winter was severe and Selkirk's health declined until he could go only as far as the place Royale in front of their lodgings in

1350-535: The Selkirk Mountains was the home of the last naturally occurring caribou herd in the contiguous United States , the South Selkirk mountain caribou. The herd was cross boundary, spending some time in extreme northern Idaho , eastern Washington , and British Columbia , Canada. The South Selkirk mountain caribou is a woodland mountain caribou , an ecotype of the boreal woodland caribou , one of

1404-517: The Shire of Wigtown. This led to the local custom of referring to Kirkcudbrightshire as "The Stewartry" and Wigtownshire as "The Shire" , which continued into the 20th century. In 1455 Threave Castle , the most important fortress in Galloway, which Archibald the Grim had built on the Dee immediately to the west of the modern town of Castle Douglas , was reduced and converted into a royal keep. As

1458-602: The Urr, rising in Loch Urr on the Dumfriesshire border, falls into the sea a few miles south of Dalbeattie 27 miles (43 kilometres) from its source. Silurian and Ordovician rocks are the most important in this county; they are thrown into oft-repeated folds with their axes lying in a north-east–south-west direction. The Ordovician rocks are graptolitic black shales and grits of Llandeilo and Caradoc age. They occupy all

1512-760: The W. side of the Nith at Dumfries. Volcanic necks occur in the Permian and basalt dikes penetrate the Silurian at Borgue, Kirkandrews, etc. Most of the highest ground is formed by granite plutons which have been intruded into the Ordovician and Silurian rocks; the Criffel pluton lies about Dalbeattie and Bengairn, another mass extends east and west between the Cairnsmore of Fleet and Loch Ken , another lies north-west and south-east between Loch Doon and Loch Dee and

1566-516: The beginning of the decay of Norse influence. The Galloway chiefs became lieges of the Scottish king, whilst retaining some independence as the sub-kingdom or semi-autonomous Lordship of Galloway . Following the death of Lord Alan of Galloway in 1234 the area was brought fully under the control of the Scottish crown. In 1308 the district was cleared of the English and brought under allegiance to

1620-413: The butler to provide the American gentlemen with what they needed. He filled a sack half full of coal, filled the top half with silverware and presented it to the officers. After drinking a toast to Lady Selkirk, they returned to their ship and presented their captain with his sack full of coal and silverware. Jones wrote Lady Selkirk a flowery letter of apology, proposing himself to buy back the booty from

1674-468: The coast between the granite and the younger rocks. Carboniferous rocks appear in small faulted tracts, unconformable on the Silurian, on the shores of the Solway Firth. They are best developed about Kirkbean, where they include a basal red breccia followed by conglomerates, grits and cement stones of Calciferous Sandstone age. Brick-red sandstones of Permian age just come within the county on

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1728-667: The emigration of poor Scots.) In 1804, he was in Halifax and became a member of the North British Society . He travelled extensively in North America, and his approach and work gained him some fame; in 1807 he was named Lord-Lieutenant of Kirkcudbright , Scotland, and in 1808 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. In order to continue his work re-settling Scottish farmers, Selkirk asked

1782-503: The female caribou in Canada and moved her to a captive rearing pen near Revelstoke in the hopes of "preserving highly endangered herds". According to the AAAS, it is believed that this female caribou is the "last member of the last herd to regularly cross into the lower 48 states from Canada". The 10 highest peaks Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk FRS FRSE (20 June 1771 – 8 April 1820)

1836-467: The following day : "Everything that I had hitherto beheld appeared insignificant compared with the scenery which now presented itself...under our feet extended a long plain of meadowland, through which the Gave serpentined in a quick and bubbling stream. The foreground was bounded by a long ridge of hills covered with the vines festooning from their summits to their feet; backed by forest and bounded by

1890-703: The following year, on 28 August 1862, with the Stranraer Harbour branch, which opened on 1 October 1862; although building work continued on the line for another five years. The Kirkcudbright Railway was a railway branch line linking Kirkcudbright to the Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway at Castle Douglas . It opened in 1864, and closed in 1965. The Beeching cuts cut off the Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway and Portpatrick Railway in 1965 resulting in an adverse mileage increase via

