Stewartry district was created on 16 May 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which established a two-tier structure of local government across Scotland comprising upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Stewartry district was one of four districts created within the region of Dumfries and Galloway. The district covered the majority of the former administrative county of Kirkcudbrightshire, excluding the parishes of Kirkmabreck and Minnigaff on the western edge of the county, which went to Wigtown district, and the parishes of Kirkbean, Kirkpatrick Irongray, New Abbey, Terregles, and Troqueer on the eastern edge of the county, which went to Nithsdale. The district's name of "Stewartry" was derived from the alternative name for Kirkcudbrightshire of the "Stewartry of Kirkcudbright", referencing the fact that the area had previously been administered by a steward rather than a sheriff.
