A key development in the village's history came in 1805 when the Loch of Rossie - then the largest inland body of water in Fife - was finally drained.   Now able to be cultivated for agricultural use, flax became the principal crop feeding a burgeoning linen industry. The Eden bridge at the south end of the village was completed in 1820. The period from 1840 to 1875 saw completion of the Village Hall, New School and Evangelical Church. 

The Valuation Roll of 1855 identifies the village as having 160 premises, of which no less than 16 are clearly identified as 'weavers shops' and no less than 43 as shops. (These may well not all be 'shops' as we understand them today, but rather a shortening of 'workshop' and 'loomshop' which are seen in earlier and later valuation rolls). In1861 the village had a recorded population of 567.

The 6 inch Ordnance Survey Map of 1854 identifies a Corn Mill  (Cash Mill), Starch Works, Clay Mill,  Brick and Tile Works and Gas Works. The Old School and Post Office were at that time at the south end of Main Street. Evidence of the village's past remains to this day, including house and street names.  Designs for a new school were published in 1861, and this opened in 1875.