Towns in New England with Scottish Names
Place names either named after Scottish places or Scottish immigrants.
A quick scan of towns in our six New England states yields a pretty strong list of names either named after Scottish places or Scottish immigrants. As I develop this list, I will add more towns as well as seek Internet sites that gives more information about each town. I will also build out each name below with a brief sentence or two explaining the connection and/or origin. There are several towns listed which may NOT have a Scottish connection. Each is being researched for confirmation and those found unworthy will be removed; those found worthy will garner written explanations.
If you know of any town names we have missed, please send them to [email protected].
Scotland
In 1700, Isaac Magoon purchased 1,950 acres (7.9 km 2 ) of land from then Windham and thus began Scotland’s History. He named the town Scotland as a way of commemorating his ancestral home. Scotland was incorporated in May 1857
Aberdeen
Alford
First settled in 1756 as part of a land purchase from the Shauanum Stockbridge Mahican tribe, the town was named for Colonel John
Alford (1686-1761)
A merchant living in Charlestown, Massachusetts. His family came from Scotland and he was known for preaching Christianity to Native Americans, including the Shauanum Stockbridge Mahican tribe.
Athol
When the township was incorporated in 1762, the name was changed to Athol. John Murray, one of the proprietors of the land, chose the name to honor his family, originally from Athol, Scotland. Athol (Atholl or Athole) is a large historical division in the Scottish Highlands.
Blackburn
Brodie Mountain
Campbell Falls
Charlestown
Clayton
Cunningham Park
Dalton
Douglas & East Douglas
The town is named after Dr. William Douglas(s), who was born in Gifford, Scotland in about 1691 and was an eminent physician of Boston. In 1746, he offered the inhabitants the sum of $500.00 as a fund for the establishment of free schools together with a tract of 30 acres of land with a dwelling house and barn thereon.
East Mansfield
Farr River
Fife Brook
Greenfield
Glendale
Glenwood
Hamilton
Highland
Highland Park
Howe
Lamberton Brook
Lenox (Lennox)
Lenox Dale
Lewis Island
Linwood
Littleton
Longwood
Lynn
Mansfield
Marshall Corner
McDonald Brook
McIver Brook
McKnight
McLean Reservoir
Melrose
Middleton
Milton
Monroe
The town was named for President James Monroe, who, at the time of incorporation, was the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. His paternal great-great-grandfather Patrick Andrew Monroe emigrated to America from Scotland in the mid-17th century, and was part of an ancient
Scottish clan known as Clan Munro.
Montrose
Mount Sterling
Mount Vernon
Mungo Corner
New Lenox
Paxton
Renfrew
Riverside
Salisbury
Scott Corners
South Athol
South Hamilton
South Westport
Southfield
Stanley
Sterling
Wallace Pond
Ward Hill
Waverley
West Brookfield
West Mansfield
West Northfield
West Sterling
Argyle
Located on the old stage route (now Route 116) along the Penobscot River from Old Town to Edinburg, it shares the Scottish origins of the latter, Argyle being a county in West Scotland.
Edinburgh
Edinburg was undoubtedly named for the Scottish city Edinburgh, and probably by Scotsman John Bennoch, an early settler of nearby Orono who built a road between that town and Medford, Maine, in 1826 which ran through what is now Edinburg.
North Berwick
The town was for more than 400 years central to historic border wars between the Kingdoms of England and Scotland, and several times possession of Berwick changed hands between the two kingdoms. To this day, many Berwickers feel a close affinity to Scotland. Both Berwick Rangers Football Club and Berwick Rugby Football Club play in Scottish leagues.
