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A geologist and cartographer in 1902 decided to find why as many place in the US were named what they were named, and published this book. There is some weird, funny, and interesting poo poo in here and I have barely started looking at it. If you think a place existed before 1902, I'll look it up, there are a lot east of the Mississippi but there's plenty in the west too. It's interesting to see explanations from over 100 years ago and some of the info that's in this book doesn't seem to exist online. I expect to run into places that don't exist anymore.   Here's a few I found so far that I thought were interesting. Anthony’s Nose; promontory on the Hudson River, New York, said by Irving to have been named so in reference to Anthony Van Corlear’s nose; Lossing says, “Anthony de Hooges, secretary of Rensselaerwick, had an enormous nose, and the promontory was named in honor of that feature.” Aswaguscawadic; branch of the Mattawamkeag River, Maine. An Indian word, meaning “a place where one is compelled to drag his canoe through a stream.” Cattaraugus; county, village, and creek in New York. Indian word, meaning “bad smelling shore or beach.” Kickapoo; town, in Peoria County, Illinois, Anderson County, Texas, and Leavenworth County, Kansas. An Indian word, meaning “easily navigable,” or according to another authority, “ghost of an otter.” Manhattan; an island in New York. An Indian word, said by some authorities to mean “little island;” others think it means “the people of the whirlpool,” referring to Hell Gate, and another authority gives its origin as from the word Manna-ha-ta, “place of drunkenness,” since Verrazani landed upon the lower extremity of Manhattan Island and gave the Indians liquor, on which they became drunk.
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Sep 26, 2020 15:09
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EorayMel posted:You must turn to page Of course 
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Sep 26, 2020 15:22
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and discover the origins of the places there (if there is such a page)
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so many of these are French names that just lost their meaning entirely. Green Bay for instance was la grande baie
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Sep 26, 2020 18:24
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:I have always been very curious about Buckatunna, Mississippi and Burnt Corn, Alabama Buckatunna- Choctaw word meaning a creek where there is weaving. Burnt Corn doesn't seem to be in the book, but it it seems like native Americans and settlers were burning the poo poo out of eachothers corn and a lot of battles happened there.
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Sep 26, 2020 18:40
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Found an interesting one, Mobjack, Maryland it doesn't exist anymore and but is also the name for a bay in Virginia. The defunct Maryland city or maybe just a small port? is named it because, a pirate named Jack was mobbed and thrown overboard by his crew at the site. The Virginia bay "appears in early documents as "Mockjack Bay"; it was said that echoes on the bay would mock "Jack", a term for a sailor. Captain Thomas Todd of Toddsbury, Gloucester County, a mid seventeenth century emigrant, was recorded as "Thomas Todd of Mockjack Bay".
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Sep 26, 2020 21:42
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Ugly In The Morning posted:Can you look up Poughkeepsie for me? I’m figuring it’s some Native tribe’s word for “really boring place, oh my god, so boring”. Derived from a Delaware Indian word, apokeepsingk meaning safe and pleasant harbor or shallow inlet safe harbor for small boats. So yeah pretty much.
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Sep 26, 2020 22:17
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Vincent Van Goatse posted:Reform, Alabama Reform was informally named Pickens, the name of the county until a Methodist missionary held a revival in the town. The town didn’t give a poo poo about his revival. He left town in anger yelling at them to reform, and a likely in-joke among the residents stuck. This was pieced together from a few places but it seems to be the legend so to speak.
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Sep 26, 2020 22:23
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That minister I assume was a distant relative of Doobie considering the town’s reaction to his hot dogs.
