Both Huntly and the surrounding district of Gordon are named for a town and family that originated in the Border country.

The lands were transferred to the Berwickshire Anglo-Norman family, the Gordons, in 1352 in retaliation for MacDuff’s descendant, David of Strathbogie, defecting from Robert I to Edward II’s cause on the eve of the Battle of Bannockburn.

Despite the boggy lands in the vicinity at that time, the castle at Strathbogie became a key centre for the Gordons of Moray over the following centuries.

In 1508, the Gordons received a royal charter enabling them to rename Milton of Strathbogie & the castle to Huntly – the name of their ancestral seat in Berwickshire.

In the 19th century, following the post-Napoleonic slump in the linen trade, the town experienced another period of growth with the establishment of rail transport in 1845 coupled with a shift from peasant farming to capitalist agriculture.

Ownership of the feu and much of the land and property remained in the ownership of the Dukes of Richmond and Gordon until August 1936 when all the property and feus in the town along with much surrounding farmland was sold at auction at Huntly Town Hall in order to pay death duties on the ducal estates.

Huntly is home to Deveron Projects, an arts organisation that invites artists from all over the world to come and live and work in the town.

[9][10] It hosts artists and projects that explore local, regional and global topics, such as forestry, geology, botany, foraging, anthropology, history, politics and art.

[14] In 2013 Deveron Projects won Huntly the Creative Place Award, which recognises 'creativity across Scotland’s smaller communities'.

Its other principal outdoor activities include golf, Nordic Skiing in Clashindarroch Forest, walking, mountain biking and Rugby.