The town was famous until around 1910 for its annual horse fairs. The town was a centre of heavy industry, having a long coal mining tradition which died out by 1950, and also being home to the infamous White's chemical works up until the 1960s.
Clyde Football Club used to play in the area before moving to the town of Cumbernauld. The immeadiate area could be considered the cradle of Scottish Football, with Hampden Park, the national stadium and home to Scotland's oldest football club Queens Park FC being close by as well as Cathkin Park, the home of the long defunct Third Lanark AC, as well as the defunct Kings Park FC and not far to the north is Parkhead, the home of Glasgow Celtic FC.