List of renamed places in the United States
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These are the list of renamed places in the United States --- various political and physical entities in the U.S. that have had their names changed, though not by merger, split, or any other process which was not one-to-one. It also generally does not include differences due to a change in status, for example, a "River Bluff Recreation Area" the becomes "River Bluff State Parkway".
Alaska[edit]
- Mount McKinley National Park was renamed Denali National Park and Preserve in 1980 (the eponymous mountain itself was renamed Denali by the state government in 1975,[1] but was not officially renamed Denali by the federal government until 2015[2])
- Barrow was renamed Utqiaġvik in 2016, after its original Iñupiaq name.[3]
- Black River was renamed Draanjik River after its original Gwich'in name in 2014.[4]
- Chandalar River was renamed Ch'iidrinjik River and Teedrinjik River as replacements for the North and Middle forks of the river in 2015.[4]
- Sheldon Point was renamed Nunam Iqua in 1999, after its original Yup'ik name.
- Willoughby District in Juneau was renamed to Aakw Kwaan Village District in 2019.[5]
California[edit]
- Acalanes is now Lafayette
- Agua Caliente is now Warner Springs
- Alvarado is now Union City
- Amador is now Dublin
- Arroyo de las Campanas is now Bell Creek
- Arroyo Salado is now Salt Creek
- Bella Vista is now Bay Point
- Botellas is now Jackson
- Branciforte County is now Santa Cruz County
- Buena Vista County is now Kern County
- Cañada de la Molina Vallejo is now Niles Canyon
- Cañada de San Diego is now Mission Valley
- Cascada is now Big Creek
- Cuesta de los Gatos is now Patchen Pass
- Dos Pueblos is now Naples
- El Alisal is now Pleasanton
- El Toro is now Lake Forest
- Río de los Reyes is now Kings River
- Laguna Grande is now Lake Elsinore
- La Mineta is now Mount Bullion
- Leodocia is now Red Bluff
- Maltermoro is now Sunnyside
- Merienda is now Dresser
- Mission San José is now Fremont
- Monte Santa Isabel is now Mount Hamilton
- Monte Vista is now Montclair
- Moro is now Taft
- Nueva Almadén is now New Almaden
- Oleta is now Fiddletown
- Oneida is now Martell
- Oro Groso is now Coarse Gold
- Pino is now Loomis
- Port Ballona is now Playa del Rey
- Portezuela de Buenos Ayres is now Corral Hollow Pass
- Punta Arena is now Point Arena
- Rancho de la Nación is now National City
- Río de los Americanos is now American River
- Río de San Felipe is now Kern River
- Río de San Pedro is now Tule River
- Río Estanislao is now Stanislaus River
- Río Porciúncula is now Los Angeles River
- San Gorgonio is now Beaumont
- San Justo is now Hollister
- San Luis Rey is now Oceanside
- San Ysidro is now Gilroy
- Santa Ynez is now Solvang
- Sepúlveda is now North Hills
- Todos Santos is now Concord
- Valle de Mocho is now Blackbird Valley
- Valle de San José is now Livermore Valley
- Vallecitos is now Rainbow
- Yerba Buena is now San Francisco
Connecticut[edit]
- Chatham became East Hampton in 1915.
- Dorchester became Windsor in 1637
- Huntington became Shelton in 1919
- New Roxbury became Woodstock in 1690
- Newe Town became Hartford in 1637
- Saybrook became Deep River in 1947
- Watertown became Wethersfield in 1635
- Westbury is now Watertown
Delaware[edit]
- Willington was changed in 1739 to Wilmington in honor of Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington.[6]
Florida[edit]
- Cape Canaveral was renamed Cape Kennedy between 1963 and 1973.[7][8]
- Cowford (1763–1822) is now Jacksonville
- Dade County (1836–1997) is now Miami-Dade County.[9]
- Flagler was changed to Miami before becoming official
- Ocean City (1913–1923) is now Flagler Beach (there is another Ocean City, Florida elsewhere)
Georgia[edit]
- Big Shanty (to 1860s) is now Kennesaw[10]
- Cass County (to 1860s) is now Bartow County
- Crossroads is now Vinings
- Franklin is now West Point (there is now another Franklin nearby)
- Hammond is now Sandy Springs
- Harnageville (1832–1880) is now Tate
- Jonesborough is now Jonesboro
- Lovejoy's Station is now Lovejoy
- Marble Works (to 1832) is now Tate
- Marthasville (late 1840s) is now Atlanta[11]
- New Prospect Camp Ground is now Alpharetta
- Northcutt Station (1840–1843) is now Acworth
- Paces is now Vinings
- Rough and Ready is now Mountain View
- Ruff's Station is now Smyrna
- Terminus (mid-1840s) was later Atlanta[12]
- Tunnelsville (1848–1856) is now Tunnel Hill
- Varner's Station is now Smyrna
Illinois[edit]
- Park Forest South is now University Park.[13]: 354
- East Chicago Heights is now Ford Heights.[13]: 124
- Westhaven is now Orland Hills[14]
Indiana[edit]
- Hudson in DeKalb County is now Sedan.[citation needed] (There is another Hudson in neighboring Steuben County).
