Menstrie is a village in the county of Clackmannanshire in Scotland. It is about 5 miles (8 kilometres) east-north-east of Stirling as well as is just one of a string of communities that, because of their location at the base of the Ochil Hills, are collectively referred to as the Hillfoots Villages or simply The Hillfoots. The owners of Menstrie once processed woollen from sheep farmed on the Ochils. In 1800, business people from Tullibody established a carding and also spinning mill on the east side of the Menstrie Burn to manipulate its soft water and power, absent from their own town. In the early 19th century a straight road was built on the level ground of the carse or floodplain to by-pass the old Hillfoots Road and enhance the transport of products to and also from the Hillfoots villages. Menstrie's Long Row as well as Ochil Road rest on the old route along the foot of the hills. The brand-new road, currently the A91, ended up being an emphasis for construction of churches, residences, mills as well as shops. By the mid-19th century, the Elmbank and also Forthvale mills stayed in business on either side of the Menstrie Burn. In 1841, Menstrie's population was about 500 but had raised to more than 900 by 1881. In the 1860s a firm, which included the owners of neighborhood mills and also a distillery, funded a branch railway line through Menstrie to a terminus in Alva. This joined the old North British Railway (N.B.R.) line between Alloa as well as Stirling at Cambus. Menstrie had its very own passenger station at the North end of Tullibody Road. Practically nothing of the station continues to be and also the railway branch line, which remained to bring products after the Beeching Axe, came under disuse throughout the mid-1980s in favour of road transportation. The Glenochil Distillery had actually opened in the middle 18th century on the site of the Doll Farm to the eastern of the village, beside the Dams Burn. Production has continued this site for greater than 250 years though manufacturing of whisky quit around 1930. Yeast, at first a by-product of whisky fermentation, had progressively come to be the main product and went with manufacture of whisky as well as bread. Soft water, locally readily available, is still helpful. A considerable adhered storage facility location remains for storage of whisky as it grows in barrels prior to bottling, while bakers' yeast has actually given way to fermentation products derived from yeast. The whisky and yeast businesses are currently run by different firms, particularly Diageo, (successors to Distillers Company) and also Kerry Group. The latter conducts item development in addition to making at the Menstrie site. Elmbank Mill, Menstrie in March 2010. The Forthvale Mill no more stands however the Elmbank Mill, having actually been used for some years as offices by the Water Board, currently houses small businesses. A furnishings manufacturing facility, The Charrier, stood near the Menstrie Burn but was damaged by fire in concerning 1968. A road nearby now bears its name. In the mid-20th Century, Menstrie (pop. 1200 - 1300) was residence to families whose menfolk worked the Clackmannanshire Coalfield as well as various other mines in Central Scotland. As the mining and also fabric sectors have actually declined, Menstrie has come to be a traveler dorm room, topping the surrounding farmland. At the Censuses in 1991, 2001 as well as 2011, Menstrie's population was 2274, 2083 as well as 2804 specifically. For 2016, the population was estimated as 2872.