The small town of Locharbriggs is located 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Dumfries near the Lochen Water. It was one of several villages that stood on the edge of the Lochen Moss which was largely reclaimed in the 19th Century. Locharbriggs once had a station on the Dumfries, Lochmaben and Lockerbie Railway, which opened in 1863, closed to passengers in 1952 and finally to goods in 1966.
Locharbriggs is perhaps best known for the quarrying of distinctive red sandstone which has been used for buildings in towns and cities including Dumfries, Glasgow and Edinburgh. The stone has also been exported further afield, most notably to be used to create the steps of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbour (USA). Although only one Locharbriggs Quarry remains active, the quarries produced enormous quantities of stone through the 19th and early 20th centuries.
