Esker-pades
Established Member
This from Wikipedia:I'd be interested to know. It just looks a bit out of place somehow.
By 1763 the first colliery in what is present day Cleland was in operation at Swinstie, and three years later Alexander Inglis Hamilton of Murdostoun sells Cleland Estate to Captain Hew Dalrymple of Fordal. In 1789 Colonel William Dalrymple (the second son of Sir William Dalrymple, third baronet of Cousland, and the nephew of Captain Hew Dalrymple), distinguishes himself by helping to capture both the Fort of San Fernando de Omoa and the port town of Omoa, in Honduras, Central America. On returning to civilian life Colonel Dalrymple established the Omoa Iron Works on Cleland estate. At first there was only one furnace at Omoa, employing about 40 miners, 40 smelters and other workmen, and 12 horses. The furnace consumed nine tons of calcined ironstone per day, with casts every eighteen hours, yielding about two tons of pig-iron each cast. Omoa claimed to be the second oldest iron works in Scotland (after Wilsontown). The Omoa Waggonway was opened in 1813 from Newarthill collieries to Omoa Iron Works by Colonel Dalrymple. The Omoa Works initially prospered enough to create the new community of Omoa Town.
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The Coltness Iron Company was established in Newmains by Henry Houldsworth in 1837. It was estimated that the 2,000-acre (8.1 km2) site at Newmains could produce 18,000 tons of coal and 1,000 tons of ironstone per acre. Henry Houldsworth had no difficulty, therefore, in attracting experienced labour from the iron works of Yorkshire as well as from Omoa and Wilsontown in Lanarkshire.[25] The Iron Company, needing coal, was also aware of the coal mines in Ireland. When coal was being mined in Shotts, Cleland and the surrounding areas, the Iron Company sent representatives over to Ireland to hire miners for the Scottish mines. This is a primary reason why so many Irish families came to the area. Many came from County Donegal, and the Castlecomer coal fields in what is now north County Kilkenny and south County Laois. The population of Omoa and Cleland was recorded as 1,233 in 1861: Cleland had 190 males and 175 females; Omoa had 509 males and 359 females.
In 1869 the Omoa and Midcalder Line (Caledonian Railway) was opened. The Omoa and Midcalder Line (Caledonian Railway) to Addiewell followed in 1882. Cleland was served with two railway stations. The first was Omoa Station (across from what is now Cleland Hospital), and the second was Cleland Station (behind what is now Cleland Cross). After Cleland Station was closed, Omoa Station was then renamed Cleland Station.A list of mines under Holytown in this year includes Cleland Collieries owned by Wm. Dixon, Monkland Iron Co., Trustees of late Robert Stewart; Wyndedge owned by Robert Dick. The Omoa Fireclay Works, a brickworks, opened in 1870.
In 1871 the population of Cleland and Omoa had fallen to 819, but by 1881 it was 1,626. The Cleland and Omoa Public School opened in 1876, and in 1877 St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, a Free Church, and a Chapel of Ease were all established.
Basically, it used to serve an Ironworks, which was named after a place in Honduras which the founders had helped to capture.