Is Scotland in North Carolina?
Most people would expect to find that Scotland had the largest number of Scots but they would be wrong. In reality the state of North Carolina USA has more people of Scottish descent than does Scotland.
After the highland clearances where the major landowners evicted several thousand crofters (small-holders) large number of Scots made their way by boat to the new American settlements. One party of nearly 2,000 Scots from the Isle of Jura and surrounding area settled in North Carolina. You could read more about that on the Laird of Jura website.
Some parts of North Carolina even today could still be confused with parts of Scotland. Here are some of the similarities:
The town of Laurinberg is situated in the state county of “Scotland”.
The town high school is of course called “Scotland High School”. And to go with that the School song is the national anthem of Scotland “Scotland the Brave”.
Apart from their traditional marching band who wear the Royal Stewart Tartan as a uniform they also have a prize winning Scottish bagpipe team.
They use the same name “Fighting Scots” for their Basketball, Baseball and Football teams.
As you may know St Andrew is the Patron Saint of Scotland and the name of their Presbyterian College is of course St Andrews. Just inside the grounds of the college you will be confronted by a huge bronze statute of a Highland Warrior proudly holding a Claymore (a huge 2 handed sword favoured by Braveheart).
The College is also home to the Scottish Heritage Centre.
The main local fast food company called Scottish Foods has a Highland Piper as its logo.
Its Shopping Center is called Scotland Crossing which has as a main feature the Scottish Rampart Lion (the same red lion on a yellow background that appears on the Scottish Royal Flag). Incidentally this Rampant Lion officially can only be flown by the Royal Monarch but our legal officials turn a blind eye to that law.
The Square Dance Club is the Scottish Twirlers.
The area even has a soccer team called the Scottish Claymores.
We cannot ignore the fact that many local street names are named after places in Scotland including Skye, Argyllshire, Oban, Kintyre.
Do you know any other place which is more Scottish than this town in North Carolina?
Did you know you could increase your Scottish ness by becoming a landowner on the isle of Jura and become a Scottish Royal? It makes an unique gift idea for anyone with or without an existing Scottish connection.
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