- Iba was also a previous name for Sedan.[15]
- Jervis or Jarvis in DeKalb County is now Butler. The town was also previously known as Oak Hill and Norristown.[16]
- Kekionga, the capital of the Miami tribe, is now Fort Wayne.[17]
- Newport in Wayne County is now Fountain City. It was originally called New Garden.[17] (There is another Newport in Vermillion County).
- Vienna in DeKalb County is now Newville.[18]
Kansas[edit]
- Calhoun County is now Jackson County
- Lykins County is now Miami County
- Richardson County is now Wabaunsee County
- Shirley County is now Cloud County
- Weller County is now Osage County
- Wise County is now Morris County
Kentucky[edit]
- Limestone was named Maysville after John May, a surveyor, clerk and land owner in the area in 1787 when the town was formed. The post office opened as "Limestone" and kept that name from 1794 to 1799.
Massachusetts[edit]
- Cold Spring (1731–1761) became Belchertown (1761–Present).
- Gay Head (1870-1998) became Aquinnah (1998–Present) after residents voted to approve the name change in 1997.[19]
- Manchester (1645–1989) became Manchester-By-The-Sea (1989–Present).
- Trimountaine (1625-1630) became Boston (1630-Present).[20]
Minnesota[edit]
- Lake Calhoun is now Bde Maka Ska.[21]
Mississippi[edit]
Nebraska[edit]
- Calhoun County is now Saunders County
- Greene County is now Seward County
- Izard County is now Stanton County
- L'Eau Qui Court County is now Knox County
- Lancaster (1856–1869) is now Lincoln in honor of Abraham Lincoln.
- Shorter County is now Lincoln County
New Jersey[edit]
- New Orange is now Kenilworth
- German Valley is now Long Valley
- Vernon Valley is now Verona
New Mexico[edit]
- Hot Springs is now Truth or Consequences.[22]
New York[edit]
- Breuckelen is now Brooklyn.[23]
- Gravesende is now Gravesend.[23]
- Idlewild Airport is now John F. Kennedy International Airport.[24]
- Heemstede is now Hempstead.[23]
- Middelburgh was renamed Newtown.[23] It is now called Elmhurst, Queens.[25]
- Midwout, also known as Vlackebos is now Flatbush.[23]
- New Amsterdam (17th century) is now New York.[26]
- Nieuw Amersfoort is now Flatlands, Brooklyn.[23]
- Pigtown, Brooklyn is now Wingate, Brooklyn.
- North Tarrytown is now Sleepy Hollow.[27]
North Carolina[edit]
- Hamburgh (later Hamburg) is now Glenville.
- The towns of Leaksville, Spray, and Draper were consolidated and became the city of Eden in 1967.[28]
Ohio[edit]
- Losantiville (prior to 1790) is now Cincinnati.[29]
- Port Columbus International Airport (prior to 2016) is now John Glenn Columbus International Airport.[30]
Pennsylvania[edit]
- Mauch Chunk (prior to 1953) is now Jim Thorpe.[31]
- Hickory Township (prior to 1972) is now Hermitage.
South Carolina[edit]
- Charles Town (colonial period) is now Charleston.[32]
South Dakota[edit]
- Shannon County (prior to May 2015) is now Oglala Lakota County.
Tennessee[edit]
- Coal Creek became Lake City in 1936, after the completion of Norris Dam, which created Norris Lake. Later, it was renamed to Rocky Top.