1944-479: The inhabitants of the shire. In the 1760s a military road was constructed from Bridge of Sark, near Gretna, Dumfries and Galloway to Portpatrick by Major William Caulfeild . Elected county councils were established in Scotland in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 . Kirkcudbrightshire County Council established its headquarters at County Buildings, 121–123 High Street, Kirkcudbright , being

1998-599: The international boundary between Manitoba and North Dakota, where it connects with Interstate 29 in the United States, to the city of Winnipeg. Mount Selkirk and the Selkirk Mountains were also named in his honor. The Métis peoples cite Lord Selkirk's intrusion as the period of time their identity as a people came into existence. The Métis existed prior to the confrontations with Lord Selkirk's men but their armed resistance to foreign encroachment became

2052-486: The king, when the lordship of Galloway was given to Edward Bruce . In 1369 Archibald the Grim , Earl of Douglas , was given the part of Galloway east of the River Cree , where he appointed a steward to administer the area, which became known as the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. The following year, he acquired the rest of Galloway west of the Cree, which continued to be administered by the king's sheriff, and so became known as

2106-698: The last surviving son (two brothers died in infancy, two died of tuberculosis and two died of yellow fever), became the 5th Earl of Selkirk. In 1798 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh , his proposers being Dugald Stewart , Andrew Coventry , and John Playfair . When Thomas unexpectedly inherited the Selkirk title and estates in 1799, he used his money and political connections to purchase land and settle poor Scottish farmers in Belfast, Prince Edward Island , in 1803 and Baldoon , Upper Canada in 1804. (See Highland Clearances for more on

2160-465: The late stages of tuberculosis Lord Selkirk wanted to travel to the warm climate of southern Spain with his family from London and agreed to bring young doctor George William Lefevre as his travelling physician. With good weather, Selkirk's spirits and cough improved between Paris and Bordeaux . Before crossing the Pyrenees , they stopped at Pau in mid-October 1819. Lefevre wrote about their ride

2214-516: The longer rivers are the Cree, which rises in Loch Moan and reaches the sea near Creetown after a course of about 30 miles (50 kilometres); the Dee or Black Water of Dee (so named from the peat by which it is coloured), which rises in Loch Dee which after a course mainly S.E. and finally S., enters the sea at St Mary's Isle below Kirkcudbright , its length being nearly 36 miles (58 kilometres);

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2268-418: The majority of the historic county from 1975 to 1996. The area of Stewartry district is still used as a lieutenancy area . Dumfries and Galloway Council also has a Stewartry area committee . Ultimately meaning "shire of the church of Saint Cuthbert ", Kirkcudbrightshire forms the eastern part of the medieval lordship of Galloway , which retained a degree of autonomy until it was fully absorbed by Scotland in

2322-595: The most critically endangered mammals. In 2009 the herd of 50 animals was declining. Predation from wolves that had been reintroduced to the area negatively effected the herd, and by April 2018, only three remained, and in January 2019, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) announced in its scientific journal, Science , that British Columbia's provincial biologists captured

2376-785: The names of the City of Selkirk and the Village of East Selkirk , as well as the Winnipeg neighborhood of Point Douglas , the city's Fort Douglas Park on Waterfront Drive (where Fort Douglas once stood) and Winnipeg's Selkirk Avenue. The City of Selkirk is served by the Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School , which is administered by the Lord Selkirk School Division . The Lord Selkirk Highway runs from

2430-687: The northern part of the county north-west of a line which runs some 3 m. north of New Galloway and just south of the Rinns of Kells. South-east of this line graptolitic Silurian shales of Llandovery age prevail; they are found around Dalry, Creetown, New Galloway, Castle Douglas and Kirkcudbright. Overlying the Llandovery beds on the south coast are strips of Wenlock rocks; they extend from Bridgehouse Bay to Auchinleck and are well exposed in Kirkcudbright Bay, and they can be traced farther round

