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The Muirkirk Ironworks were located south of present day Muirkirk. They were established in what was a remote area by John Robertson, John Gillies, and Thomas Edington.

The works were built in 1787 and opened in 1788, two years after the Muirkirk Tar Works (where Tar McAdam was invented), as ore, limestone and coal were all mined locally. Coked coal was provided by the tar works. A canal, built around 1790, ran east from the iron works to provide headwater for the works and served a number of coal mines. (This was much later replaced by Baird's Railway (Muirkirk) which ran east to Glenbuck.) A tramway system ran westwards from the works, replaced by the railway on its arrival. This had an incline to coal pits to the south and a long line running west to Wellwood. (In addition there was a private mineral line west from the works to Kames and Wellwood.)

The Muirkirk Ironworks were located just beyond the end of the branch at Muirkirk [1st]. The line opened in 1848, connecting the works with Ayr Harbour. The blast furnaces were approached by a fan-out of rails. The junction with the main line faced west. The line continued a little further to the east with a double track formation and then turned tightly south to serve a limekiln. An end on junction was formed at the end of this formation with the Caledonian Railway's Muirkirk branch in 1873.

The works had several major reconstructions. In 1856 it was taken over by the Eglinton Iron Company.

The works closed in the 1923 following a strike during which the blast furnaces cooled with the iron inside them. The blast furnaces were not reconditioned as ore had been worked out in the local area and was proving very expensive to import.

Following closure Bairds and Dalmellington Limited continued mining operations in the area. The sidings at the works became the exchange yard for Kames Colliery, not far to the west.

Little remains of the works today which were demolished in 1968. To the south is a remarkable area pockmarked by the remains of pits, quarries and tramways.

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