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Sep 26, 2020 22:27
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grill youre saelf posted:"WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI" nothing on either but it led me to an interesting one, Wissinoming,north branch of frankford creek Pennsylvania, an indian word meaning, where we were frightened. Wisconsin means wild rushing river according to the book so it make just be an expansion on those words. on Wisconsin rapids the internet says Prior to the Wisconsin River being dammed, this area held a treacherous stretch of water, which descended 45 feet as it passed through the community. The Indians gave to this place along the river the name of “Ad-dah-wah-gam,” meaning the “Two-sided Rapids,” as the rapids here was divided in two by a great boulder. After the river was dammed, the increase in water level covered most of the rocks and boulders and therefore, rapids, in the area. on stevens point Stevens Point was named after George Stevens, who operated a grocery and supply business on the Wisconsin River during the extensive logging of interior Wisconsin. The river was used by logging companies to float logs to market. Loggers on the river found this a convenient stopping point, as the river bends slightly and the operation was from far upstream. The town developed from Stevens's post and was named for him. very cool name origins! HugeGrossBurrito fucked around with this message at 23:21 on Sep 26, 2020 |
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Sep 26, 2020 23:09
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Into The Mild posted:Hey TeachesOfPeaches. I’m told you find the way I say Effort Post is funny. she's doing a very poor impression of you right now lol im so sorry
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Sep 26, 2020 23:10
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free hubcaps posted:whoa whoa....HGB has a wife?!?! I know I know I was shocked too
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Sep 26, 2020 23:15
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grill youre saelf posted:I love you hugegrossburrito! It’s in there! County in Wisconsin named for the Menominee Indians, the meaning being, pale water.
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Sep 26, 2020 23:33
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What I find interesting about this book is he actually traveled and asked locals, people could have been loving with him but he recorded it dutifully.
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Sep 26, 2020 23:35
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widefault posted:This one I know is wrong. It was originally called La Baye Des Puants, Bay of Stinking Waters, then La Baye Verte, because the water coming through the Fox River was green. lol you will do well with the thread I’m working on, gbs drunk history. Have to set up my audio equipment first HugeGrossBurrito fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Sep 27, 2020 |
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Sep 27, 2020 01:59
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Spazzle posted:Does it have Hugegrossburritown, Georgia? Inshallah
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Sep 27, 2020 02:39
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bones 4 beginners posted:Can you see if Withlacoochee is in there? Will do in the morning, that sounds like something that would totally be in there, please post requests overnight I’ll find them.
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Sep 27, 2020 03:48
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bones 4 beginners posted:Can you see if Withlacoochee is in there? Withlacoochee- River and town in Hernando county, Florida. Indian word meaning "little river" or according to another authority, " long narrow river.
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Sep 27, 2020 19:07
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CleverHans posted:Kinda a long shot but: Satan's Kingdom, MA? Not in the book but it seems it may have been named after a forest fire.
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Sep 27, 2020 19:11
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Grevling posted:Is Swastika in there? Very surprised Swastika, NY is not in the book considering how extensively it covers NY. Obviously, before the Nazis co-opted it, it was a good luck symbol often used on sports jerseys, product names, looking into it coca cola even made a swastika shaped bottle opener. Fuckin Hitler what a jerk.
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Sep 27, 2020 19:18
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Sweaty IT Nerd posted:What about Snoqualmie WA? I think the origin is on wikipedia but curious what the book says. Snoqualmie- a city in Washington named for an Indian tribe, translated, " the people of the moon."
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Sep 27, 2020 19:23
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Milo and POTUS posted:Our Town, Alabama Our town did not exist until 1913 and was established after railroad expansion. I found this old news article about it at least. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qiMLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jVEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6889%2C112219
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Sep 27, 2020 19:51
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Vincent Van Goatse posted:Cheesequake, New Jersey Nothing in the book, but derived from the Lenni Lenape word "Cheseh-oh-ke", meaning "upland" or from the word "chickhake", meaning "land that has been cleared." Another similar name that does appear, Cheesechankamuck- Eastern branch of the Farmington River, Connecticut. Indian word meaning, "the great fishing fishing pier at the weir."
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Sep 27, 2020 20:15
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Ill let a few collect if anyone has new ones, I'm working on a dramatic reading of a famously verbose IK resignation.
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Sep 27, 2020 20:16
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Will update this evening!
