Creetown, a small seaport town in Kirkmabreck parish, SW Kirkcudbrightshire, on the estuary of the river Cree or head of Wigtown Bay, 3 miles as the crow flies NE of Wigtown, and 1 mile S of Creetown station on the Portpatrick railway, this being 6½½ miles SE of Newton -Stewart, and 43½ WSW of Dumfries. A village, called Creth, occupying its site, was in 1300 the rendezvous of an English army; and either that village or a successor to it, bearing the name of Ferrytown of Cree, became nearly extinct in the 18th century. The present town, founded in 1785, embraced some houses which still remained of the old village, and was made a burgh of barony in 1792, to be governed by a bailie and four councillors, elected triennially by the resident feuars. It stands between Moneypool and Englishman's Burns, amid a great expanse of beautiful scenery; and, chiefly consisting of modern houses, each with its garden and orchard, relies in great measure for support on the neighbouring granite quarries. At it are a post office, with- money order, savings' bank, and railway telegraph departments, 2 chief inns, a public school, the parish church (1834; 800 sittings), and a neat U.P. church (300 sittings); whilst in the immediate neighbourhood are the mansions of Barholm and Cassencarie. Capt. Jas. Murray Denniston (1770-1857), author of Legends of Galloway, died at Creetown. Pop. (1841) 984, (1851) 1302, (1861) 968, (1871) 805, (1881) 970.—Ord. Sur., sh. 4,1857.
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