Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Annan

ANNAN, a royal and parliamentary burgh of Scotland, in the county of Dumfries, situated on the riper Annan, nearly two miles from the Solway Firth, and about fifteen from Dumfries. It is a well-built town, containing a town hall, a .parish church, several dissenting chapels, and an excellent academy. The river Annan which has been embanked, is navigable for vessels of 300 tons up to within half a mile of the town, and for vessels of 60 tons to the bridge, a fine structure of three arches built in 1824. Annan is a station on the G. and S.-W. Railway, and is connected with the main line of the Caledonian Railway, and also with England, by the Solway Junction branch which crosses the firth by means of a very strong viaduct. The principal manufactures are cotton, ropes, and cured hams ; shipbuilding and salmon fishing are also carried on, while there is a considerable trade with England, the chief exports being cured hams, cattle, sheep, and grain. The town, which is governed by a provost and fourteen councillors, including three bailies, unites with Dumfries, Kirkcud bright, Lochmaben, and Sanquhar, in returning one mem ber to parliament. In 1871 the population of the royal burgh was 4174, of the parliamentary, 3172.

Annan, a river rising near the source of the Tweed, in the range of hills that lies on the confines of the counties of Dumfries, Lanark, Peebles, and Selkirk. About two miles beyond Moffat it receives two large tributaries, the Moffat Water, which flows westward from Loch Skene, a mountain lake in the north-eastern corner of Dumfriesshire, and the Evan Water, which flows eastward from the upper part of Lanarkshire. The Annan has a total length of about 40 miles, and below its junction with the Moffat and the Evan it is joined by the Kennel Water from the west and the Dryfe Water from the east. Annan- dale was once the name of a stewartry which comprehended a large portion of Dumfriesshire.