Texas[edit]
- Waterloo was renamed Austin after Stephen F. Austin in 1839 when it was chosen to be the capital of the new Republic of Texas.[33]
Utah[edit]
- The territory that became Utah was known as Deseret when first settled by Latter-Day Saints in 1847
- Parley's Park City became shortened to Park City
- Fort Utah became Provo
- The area known as Provo Bench became Orem before the city's incorporation in 1919
Wyoming[edit]
- The valley in which the town of Jackson is located was originally known as Jackson's Hole and is now Jackson Hole. (The town's name has never contained the word "Hole".)
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References[edit]
- Baker, Ronald L. (1995). From Needmore to Prosperity: Hoosier Place Names in Folklore and History. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0253328667.
- Logan, William Bryant; Muse, Vance (1989). Kennedy, Roger G. (ed.). The Deep South. The Smithsonian Guide to Historic America. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang. ISBN 1-55670-068-7.
- Shorto, Russell (2004). The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan & the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0385503490.
- ^ Wyden, Ron (US Senator) (September 10, 2013). "Senate Report 113-93, Designation of Denali in the State of Alaska". US Government Publishing Office. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
- ^ Campbell, Jon (November 8, 2015). "Old Name Officially Returns to Nation's Highest Peak". U.S. Board on Geographic Names (U.S. Geological Survey). Retrieved August 31, 2015.
- ^ Hersher, Rebecca (1 December 2016). "Barrow, Alaska, Changes Its Name Back To Its Original 'Utqiagvik'". The Two-Way. NPR. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ a b "More pushback against Native names". Retrieved 2020-05-04.
- ^ "Juneau assembly votes to give district new Native name". The Seattle Times. 2019-06-25. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
- ^ "City History". City of Wilmington. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
- ^ Phillips, Cabell (November 29, 1963). "Canaveral Space Center Renamed Cape Kennedy". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ^ "Florida Law Restores Cape Canaveral's Name". The New York Times. May 30, 1973. p. 79. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ^ Navarro, Mireya (November 29, 1997). "Miami Lends Good Name, And Bad, to Needy Region". The New York Times. pp. A1. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ^ Logan & Muse 1989, p. 307
- ^ Roark, H. Randal (1975). "Atlanta: Urban Patterns". The American Institute of Architects Guide to Atlanta. Atlanta Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. p. 13.
- ^ Logan & Muse 1989, p. 288
- ^ a b Callary, Edward (2008). Place Names of Illinois. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252033568 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Historical Information - the Village of Orland Hills, IL".
- ^ Baker 1995, p. 297.
- ^ Baker 1995, p. 83.
- ^ a b Baker 1995, p. 136.
- ^ Baker 1995, p. 242.
- ^ "Wampanoag History". Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). Retrieved 2021-10-07.
- ^ Peterson, Mark (2019). "Chapter 1 - Boston Emerges: From Hiding Place to Hub of the Puritan Atlantic". The City-State of Boston: The Rise and Fall of an Atlantic Power, 1630–1865. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. p. 29. Retrieved November 16, 2023 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Otárola, Miguel (May 13, 2020). "Minnesota DNR can rename Lake Calhoun as Bde Maka Ska, high court rules". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
- ^ Lee, Kurtis (December 15, 2023). "New Mexico Spaceport Leaves Economic Dreams Grounded". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Shorto 2004, p. 262.
- ^ Steinberg, Brenda (August 23, 2017). "Always Idlewild". The New York Times. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ^ Seyfried, Vincent F. (1995). Elmhurst: From Town Seat to Mega-Suburb. Merrick, N.Y.: Traction Yearbook. p. 73. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
- ^ Shorto 2004, p. 3.
- ^ Berger, Joseph (December 11, 1996). "North Tarrytown Votes to Pursue Its Future as Sleepy Hollow". The New York Times. pp. B2. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ^ Powell, William Stevens; Hill, Michael R. (2010). The North Carolina Gazetteer (2nd ed.). Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-8078-3399-5 – via EBSCOhost.
- ^ Clarke, Robert (1870). Information wanted with reference to the early settlers of Losantiville (now Cincinnati). Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Co. p. 1. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
- ^ Rose, Marla Matzer (June 28, 2016). "John Glenn honored as Columbus airport is renamed for him". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ^ Thomas, Madalaine (2015). "From Running Touchdowns to Running Away with the Casket: Thorpe v. Borough of Jim Thorpe". DePaul Journal of Art, Technology and Intellectual Property Law. 26 (1): 61–62 – via Hein Online.
- ^ Edgar, Walter (1998). South Carolina: A History. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press. p. 587. ISBN 1570032556. OCLC 38964188.
- ^ "City of Austin - Austin History Center: Our Collections".