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Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
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Source:  MacNeil Pioneers Memorial, Red Springs Photos courtesy of Alexander Watson

  • Monument Name

    MacNeil Pioneers Memorial, Red Springs

  • Type

    Marker

  • Subjects

    Colonial History

  • Creator

    Herman MacNeill, New York, NY, Designer

  • City

    Red Springs

  • County

    Robeson

  • Description

    The MacNeil Memorial is a large irregularly shaped, but flat bottomed, granite bolder with a bronze tablet attached to the front and a smaller plaque at the bottom right. The bolder rests on two large granite slabs spaced slightly apart.

    Images: Bronze tablet | Smaller plaque

  • Inscription

    Tablet: TO COMMEMORATE / THE COMING OF THE MACNEIL / PIONEERS TO THE CAPE FEAR SETTLE / MENTS OF 1735 AND 1746 AND IN / RECOGNITION OF THEIR VALUABLE / CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICA.
    THIS MEMORIAL IS ERECTED BY THE CLAN / MACNEIL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA / DEDICATED MAY 1928 BY / THE MACNEIL OF BARRA XLV.

    Plaque: THIS BLOCK OF / NATIVE GRANITE / WAS PRESENTED BY / COL. WALTER SCOTT / OF NEW YORK

  • Custodian

    Highlander Academy (former site of Flora Macdonald College)

  • Dedication Date

    May 23, 1928

  • Decade

    1920s

  • Geographic Coordinates

    34.817840 , -79.177410 View in Geobrowsemap pin

  • Supporting Sources

      “Unveiling of MacNeill Memorial at Red Springs May 23 Will Be Occasion of Great Gathering of Clans,” The Robesonian (Lumberton, NC), May 7, 1928

      Beach, Kathryn. “The Highland Scots,” NCPedia.org, (accessed August 25, 2021) Link

      Smith, Maude Thomas. “MacDonald, Flora,” NCPedia.org, (accessed August 25, 2021) Link

      Williams, Wiley J. “Flora Macdonald College,” NCPedia.org, (accessed August 25, 2021) Link

      “Scots in Rally at Flora M’Donald Today,” The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, NC), May 23, 1928

      “Unveil Stone to M’Neill Pioneers,” The News and Observer (Raleigh, NC), May 24, 1928

  • Public Site

    No

  • Materials & Techniques

    Granite, bronze

  • Sponsors

    Clan MacNeill Association of America

  • Monument Dedication and Unveiling

    The address “What Scotland Has Contributed to America,” was given by Colonel Walter Scott of New York, a past Royal Chief, Order of Scottish Clans. The memorial was accepted by NC Governor Angus Wilton McLean.

  • Subject Notes

    The memorial is located on the grounds of the Highlander Academy, a private K-12 school. This campus formally housed the Flora Macdonald College, a Presbyterian affiliated school named after the Scottish heroine who lived in the Carolina colony for five years beginning in 1774. The college closed prior to 1961.

  • Location

    Highlander Academy is located at 200 North College Street. Red Springs, NC 28377.

  • Landscape

    The memorial marker stands on the lawn with evergreens as backdrop.

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