This tiny stone hut was constructed around 1840 on the slopes of Birnam Hill, near Dunkeld, as part of an ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful scheme to introduce American bison to the Scottish countryside.
Wealthy landowner Sir William Drummond Stewart, returning from a trip to the American Wild West in the 1830s, shipped a herd of bison, commonly known as the American buffalo, across the Atlantic to his Perthshire seat, Murthly Estate. Sir William was a British military officer and adventurer and, in the 1830s, he spent seven years exploring the American West before inheriting Murthly.
He constructed a 49-hectare walled buffalo park on his land to contain the imported animals. The project included a circular hut located on higher ground at Rohallion, overlooking the park, designed as a bothy to shelter two native Americans brought over to tend the herd. They were billeted to the estate’s Garden House during their stay and were accompanied by a third man, a Canadian butler, who was employed as a valet by Sir William, and was tasked with restraining the pair from any savage or wild behaviour.
Built of stone with a conical slate roof, the circular hut featured a porch with timber doors. Inside, the building was timber-lined and included a large stone fireplace and grate. It is now a Category B listed building and, while sections of the park’s perimeter wall and its gateposts remain, it is the most visual reminder of the enterprise, a folly to the eccentricities of wealth.
The venture was short-lived. In 1842 Sir William returned to the US with the native Americans and, in his absence, the herd broke loose, wreaking havoc in the surrounding countryside and killing a local postman. The animals were swiftly rounded up, much to the relief of the estate’s tenants and neighbours, and are believed to have ended their days at Woburn Abbey’s nature park in Bedfordshire.
The hut is located at grid reference NO 044 398. It is padlocked, and the interior is not accessible.
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