Lochrutton, a parish of E Kirkcudbrightshire, containing at its south-eastern border the station of Lochanhead, 6 miles SW of Dumfries, and 13¾ NE of Castle-Douglas; as also Lochfoot village, 1¾ mile NNW of that station, and 5½ miles WSW of Dumfries, under which it has a post office. It is bounded NW and N by Kirkpatrick-Irongray, NE by Terregles and Troqueer, SE by Troqueer and Newabbey, and SW by Kirkgunzeon and Urr. Its utmost length, from E to W, is 5½ miles; its utmost breadth, from N to S, is 37/8 miles; and its area is 7561 acres, of which 150 are water. Lochrutton Loch (7 x 3½ furl.; 325 feet) extends south-bywestward from Lochfoot village, and contains the tiny islet of Dulton's Cairn and the larger Big Island, which, partly at least, is an artificial crannoge. Half-adozen rivulets flow eastward, north-eastward, or westward to this lake, which sends off Cargen Water towards the Nith. Kirkgunzeon or Dalbeattie Burn, a feeder of Urr Water, traces all the Newabbey boundary; and Merkland Well, near the head of Lochrutton Loch, is a strong chalybeate spring, which was formerly very celebrated for the cure of agues and of dyspeptic and nervous disorders. The surface undulates, sinking along the northern and south-eastern boundaries to less than 300 feet above sea-level, and rising thence to 637 feet near the manse, 550 near Carswadda, and 604 near Slack. The predominant rocks are eruptive and Silurian, and the soil is mostly a light shallow loam. Nearly six-sevenths of the entire area are in tillage or in meadow; about 250 acres are under wood; and the rest is either pastoral, moss, or waste. An ancient Caledonian stone circle, called the `Seven Grey Stones,' but really comprising nine, with a diameter of 70 feet, is on the eminence near the manse, which commands a very extensive and brilliant view. Old baronial fortalices, or peel towers, were in various places; and the most perfect, Hills Tower, has been noticed separately. Henry Duncan, D.D. (1774-1846), the founder of savings' banks in Scotland, was the son of a former minister. Four proprietors hold each an annual value of £500 and upwards, 8 of between £100 and £500, and 6 of from £50 to £100. Lochrutton is in the presbytery and synod of Dumfries; the living is worth £221. The church, 1 mile E by S of Lochfoot, was built in 1819, and contains upwards of 300 sittings. The public school, with accommodation for 119 children, had (1882) an average attendance of 68, and a grant of £60. Valuation (1860) £5810, (1884) £9076, 17s. 6d. Pop. (1801) 514, (1831) 650, (1861) 677, (1871) 656, (1881) 614.—Ord. Sur., sh. 9, 1863.
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