David Goldie

David Goldie was thirteen when his famous Scottish father, John Goldie, botanist, who had been sent to Canada in 1817-19 by the Glasgow Botanical Society to study the flora of North America, brought his family to Greenfield, near Ayr, in 1844. His diary of his visit to Canada is treasured by botanists and historians.

Like true pioneers John Goldie and his sons had a desperate struggle to make ends meet until they built a small flour mill in 1857. Goldies completed a much larger mill in 1863 which brought financial success and made it possible to build The Gore, a family home, in Ayr.

When Goldie died in 1894, his wife was left with ten children. A very competent woman, she played a vital part in the social and educational life of the village.