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Sep 30, 2020 18:33
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:Atmore, AL, Red Level, AL, Axis, AL, and Talisheek, LA. Atmore wasnt incorporated until 1907 so its not in there but-The town was named after C.P. Atmore, General Passenger Agent of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, who was a friend of Mr. Carney, who owned a sawmill in town and was a prominent citizen. No Red Level but lol. Red Level derives its name from a store that once existed in the area named Read's Level and predates the town by a few years. James Read, the owner the store, always pronounced his name with a silent "a," which prompted a misspelling of the name. Axis I cant find anything at all! Talisheek- The name is derived from the word talushik which means rock, gravel or pebble in the Choctaw language Coffeville- Town in Yalobusha County Mississippi (probably named after the same dude) Named for general John Coffee, noted indian fighter (genocide doer) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Coffee not a great dude. also a funny one near it, Coffee- creek in Humboldt county CA, so named for the occasion of a sack of coffee having been spilled in it. Hot coffee- nothing but, The community was established at the crossroads of two popular travel routes: the north–south Jackson's Military Road, and the east–west Natchez to Fort St. Stephens Wagon Road. An inn was built, and in 1870, L.J. Davis built a store and hung a coffee pot over his door, advertising "the best hot coffee around". His coffee was made from pure spring water and New Orleans beans, and molasses drippings for sweetener. He never served cream with his coffee, believing it ruined the taste. Local politicians would visit Davis' store and buy coffee for constituents and passing travelers. The popularity of Davis' coffee led to the name of the community.
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Oct 2, 2020 20:40
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USGS still has a database for this I just found! https://geonames.usgs.gov/apex/f?p=138:1:::NO::: Provo- River and town in Utah County, Utah a contraction of the name Provost, the man for whom they were named. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89tienne_Provost No Orem but At one time the area was known as Sharon, a Biblical name for a mostly level strip of land running between mountains and the sea, and the name of the Vermont birth town of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Another former name was Provo Bench.[8] In an apparent attempt to attract more investment to the town and provide an easy way for the large population of farmers with orchards to ship produce, in 1914 it was named after Walter C. Orem, President of the Salt Lake and Utah Railroad in the early 1900s. https://www.heraldextra.com/orem-was-named-after-a-man-who-never-lived-in-the-city/article_1ebfe722-dbcf-503e-bec5-d32a62bf8f2b.html
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Oct 2, 2020 20:46
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Barudak posted:When I was young I listened to a radio play on the naming of US towns, based I believe on this book. Of course, one was as far as I could tell made up which was Strange, Montana with the origin of finding a dead body with a note on it saying "strange is how I lived and died". Cant find anything about it at all unfortunately.
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Oct 2, 2020 20:47
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Heath posted:Is Chillicothe in there? Chillicothe- Cities in Ohio and Illinois and towns in Wapello County Iowa and Livingston County Missouri named for an Indian tribe, the word is said to mean town or city More Info: The word "Chillicothe" is derived from the ancient Shawnee Indian words meaning "Principal Place." It was the name for one of their clans. The main chief of the Shawnee could only come from the Chillicothe clan. When a village was called Chillicothe, it meant that it was home to the principal chief.
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Oct 2, 2020 20:51
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Mister Olympus posted:What source does it give for Hell, MI? The German investor story or something else? Nothing in the book but ill post all the hell ones after this. There are a number of theories for the origin of Hell's name. The first is that a pair of German travelers stepped out of a stagecoach one sunny afternoon in the 1830s, and one said to the other, "So schön hell!" (translated as, "So beautifully bright!") Their comments were overheard by some locals and the name stuck. Soon after Michigan gained statehood, George Reeves was asked what he thought the town he helped settle should be called and replied "I don't care. You can name it Hell for all I care." The name became official on October 13, 1841. The second theory is tied to the "hell-like" conditions encountered by early explorers including mosquitos, thick forest cover, and extensive wetlands. The third is that George’s habit of paying the local farmers for their grain with home distilled whiskey led many wives to comment “He’s gone to Hell again” when questioned about their husband’s whereabouts during harvest time. Hell Gate- Narrow pass in the East River, New York. Dutch word Hellegate, meaning gate of hell. So named on the account of the whirlpools which mad navigation dangerous. Hellgate, river in Montana named by Father de Smet Port de P'Enfer, "gate of hell" because by this way the Blackfoot reached his people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Jean_De_Smet Hell Roaring- Creek in Yellowstone Park, so named by a prospecting party, because one of them described it as a "hell roarer." Also I thought the next entry was interesting Helvetia- Name of a few places in the US settled by the Swiss and by them given the ancient name of Switzerland
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Oct 2, 2020 21:01
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| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 06:47 |
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oh god this is going to be hard to look up but Ill try haha
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Oct 4, 2020 15:03
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