Menstrie is a town in the area of Clackmannanshire in Scotland. It is about 5 miles (8 kilometres) east-north-east of Stirling and is just one of a string of towns that, as a result of their place at the base of the Ochil Hills, are collectively described as the Hillfoots Villages or merely The Hillfoots. The passengers of Menstrie when processed wool from sheep farmed on the Ochils. In 1800, business people from Tullibody set up a carding and rotating mill on the east side of the Menstrie Burn to manipulate its soft water as well as power, missing from their very own village. 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 as well as boost the transportation of products to and from the Hillfoots villages. Menstrie's Long Row and Ochil Road rest on the old path along the foot of the hills. The new road, currently the A91, came to be an emphasis for building of churches, residences, mills as well as shops. By the mid-19th century, the Elmbank and Forthvale mills stayed in business on either side of the Menstrie Burn. In 1841, Menstrie's population had to do with 500 but had actually raised to greater than 900 by 1881. In the 1860s a firm, that included the owners of local mills and a distillery, funded a branch railway line via Menstrie to a terminus in Alva. This joined the old North British Railway (N.B.R.) line in between Alloa and also Stirling at Cambus. Menstrie had its very own guest station at the North end of Tullibody Road. Almost absolutely nothing of the station stays as well as the railway branch line, which remained to carry freight after the Beeching Axe, came under disuse throughout the mid-1980s in favour of road transportation. The Glenochil Distillery had opened in the middle 18th century on the site of the Doll Farm to the east of the village, beside the Dams Burn. Production has continued on this site for greater than 250 years though manufacturing of whisky quit around 1930. Yeast, originally a spin-off of whisky fermentation, had gradually become the major item and also went with manufacture of whisky and also bread. Soft water, locally available, is still valuable. A substantial bonded warehouse location continues to be for storage space of whisky as it grows in barrels prior to bottling, while bakers' yeast has given way to fermentation products originated from yeast. The whisky and also yeast organisations are currently operated by separate companies, specifically Diageo, (successors to Distillers Company) and Kerry Group. The latter performs item development in addition to producing at the Menstrie site. Elmbank Mill, Menstrie in March 2010. The Forthvale Mill no more stands yet the Elmbank Mill, having been made use of for some years as workplaces by the Water Board, currently houses small companies. A furnishings factory, The Charrier, stood near the Menstrie Burn however was ruined by fire in regarding 1968. A street close by now bears its name. In the mid-20th Century, Menstrie (pop. 1200 - 1300) was residence to households whose menfolk functioned the Clackmannanshire Coalfield and also other mines in Central Scotland. As the mining and also textile industries have decreased, Menstrie has actually become a commuter dorm room, topping the adjacent farmland. At the Censuses in 1991, 2001 and 2011, Menstrie's population was 2274, 2083 and 2804 respectively. For 2016, the population was estimated as 2872.