The area developed around a well which serviced the nearby farmhouses of Janefield and Maryfield. The name
Stob derives from the
Scots word for a post indicating to travellers that it was to Dundee. Housing was developed in the area by the city's "jute barons" in the 19th century to accommodate workers in the textile mills in the area and the city. In 1856, the East Dundee Poorhouse was built on a two-acre (8,000 m2) site in the area. After the inception of the
National Health Service, the poorhouse was renamed
The Rowans and later became a hospital and care-home for the elderly. The building now known as
Morgan Academy opened in 1868 as Morgan Hospital, a charitable institution providing accommodation and education for "sons of tradesmen and persons of the working class whose parents stand in the need of assistance". The present Stobswell Church (itself a union of four local churches) was built in 1874. It is the local
Church of Scotland parish church. ==Education==