The Most Scottish Town in the U.S.A.

[TheOfficialBren]

I have heard that Scottish influence is so prevalent in Nova Scotia that there is a dialect of Gaelic attributed to the region. Is this true?

[frank_a]

Not speaking Gaelic, I could nae tell ya, but I wouldn't doubt they speak a different dialect than folks across the pond. Makes sense.

Frank

[Mael Coluim]

That is an easy answer for me Kearny, New Jersey. The downtown is as if you were in Scotland. The shops are like what you would find in the Britain; a butcher, dry grocery, etc. I purchased my tank in 1997 through the Piper’s Cove there which also has a Scottish restaurant with it. The Scottish accent still lingers. Here is why from Wikipedia;

The early influx and development of industry in Kearny dates back to 1875 when the Clark Thread Company of Paisley in Scotland extended its activities to the United States by erecting two large mills in Kearny, and adding two others in 1890. These mills brought to Kearny thousands of Scots immigrants. Many of them would play on Kearny's soccer teams in National Association Football League. Many are buried at Arlington Memorial Park in the Kearny Uplands.[28]

In 1876, the Mile End Thread Mills started operating, giving employment to several hundred operators.
In 1883, the Marshall Flax Spinning Company of England erected a large plant in Kearny, known as the Linen Thread Company. Their need for experienced flax spinners brought an influx of workers from other sections of the British Isles. Families of those early textile workers were the nucleus of Kearny's present population.

[OrneryPiper]

I have heard that Scottish influence is so prevalent in Nova Scotia that there is a dialect of Gaelic attributed to the region. Is this true?

Yes there is...A' Ghàidhlig Chanadach (Canadian Gaelic). Here is a good from Wiki;


http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Gaelic

And New Scotland get my vote!

[Cecil]

Saor Alba!

[ctbuchanan]

the title did narrow it down to the U.S.A. but I have to agree with some of the other posters that Cape Breton is about as Scottish as you can get in North America.
The Gaelic College of Celtic Arts http://www.gaeliccollege.edu/ is a treasure and they do speak a more original version of Scots Gaelic than they speak in Scotland today. Has to do with their isolation from other influences.

[Mike_Oettle]

I doubt that there is any place in South Africa that is as Scottish as the towns and regions already mentioned, but there are strong Scottish communities in various parts of South Africa.
Mostly they are in the cities, but in the Eastern Cape particularly there is a rural population that descends from the British settlers of 1820. Some of these families were Scottish, and the Pringle family has three farms between the towns of Bedford and Adelaide. The poet Thomas Pringle was the leader of the Pringle party of settlers.
The most Scottish part of South Africa would most likely be Gauteng. This is reflected in the tartan-wearing regiments raised there: the Transvaal Scottish (which had offshoots that were taken into other parts of the South African Army, including the artillery), the Witwatersrand Rifles (based on the East Rand) and the Pretoria Highlanders.
The Pretoria Highlanders were first raised on the eve of the Second World War as a project of the city’s Caledonian society.
While Natal did not produce a kilted regiment, it has a military pipe band attached to No 1 Medical Battalion.
In the old Cape Province there were First City in Grahamstown and Queenstown (Eastern Cape) and the Cape Town Highlanders in the Mother City.
Regards,
Mike

[KenB]

Yes, Cape Breton is very special, but so is the town of my alma mater, Antigonish, Nova Scotia. And you can hear a wee bit of Gaelic off and on.

[Dixiecat]

Nova Scotia is indeed very Scottish with the island (not peninsula) of Cape Breton being credited with maintaining the culture of its first Scottish immigrants. However, it's not in the USA so cannot be the most Scottish town in the US.

I wish I could contribute an opinion as to the most Scottish town in the US, but not having been to Scotland, I can't directly compare.

[Adam Elliott]

Going just by infrastructure I would Say that Hillsborough, VA is a contender. The town was settled by Scottish Weavers a long time back and still bears a strong physical resemblance to some towns in Scotland.