The Scottish Tartans Museum

Welcome to the Scottish Tartans Museum!

A visit to the Scottish Tartans Museum and Gift Shop in the Smoky Mountains is a stroll through the history and culture of Scotland. Our 4800 square foot location on Main Street in downtown Franklin, NC, showcases a large Museum area as well as an expansive Gift Shop .

Our Museum was founded by Scottish Tartans Society, formed in Scotland in 1963 to “study the origins, history and development of tartans.” Our Museum not only displays Scottish Tartans, but covers various aspects of the Scottish experience -- culture, history, dress, migration and military.

Visitors are invited to view their family tartan, connect with their clan, and learn about the history of Highland Dress.

Tartan research questions may be submitted to tartans@scottishtartans.org. We do our best to answer all enquiries in the order they are received. Before writing, try searching for your surname or tartan using the "Tartan Ferret" search engine, brought to you in conjunction with the Scottish Tartans Authority.

A gift certificate to our gift shop can be purchased and redeemed for any of the quality products in our on-line catalog from the comfort of their home. What better gift for the Scottish enthusiast in your life?!

A kilt c. 1820 in the Locheil tartan, currently on display in our museum.

The Museum is the proud recipient of the following awards and honors:

Year of the Mountains 1995-96, NC Cultural Treasure
Governor's Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service 1997
Diploma of Honor from the St. Andrew Association 1999 (cultural division of the chivalrous Order of St. Andrew)
Highlands Olde Mountain Christmas Parade, Judge's Choice Award 1997
Franklin Christmas Parade, 2nd Place 1998 Civic / Community Division
Certificate of Appreciation, Clan MacNeil, 1988

Articles on Highland Dress

Articles by Museum curator, Matthew Newsome
- The Leine -- Early Gaelic Tunic
- The Early History of the Kilt
- Pre-Culloden Tartans
- Fascinating Facts -- Fact of Fiction? (misconceptions about Highland Dress)
- Matthew Newsome's Patented Advice for First Time Kilt Wearers
Document Archive
- Click here for an archive of the monthly Scottish Banner columns by Matthew Newsome

Scottish American Culture

Other Western NC Scottish Interest