The story
Read it all →How Scotland came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Scotland.
Scotland was laid out in 1879. Scottish immigrants named it for their native country of Scotland.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Scotland
Scotland’s post office opened in 1872, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940
7 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 144 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1898 on and the census since 1880.
1872first post office
7on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Scotland began
When was Scotland founded?
1872
The Scotland post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1879.
First census: 150 in 18802020 census: 785154 years
Founding year: the first Scotland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1879.The full story ↓
What stands out about Scotland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A historic districtThe Scotland Residential Historic District takes in 115 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Scotland are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18983 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1985. Watch Scotland change.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,234 in 1920; 785 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · On the National Register
7 listings protect 149 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
7
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
149
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Methodist Episcopal Church
BuildingsDistricts
Architectural styles listings
Gothic2
Italianate2
Colonial Revival2
Prairie School2
Queen Anne1
Victorian Eclectic1
All 7 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Help out
Start Scotland’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Scotland’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Scotland on the map, 1898 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Scotland. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1898Olivet sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Scotland.
Timeline
Scotland, 1872 to 1920
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Scotland, decade by decade
Today1 recent
2004People over time
Scotland, census by census
Peaked at 1,234 in 1920; 785 people lived here in 2020.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Scotland’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Scotland’s history
What year was Scotland founded?
The Scotland post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1879.
What is on the National Register in Scotland?
7 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Methodist Episcopal Church (listed 1979, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Scotland Residential Historic District and the Scotland Main Street Historic District, with 144 contributing buildings. 149 historic buildings in all.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (7), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.