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1001 Kansas Place Names

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Sondra McCoy
State
Kansas

Description

The Kansas map is dotted with colorful and intriguing place names that invite wonderment: Grenola, La Cygne, Cawker City, Wamego, Tonovay, Liberal, Nicodemus, Skiddy, and White Woman Creek. These—and 1058 others, from Abbeyville to Zurich—are described in this handy treasure trove of local history. Along with discussing how the name originated and what changes it has undergone, McCoy and Hults give you the inquisitive with the spelling and pronunciation (of extraordinary names), the county where situated, related anecdotes, post workplace dates, and population figures. The result is an engaging mosaic of information on Kansas history, families, events, politics, settlement patterns, and local lore.

Given its geographic location at the crossroads of The united states, Kansas understandably boasts a diversity of place names. Native Americans, blacks, the French, Spanish, Anglo-Irish, German-Russians, and other ethnic groups have left their stamp on Kansas long with westward-moving Americans. In Kansas the majority of the place names were chosen to describe, to acknowledge origins, or to commemorate. The descriptive include Smoky Hill, Pretty Prairie, and Saline. American migrants brought Pittsburg, Erie, Oberlin, and Manhattan; foreign immigrants, Toronto, Liebenthal, Clyde, Alexanderwhol, and Smolan. But, as somewhere else in america, most names were chosen to commemorate; places are named for Indians, postmasters, landowners, railroad officials, military heroes, local politicians, statesmen, judges, and presidents.

McCoy and Hults have included all 105 counties and their seats of government and all 629 incorporated places as listed in the 1980 U.S. Census. The remaining have been chosen on account of historical geographic, or geological interest.

Abundantly illustrated with humorous drawings by John Gruber, this handy place name gazetteer is both a valuable reference and a source of good fun.
Sondra McCoy
State
Kansas
geography

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