A Sneak Peek at Our Collection: Stories, Customs & Traditions from Scotland to North America
The Scottish Heritage Discovery Center will preserve a remarkable collection that traces the Scottish-American story from the early 1700s through the Civil War and into the 20th century. Visitors will encounter rare artifacts that illuminate lives shaped by courage, faith, and tradition—including a Jacobite pin, personal items belonging to Flora Macdonald, and an early Gaelic Bible. The collection will also feature Jack Smith’s celebrated pipe assemblage, offering a vivid window into craftsmanship and cultural identity carried across generations.
*Photos by Bill Caudill and Bruce Hamilton.
Proposed Additional Exhibits
- Tartan and its History
- Scots and the American Revolution – The story of Flora Macdonald
- Migration Patterns of Scots in America
- Robert Burns and America – Scottish Literary Influences in America
- Scots and the American Civil War
- Scottish and Scottish-American Inventors
- American Presidents with Scottish Roots
- Scottish Influences on Religion and Education in America
- Golf And Its Journey from Scotland To America
“The proposed Scottish Heritage Discovery Center will be of inestimable value to the many millions of Americans–as well as to all those elsewhere in the world, including in Scotland–in the Scottish contribution to the United States of America. Scots and people of Scottish descent have made a huge contribution to American life, but to the best of my knowledge, there is no center such as the proposed Scottish Heritage Discovery Center which provides a comprehensive and authoritative account of that contribution. It’s location in North Carolina could not be more appropriate, as the state was the site of one of the earliest and largest areas of Scottish Highland settlement in the new world, and the Gaelic contribution to the heritage of the state has been immense. I have no doubt that there will be a great deal of interest in the center, both within the state and from much further afield. I am delighted to add my full support to this excellent initiative.”