The Garden of Eden was settled and named by William Alexander MacDonald in 1830, when he and his family emigrated from Caithness, Scotland. This was part of a larger diaspora of Scots leaving for the Americas and Australia following the 45', the second Jacobite rebellion. This exodus was called the Highland Clearances. Bagpipes, Tartan and the hallowed clan system were outlawed and several Scots faced persecution. There have been nine generations of the MacDonald family to live in the Garden since it was settled.