Kirkbean

Prominent residents

Among Kirkbean's famous sons was John Paul Jones, founder of the United States Navy, who was born in Arbigland, Kirkbean on July 6, 1747. There is a memorial font to him in the church, by sculptor George Henry Paulin, which depicts USS Bonhomme Richard. Also born at Arbigland was the novelist and poet Helen Craik in 1751.

Kirkbean cemetery is the burial place of Jean Thurot (1755–1833), son of François Thurot, a French naval commodore and privateer. The village was the birthplace of another great seafarer, John Campbell in 1720. He went on to become a British naval officer, navigation expert and colonial governor of Newfoundland, now a province of Canada.

The parish was the departure point for thousands of Scots seeking a better life in the American and Australian colonies during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Convicts were also transported to Australia from here, making the parish a rich source of genealogical history, with many hundreds of thousands of people worldwide having a connection with it.

Natural heritage

Today, the local beaches and the bird-rich merse, where millions of seabirds live or over-winter, are part of the rich natural heritage of the parish. Visitors to the National Nature Reserve on the far side of the Nith come in large numbers to watch birds on the Carsethorn foreshore, before continuing to the nature reserves at Southwick and Mersehead.

The village has an official community website.