Here are some key dates from our past...

Early 18th Century - a grocer's shop is opened at the road junction where the fountain now stands. Alexandria develops around this.

1721 - Author and poet Tobias Smollett is born in Renton.

1799 - Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Smollett, after whom Alexandria is named, dies at the Battle of Alkmaar.

1836 - Bonhill Bridge is built, linking Alexandria to Bonhill

1840 - Alexandria Parish Church is built.]

1850 - The Balloch-Alexandria-Bowling railway line opens. By 1858 there is rail access to Glasgow.

1895 - Unpopular tolls on the bridges to Bonhill and Balloch are lifted.

1905 - The Argyll Motor Works, for a time the biggest outside the US, opens.

1907-08 - Tram services are introduced. They last until 1928.

1914 - Argyll Motors closes its Alexandria works.

1914 - The Palace Cinema (later renamed The Strand opens. It shows its last film in 1978.

1915 - Armstrong Whitworth begins manufacturing the explosive Lyddite. Many of the workers are Belgian refugees.

1935 - The Argyll Works are taken over by the Admiralty as a torpedo factory. It closes again in 1969.

1970 - US company Plessey moves in, attracted by government grants, but moves out again within two years despite workforce attempts to stop the withdrawal with a mass sit-in.

2002 - Loch Lomond Shores at Balloch opens to the public.

2010 - s1alexandria.com is launched to give locals a place to discuss local issues, place small ads, air their opinions, advertise events and show off pictures and video.

Now it's your turn!

That's the briefest of brief summaries, and hardly covers the most important dates. But this is where you come in. There's lots of interest in local history and lots of local knowledge out there - so why not share it here?

Perhaps you'd like to build your own, more complete, time-line, or start an article about your favourite aspect of the history of Alexandria and The Vale? And there must also be a wealth of wonderful photographs of The Vale in years gone by - maybe even some video of more recent events - and those are more than welcome here. Remember, history doesn't need to be in black and white! It's good to bring back memories of just a few years ago, too.

Post it all here, and let's see if we can really chronicle the history of Alexandria in a way we can all share!