It is named for Henry S. Scott, an English King's consular and real estate agent from Toronto, Canada who purchased approximately 75,000 acres of what was once part of the O Circle Ikard Ranch in Archer County. The ranch had been sold by the Ikard family in 1889 to Clark & Plumb Company. Scott was able to acquire the ranch when the company faced financial insolvency. J.H. Meurer, a pioneer of Arch
er County and agent for Scott recognized the need for a village in order to utilize the thousands of acres of land available. Of the 5,760 acres set aside for Scotland, 450 was designated for town lots and the remainder for farming and ranching. In 1908, the Henrietta and Southwestern Railroad began service to Scotland. The train has been given credit for much of the initial growth of Scotland. In 1967, Lake Arrowhead was completed and Scotland became informally called the "Gateway to Lake Arrowhead". Scotland became incorporated in 1969 and the public water system was completed in 1972.
