Menstrie is a village in the area of Clackmannanshire in Scotland. It has to do with 5 miles (8 kilometres) east-north-east of Stirling as well as is just one of a string of towns that, due to their location at the base of the Ochil Hills, are jointly referred to as the Hillfoots Towns or just The Hillfoots. The occupants of Menstrie when refined wool from sheep farmed on the Ochils. In 1800, business people from Tullibody set up a carding and also rotating mill on the east side of the Menstrie Burn to exploit its soft water and power, lacking from their own town. In the early 19th century a straight road was improved the flat ground of the carse or floodplain to by-pass the old Hillfoots Road and also improve the transport of goods to and from the Hillfoots towns. Menstrie's Long Row and also Ochil Road lie on the old route along the foot of the hills. The new roadway, currently the A91, came to be an emphasis for building of churches, homes, mills and also 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 actually raised to more than 900 by 1881. In the 1860s a firm, which included the proprietors of regional mills as well as a distillery, financed a branch railway line with Menstrie to a terminus in Alva. This joined the old North British Railway (N.B.R.) line between Alloa and also Stirling at Cambus. Menstrie had its own passenger station at the North end of Tullibody Road. Almost absolutely nothing of the station remains and also the railway branch line, which continued to lug freight after the Beeching Axe, fell into disuse throughout the mid-1980s in favour of road transport. The Glenochil Distillery had opened up in the middle 18th century on the site of the Doll Farm to the east of the village, beside the Dams Burn. Manufacturing has continued on this website for more than 250 years though manufacturing of whisky stopped around 1930. Yeast, originally a byproduct of whisky fermentation, had slowly come to be the main item and also opted for manufacture of whisky and bread. Soft water, in your area available, is still helpful. A comprehensive bound stockroom location stays for storage of whisky as it grows in barrels prior to bottling, while bakers' yeast has paved the way to fermentation items stemmed from yeast. The whisky as well as yeast services are now run by different firms, namely Diageo, (successors to Distillers Company) as well as Kerry Group. The last conducts item advancement as well as producing at the Menstrie site. Elmbank Mill, Menstrie in March 2010. The Forthvale Mill no more stands but the Elmbank Mill, having actually been used for some years as offices by the Water Board, currently houses small businesses. A furniture factory, The Charrier, stood near the Menstrie Burn however was ruined by fire in about 1968. A street nearby currently births its name. In the mid-20th Century, Menstrie (pop. 1200 - 1300) was home to families whose menfolk worked the Clackmannanshire Coalfield and other mines in Central Scotland. As the mining as well as textile industries have declined, Menstrie has actually become a commuter dorm, topping the surrounding farmland. At the Censuses in 1991, 2001 and also 2011, Menstrie's population was 2274, 2083 and 2804 respectively. For 2016, the population was approximated as 2872.