2484-612: The pre-1996 districts, subject to some boundary changes where ward boundaries no longer follow the pre-1996 district boundaries. The former Stewartry district is used as a lieutenancy area under the name the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. Kirkcudbrightshire has a shoreline on the Solway Firth , between the rivers Nith and Cree . Inland, the area has many hills, with its highest point being Merrick 843 metres (2,766 ft). There are many "burns" and "waters", but their length seldom exceeds 7 or 8 miles (11 or 13 kilometres). Among

2538-637: The trading post at Fort William that belonged to the North West Company. In the aftermath, Selkirk was ordered to appear in court in Montreal and was charged with four separate offences, all of which related to the alleged unlawful occupation of Fort William. Selkirk reportedly spent most of his acquired fortune defending himself (unsuccessfully) in court, shortly before his death in 1820 at Pau, France . The two companies were merged in 1821. Selkirk's colonizing ambitions have been memorialized in

2592-561: Was a Scottish peer. He was noteworthy as a Scottish philanthropist who sponsored immigrant settlements in Canada at the Red River Colony . He was born at St Mary's Isle, Kirkcudbrightshire , Scotland , the seventh son of Dunbar Douglas, 4th Earl of Selkirk , and his wife Helen Hamilton (1738–1802), granddaughter of Thomas Hamilton, 6th Earl of Haddington . His brother was Basil William Douglas , Lord Daer. His early education

2646-477: Was at the Palgrave Academy , Suffolk. As he had not expected to inherit the family estate, he went to the University of Edinburgh to study to become a lawyer. While there, he noticed poor Scottish crofters who were being displaced by their landlords . Seeing their plight, he investigated ways he could help them find new land in the then British colonies. In 1794, on the death of his brother Basil, Thomas became Lord Daer. After his father's death in 1799, Douglas,

2700-585: Was forced to follow the path of the Columbia River via its Big Bend , around the north end of the Selkirks. This area, some of it protected in Washington's Salmo-Priest Wilderness , is also home to mule deer and white-tailed deer , elk , black bears , cougars , bobcats , red fox , bald eagles , golden eagles , osprey , great blue heron , porcupine , badgers , coyote , martens , bighorn sheep , mountain goats, gray wolves and moose . Formerly rarely seen, grizzly bears are also known to roam through this region now in abundance. The southern end of

2754-445: Was incorporated on 21 July 1856; the act was obtained by the Glasgow and South Western Railway . It opened on 7 November 1859 and was substantially closed, under the Beeching cuts , on 14 June 1965. The Portpatrick Railway was authorised on 10 August 1857. By 12 March 1861, the line connected Stranraer to Castle Douglas , where it joined the newly constructed Castle Douglas and Dumfries railway . The branch to Portpatrick opened

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2808-410: Was minister of Anwoth . After the union (1707) things mended slowly but surely, curious evidence of growing commercial prosperity being the enormous extent to which smuggling was carried on. No coast could serve the "free traders" better than the shores of Kirkcudbright, and the contraband trade flourished until the 19th century. The Jacobite risings of 1715 and 1745 elicited small sympathy from

2862-429: Was not at home. When Lieutenant Wallingford suggested that instead, they might take the young gentleman they saw on the way to the house, Lady Selkirk replied that they would have to kill her first. After more discussion, Lady Selkirk suggested that, so that their mission would not be a complete failure, they might steal the family silver. The officers allowed as how that might be the best solution, so Lady Selkirk ordered

2916-463: Was the sister of Andrew Wedderburn , a member of the H.B.C. governing committee) allowed him to acquire a land grant called Assiniboia to serve as an agricultural settlement for the company. As part of the agreement for the land grant, Selkirk agreed to supply the Hudson's Bay Company with 200 men each year. He also agreed that the settlers would not be allowed to participate in the fur trade. As part owner of H.B.C., Selkirk also wanted to stop

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