There is evidence of human habitation of the area since the Mesolithic period, but the first written record of Auchencairn occurs from 1305 in a charter of Edward I of England in which 'Aghencarne' is listed among lands by longing to Dundrennan Abbey.
In the early 17th century the village grew around the corn mill, and many of the older stone buildings in the village date from this time.

From 1750 onwards, Auchencairn Bay became the centre of extensive smuggling activity in the area, with many of the local inhabitants being involved.
This history is reflected in the name of the village pub, the Smugglers Inn.

The novelist Elizabeth Gaskell spent a month here in 1859 living at Torr House overlooking the bay.

Robert de Bruce Trotter MB LRCPE LRCPSG (1833–1907) was a 19th-century Scottish physician remembered as an author and poet, principal works, Galloway Gossip:Sixty Years Ago (1877) and Galloway Gossip:The Southern Albanich Eighty Years Ago (1901).

The popular Wickerman Pop Festival was held here on land owned by local landowner Jamie Gilroy who died in 2014.

The end of each festival would end with the burning of a giant wicker man effigy.
  The festival took its name from cult film The Wicker Man starring Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee which was filmed on location in the area in 1972.
There is evidence of human habitation of the area since the Mesolithic period, but the first written record of Auchencairn occurs from 1305 in a charter of Edward I of England in which 'Aghencarne' is listed among lands by longing to Dundrennan Abbey. In the early 17th century the village grew around the corn mill, and many of the older stone buildings in the village date from this time.
From 1750 onwards, Auchencairn Bay became the centre of extensive smuggling activity in the area, with many of the local inhabitants being involved. This history is reflected in the name of the village pub, the Smugglers Inn.
The novelist Elizabeth Gaskell spent a month here in 1859 living at Torr House overlooking the bay.
Robert de Bruce Trotter MB LRCPE LRCPSG (1833–1907) was a 19th-century Scottish physician remembered as an author and poet, principal works, Galloway Gossip:Sixty Years Ago (1877) and Galloway Gossip:The Southern Albanich Eighty Years Ago (1901).
The popular Wickerman Pop Festival was held here on land owned by local landowner Jamie Gilroy who died in 2014.
The end of each festival would end with the burning of a giant wicker man effigy.   The festival took its name from cult film The Wicker Man starring Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee which was filmed on location in the area in 1972.
Auchencairn