[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 17458]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING THE TOWN OF SCOTLAND

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I honor and publicly recognize the 
125th anniversary of the founding of the town of Scotland, SD. The town 
of Scotland has a proud past and promising future.
  Like many towns in South Dakota, Scotland got its start with help 
from the railroad. Scotland was originally founded in 1870 on a site 
near Dawson Creek. However, in 1879, with the approach of the Chicago, 
Milwaukee,and St. Paul Railroad, it became necessary for Scotland to be 
relocated to the upland prairie. The town still stands on this second 
site.
  General Charles T. Campbell and John Stafford are credited with the 
founding of Scotland. General Campbell was of Scottish ancestry and 
that's how the name came about. He was a distinguished soldier in both 
the Mexican and Civil Wars. In 1867, he was assigned to Dakota 
Territory as an inspector for Indian agencies. It was at this time, 
while traveling for his duties as inspector, that General Campbell 
discovered the ideal location on Dawson Creek to build a trading post 
and inn on the Firesteel Stage Coach line that ran between Firesteel, 
near present-day Mitchell, and Yankton. General Campbell's original 
buildings established the nucleus from which the town of Scotland soon 
evolved.
  John Stafford arrived with his family from Canada in 1872. Mr. 
Stafford is important to the development of Scotland because he donated 
eighty acres of land for the new town site. In the next decade, more 
than 100 families moved to the area, and most of them were of English, 
especially Scottish, descent. The relocation of the town in 1879 
escalated the growth of Scotland. The year 1873 heralded the arrival of 
a large population of German-Russian immigrants. The years from 1885-
1891 was the golden age of development for Scotland. During that time 
Scotland boasted the largest flax market in the United States and the 
world's largest tow mill. Scotland is also proud to be the hometown of 
United States astronaut Charles Gemar. Currently, about 1,000 people 
reside in Scotland. It is with great honor that I advise my colleagues 
of the achievements made by this great community.

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