Fraserburgh, also known as The Broch, was founded by the Fraser family, after they bought the lands of Philorth in 1504. By 1570, they had built Fraserburgh Castle at Kinnaird Head and, by 1590, a small harbour at Faithlie. In 1787, Fraserburgh Castle was converted to Kinnaird Head Lighthouse, Scotland's first mainland lighthouse and the first in Scotland to be lit by the Commissioners of Northern Lights. By this time, the harbour could take “vessels with 200 tons burden” and shipbuilding had become a major industry. Herring fishing boomed in the early 19th century, with an additional 1,200 people working in the parish during the season. Some £30,000 was spent developing the harbour in the years to 1840, by when the harbour held eight vessels of 45–155 tons and 220 boats of the herring fishery. Fraserburgh railway station was opened in 1865 by the Formartine and Buchan Railway Company, which became part of GNSR. Trains operated to Aberdeen via Maud and Dyce, as well as a short branch line to St. Combs via Cairnbulg. The railway closed to passengers in 1965. The significance of the harbour - and of the fish/shellfish trade - meant that the railway continued to carry goods until 1979. Ironically, it closed just before the oil and gas construction boom in the northern North Sea made itself felt. Fraserburgh remains a very important fishing port, as may be seen from http://www.fraserburgh-harbour.co.uk/ However - with the opening of the Borders Railway in September 2015 - Fraserburgh became the UK town most remote from the rail network.