Our next meeting will take place on Tuesday 10th February when Paul Noble will give us another talk inspired by his adventures beneath the floorboards of his Glasgow home. This one is entitled "The life, loves and legacy of David McHaffie…..an ordinary Glasgow Merchant?". If you remember his first talk in October 2024, you will know that this is one not to... Continues...

The 2026 calendar is now on sale in the museum!

We have a limited number of calendars that we are have reduced to £2 to clear. We will be available at the talk on Tuesday night or they can be bought from the museum.

We want to thank everyone who contributed photographs for this year’s calendar. We’re already planning next year’s edition, so if... Continues...

We've added a new page and news category (Organization) about the Johnstone History Society itself. You'll find all you need to know, and perhaps a wee bit more, about the Society, its origiins, its people, and how you can participate. You will find a link below and in the News table of contents.

All this will be coordinated by Iain Murray, who hasna... Continues...

With the 80th anniversary of VE day fast approaching I though this would be a good time to highlight an excellent article by Angela Gillespie which describes the celebrations that took place in Johnstone 80 years ago. You can access the original article from the research tab but I have taken the liberty of reprinting the text below.

VE Day
The war in... Continues...

Last week we had the pleasure of welcoming Mary & Dick Kelly to the museum. Mary’s great-great grandparents Robert and Margaret Cumnock had lived and worked in Johnstone at one of the cotton mills before emigrating to America. The 1841 Census shows Robert as a cotton spinner with an address listed as Hagg in Johnstone.

The family arrived in Boston in... Continues...

Johnstone was one of Scotland’s quickest growing towns in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. The town, of course, was planned by George Houston, Esq, the local laird, and the first houses were built in 1782. Johnstone prospered and, eleven years later in 1793, it was described as “a neat and regularly built village.”

The town... Continues...