From Mr. Luther's website:

Scotland County was organized as a county in the year 1841. Scotland County is roughly 20 by 21 miles containing 441 square miles of territory and is situated the second county west of the Mississippi River on the Iowa border. Scotland County was originally a part of Lewis County. Lewis County was divided into 4 parts. Lewis County, Clark County, Knox County, and Scotland County. Scotland County got its name from the surveyor who surveyed the county. He needed a name and since he had come from Scotland, he just wrote Scotland on his Surveys - and it stuck.

As to early settlers - the county was settled sparsely prior to its incorporation as a county. There is some dispute as to who were the first settlers. Whoever they were they shared the territory with the Sac and Fox Indian Tribes who camped in this locality until about 1842.

Scotland County hasn't produced many famous people. Tom Horn was a native of Scotland County, and for a while he was a famous lawman in the wild west - later, he ended up on the end of a rope for alleged misdeeds.

Another remarkable citizen of the county was Ella Ewing. Ella was 8 feet 6 inches tall and traveled with P. T. Barnum and Buffalo Bill's shows around the turn of the century. Unfortunately Ella wasn't into basketball, as she could have easily stuffed flat-footed.

Scotland County is primarily devoted to farming. Around 1900 the population of the County was over 12,000. Today it is under 5,000. Should you take Amtrak from Chicago to Los Angeles you would pass through the southeast corner of Scotland County.

For more historical information, consider visiting the Downing House, Scotland County's museum.