Since the fourth season, Outlander saw your loved one Scottish characters starting new lives in North Carolina, colonial-era America. While Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) and Claire Fraser (CaitrÃona Balfe) live off the land in a log cabin, Jamie is working to build them their dream home – a settlement called Fraser’s Ridge. The settlement is largely inhabited by other Scottish families who share the farmland and build their own unique homes in the vast landscape, where Jamie also encourages the group to be aware of their Cherokee neighbors.
Although North Carolina is one of America’s 13 original colonies and has a rich history from this period, Fraser’s Ridge was not an actual settlement. However, North Carolina saw notable Scottish immigration in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Fraser Highland clan is also a true noble family, and records show that they largely immigrated to the Americas during this period. The long-awaited 7th season, part 2 of Outlander will see the Frasers during the American Revolution.
Outlander’s Fraser’s Ridge is not real estate
The deal is based on a real era
The fictional Fraser’s Ridge is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. region. The Ridge was built on land donated to Jamie by Governor Tryon of North Carolina, an agent of the British Crown, at the time King George III. Jamie, in turn, promises to cultivate the land and populate it with other settler families. Although the crown is known for its acts of brutality against indigenous people, Jamie works to understand and honor the wishes of his Cherokee neighbors in the fictional world of Outlander.
Fraser’s Ridge is not real estate, and Foreigner production remains in Scotland but is believed to reference western North Carolina. Specifically, modern Fayetteville was once known as Cross Creek and was an epicenter of Scottish immigration into early America (via North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources). The British began colonizing the southeast in the early 18th century (via Library of Congress).
The communal aspects of colony life, including shared farmland and the importance of small community roles such as Claire’s healing abilities are based on real American colonial life. Because Claire is a time traveler from the 1960s with contemporary surgical knowledge, her medicinal practices are incredibly advanced. However, the community’s trust in her is very real, since self-taught empirical doctors among the clergy and midwives often provided primary medical care (through Massachusetts Colonial Society).
The Real Scottish Settlements in North Carolina Explained
Cross Creek and others were settled by the Scots as early as the 17th century
As in the rich romantic time-travel fantasy of OutlanderNorth Carolina was a significant site of a number of important and pivotal historical events. The Fraser family settlement in North Carolina, although fictional, is based on the 1739 royal immigration from the Scottish highlands to Cross Creek, North Carolina. The area became known as Argyll Colony and 20,000 more Scots followed over the next 20 years (through Cape Fear Museum). As seen in OutlanderScottish war strategies were essential to the Patriots’ victory in the Revolutionary War and the creation of the United States.
Outside the Blue Ridge Mountains region, many Scots also settled around Wilmington, North Carolina. Wilmington appears prominently in Outlanderwhere Jamie and Claire’s adopted son, Fergus Claudel Fraser (César Domboy), decides to settle down with his wife. There are several other Scots in the area in Outlanderincluding Jamie’s godfather, Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser (Duncan Lacroix). Many Scots became landowners and local politicians.
The real Fraser clan immigrated to America
The Frasers immigrated to America after clearance in the Highlands
Highland Clan Fraser is a true Scottish clanand several members have been involved in significant political movements throughout history, much like the fictional Jamie. The real Frasers actually immigrated to the Americas beginning after the brutal defeat of Jacobite forces at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. After the battle the British Crown committed the Highland Clearances, which forced thousands of Scots to leave their ancestral lands (through BBC).
Although the Clan culture ended as Scotland’s dominant political organization during the Union of the Crowns, modern Scots continue to embrace their culture, which is why Outlander maintains such a strong fan base today.
The Clan Fraser arrived in Canada and the present-day United States of America in waves in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Clan Fraser remains connected and continues to document the noble family’s lineage through the centuries (via Clan Fraser). Although the Clan culture ended as Scotland’s dominant political organization during the Union of the Crowns, modern Scots continue to embrace their culture, which is why Outlander maintains such a strong fan base today.
Sources: North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Library of Congress, Massachusetts Colonial Society, Cape Fear Museum, BBC, Clan Fraser