The
earliest evidence of people in this area
is a horde of flint arrow heads found when
houses were being built north of the river
in November 1968. There are 39 flints -
some perfectly finished and others are
blank indicating an 'industry' and trading
here near the river crossing over four
thousand years ago.
When the
Normans built the castle at Carrickfergus
they placed a line of outposts along the
river which was then called the "Ollar "-
River of the Rushes. In time the soldiers
making the journey from Carrickfergus to
Antrim reached the river at this spot when
they had traveled six miles so began to
call the Ollar the Six Mile Water. One of
these mottes is close by the river in the
War Memorial Park in Ballyclare. There are
two on opposite sides of the river at
Doagh and one at Antrim. The village grew
after the Plantation of Ulster and was
granted permission by George 11 in 1756 to
hold two fairs each year making it an
important market centre.
The May
Fair remains and has become part of a week
of festivities. The people of Ballyclare
and the surrounding villages played a part
in the Rising of 1798 and fought in the
Battle of Antrim. Others including the
families of Mark Twain and Sam Houston
sailed to America to seek their fortunes.
At the beginning of the Twentieth Century
Ballyclare was a growing industrial town
with an Urban Council and became the
largest paper producer in Ireland. It had
a narrow gauge rail link to Larne and a
broad gauge connection to
Belfast.
In 1973
with the surrounding villages Ballyclare
became part of the of a larger district
which in 1977 was created the Borough of
Newtownabbey
Ballyclare
is a market town in the Six Mile River
Valley in County Antrim in Northern
Ireland