A small village in The Machars of Dumfries and Galloway, Kirkcowan is located 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Newton Stewart and principally comprises a single street which rises from the Tarf Water to the south. Kirkcowan Parish Church is a substantial T-plan structure with a tower and dates from 1834. An earlier church (1732) lies at the southern end of the village. There is also a post office, village hall, primary school, garage, bowling green and the Craighlaw Arms Hotel.
Employment was provided by a woollen mill which was established nearby on the Tarf Water in the later 18th C. and further developed with the building of a second woollen mill (the Tarf Mill) in the 1880s. Villagers were woken in the morning by a bugler to ensure they arrived at work on time. Much of the older Waulk Mill complex remains and is now B-listed.