People in the New England town of Scotland have become owners of a little piece of the old country making them officially Scottish lords

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Hundreds of people in the Connecticut town of Scotland have become landowners in the European country of Scotland, after being granted free plots of land in the Highlands.



Each of the 1,694 residents of Scotland, Connecticut, was offered one square foot of free Scottish terrain by a company, Highland Titles, which sells small areas of land on conservation sites. A town representative said 466 people – 27.5% of the population – decided to take up the offer.

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The plots are in the Glencoe Wood nature reserve, close to Loch Linnie. According to Highland Titles, this will allow participants to “become a Laird, Lord or Lady of Glencoe”, although the site’s conservation status will stop the new landowners building on their 12in x 12in plots.

Lee Duval, a resident of Scotland, Connecticut, who acts as a spokeswoman for the town, said she and her husband had claimed a plot each.

“It is for land conservancy,” she said, “and so to get the word out they probably looked for a town named Scotland and found one here and thought, ‘Wow, this would be a good way to kick off what we’re trying to do.’

Scotland, Connecticut, was founded by Isaac Magoon, a Scottish immigrant, in 1700. Duval described it as an old town with a rich history. It is home to the Huntington Homestead – the birthplace of Samuel Huntington, one of the Connecticut signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Duval said she had yet to claim her title – Lady Duval – although said she “might one of these days, just for fun”.

“Talking to some of the townspeople who’ve done it, the children are most excited about it,” Duval said. “Thinking they’re a lord or lady.”

Landowners can use an app on their phone to pinpoint the location of their domain. The land also comes with a certificate.

Highland Titles is owned by the Highland Titles Charitable Trust for Scotland, a registered charity focused on preserving wild land. Stephen Rossiter, sales and marketing director at Highland Titles, said more than 100,000 people had bought plots in Scotland through the company.

“The real reason about what we do is conservation,” Rossiter said, adding that profits are funnelled into nature reserves. In terms of the noble-sounding title that new landowners are afforded, Rossiter said it was legitimate. Some, he said, have taken to using it on their credit cards.

“Because you’re a landowner in Scotland, albeit a small plot, you get to use the title of ‘Laird’,” he said. “And Laird translates to Lord or Lady.

“But the majority of people know that it’s a bit of fun. They’re not going to get access to the House of Lords, they’re not going to get an invite to the royal wedding.”