State Capital Origins ~ Part Three

Hello again, and welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. I'm sure I've used that one before, its a live album by Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, a prog rock band from the 1970's. Let me check.......Found it!, It was This Blog I made in 2022. It was part of my Five Islands series, why not take a trip back in time and check it out! Sorry, shameless plug once again.

Back to the blog, this third offering in the State Capitals series carries on in much the same vein as the other two. I had a suggestion from JP user FreeStater, a website called "Roadside America" unfortunately, every time I try to access it I get a 403 Error saying I can't view in my country, what is the world coming to? No doubt I shall have to invest in a VPN. So for now I shall carry on regardless and try to keep y'all informed in the usual way.

We start this time in Missouri, Jefferson City to be precise. Just looking at the name, I have a pretty good idea where it comes from, but I will still compile an entry for it....

When the state of Missouri was just a year old in 1822, Jefferson City was made the state capital. Deciding that the city needed more gravitas, the governor, John Miller announced the building of the Missouri State Penitentiary, because that's what cities need, right? The jail "welcomed" its first guest in 1836. The prison and nearby homes were built by inmates and by 1885, many local businesses were taking advantage of prison labour. famous boxer, Charles "Sonny" Liston learnt to box in the pen, and James earl ray spent 20 years in there for robbery before being released a year before he assassinated Martin Luther King. These days, the jail is a museum and hosts ghost tours and overnight stays in what is thought to be one of America's most haunted buildings.

Just for the sake of continuity, I shall inform you that, as you can probably guess, Jefferson City is named after Thomas Jefferson, 3rd POTUS and part author of the United States Declaration of Independence.

JEFFERSON CITY = NAMED AFTER THOMAS JEFFERSON

Along the Glacier Highway in Juneau, Alaska is a sheet metal company building. One day, some of the workers were bored and decided to make a tin-man out of leftover tin and place him on the roof of their factory. The statue became a landmark with locals and tourists alike, so much so, that the company also made statues of other members of the cast of the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy, the Wicked Witch, and even Toto make an appearance. So now, Dorothy can say with confidence that she's "not in Kansas anymore".

Juneau was once called Rockwell and also Harrisburg, after a prospector called Richard Harris, who happened to be a partner of French-Canadian prospector Joe Juneau after whom the city is named. Juneau is unique amongst state capitals because there are no roads connecting it to the rest of the state.

JUNEAU = NAMED AFTER PROSPECTOR JOE JUNEAU

Sitting atop a smokestack (or as we in the UK call it, a chimney) is what appears to be a lug nut. In the 1990's minor league baseball returned to Lansing and the local team were called the "Lansing Lugnuts". They play in a stadium across the street from the aforementioned chimney. Shortly after their introduction in the city, a giant lugnut was installed on the chimney as a symbol of support for the team. It has since become a beloved addition to the attraction sof Lansing.

The first European to visit the area that is now Lansing, was British fur trader, Hugh Heward and his team of trappers. The area was surveyed for sale and marked as "Township 4 North Range 2 West" although at that time it was dense forest. One of the first settlers, Joseph E. North Sr., named the area Lansing Township in 1842. He named it after his birthplace of Lansing in Tompkins County, New York. In 1847, the Michigan government wanted to move the capital to a more central location and away from Detroit and its proximity to British Canada. Lansing Township was chosen over other suggestions.

LANSING = NAMED AFTER LANSING, NEW YORK.

Under the streets of Downtown Lincoln there is a network of caves that have been in use for centuries. Carved into the walls are symbols and names dating back centuries. The caves were probably used by Native Americans and settlers as a refuge and for storage. A brewery set up in the caves and had them excavated to the size they are today, but when the brewery closed the caves were sealed. After a Lincoln family bought the former brewery on the surface, they reopened the caverns as a tourist attraction. The cave has been used over the years by infamous people such as Jesse James and the Ku Klux Klan. The caves are about 5,600 square feet and can be visited by tour on most days.

Lincoln was founded in 1856 but with the name of Lancaster. It was renamed Lincoln in 1869 when it became the state capital. It was renamed in honour of the 16th President, Abraham Lincoln.

LINCOLN = NAMED AFTER ABRAHAM LINCOLN

This entry is a little different, in that the two paragraphs of this section are connected. The little rock that the city is named after is actually a tourist attraction in its own right. Although the "little rock" that bears the plaque in the picture is only a small part of the original little rock. This was actually a much larger outcrop on the Arkansas River that was used by early travellers and settlers as a landmark that marked the transition from the flat Mississippi Delta to the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. The outcrop was partially demolished in 1872 to provide a base for a bridge that wasn't built until a decade later by the Little Rock junction Railroad. The current rail bridge sits on the outcrop that was originally called Little Rock. The remains of the rock are submerged in the river.

Little Rock was named after a rocky outcrop in the Arkansas River that was used as a landmark for settlers.

LITTLE ROCK = NAMED AFTER A ......LITTLE ROCK!

On East Washington Avenue in Madison there used to be a fuel service station In 1977, the "King of Rock and Roll" Elvis Presley's limo was stopped at a red light nearby when Elvis himself spotted a fight between two men by the fuel station. He jumped out of the limo and threatened both men with a karate style stance. the men were that shocked they forgot the fight and wanted to shake hands with Elvis. He then only left when the men's differences were settled and peace was returned. Unfortunately Elvis died 52 days later, but the plaque remains on the site of the old gas station.

In line with most of the entries in this blog series Madison was named after a person. Former federal judge, James Duane Doty, lobbied for the area of Madison to become the state capital. He even went as far as gifting robes made from buffalo hides to legislators and offering lots in Madison at preferential prices.(It must have worked, who says there is corruption in government!). The city was named after James Madison, 4th POTUS.

MADISON = NAMED AFTER JAMES MADISON

In Commerce Street in downtown Montgomery stands a building that housed the Steiner-Lobman dry food empire. Built in 1891 by the owners Louis Steiner and Nathan Lobman, the premise was to outshine other buildings in the city. Victorian architecture, statues and the casket fulfilled their requirements. Whether the casket contains the remains of a person is unknown, although it is known that both of the former owners are interred elsewhere. However, according to the National Register of Historic Places, the casket just hides a water tower. That doesn't stop speculation amongst the residents of Montgomery!

Montgomery was founded on the site of two Native American settlements called Ikanatchati meaning "red earth" and Towassa named after the Tawasa people. However, following the influx of European settlers, the names changed to New Philadelphia and East Alabama Town. Originally rivals on opposite sides of the Alabama River, the two towns merged in 1819 to form Montgomery which was named after Richard Montgomery, a General of the American Revolutionary War.

MONTGOMERY = NAMED AFTER RICHARD MONTGOMERY

Alongside a bike path behind Montpelier High School stands a memorial to the victims of the disaster that befell the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986. It was originally sited at an intersection on land belonging to an insurance company and was designed and supplied by a local stonemason. It is made of two pieces of granite, one South African and one local. Despite there being no obvious connections between Montpelier and the disaster, there is suggestions that it is because one of the astronauts, Christa McAuliffe, taught at a school a couple of hours away in New Hampshire. For years an apple was occasionally placed atop the memorial.

Following the American Revolutionary War, in which France was an ally, there was much Francophilia within the region. Montpelier was therefore named after Montpellier in France, although where the extra "L" was lost is anybody's guess. The original Montpellier on the south coast of France gets its name from the Medieval Latin, mons pisleri, meaning "Woad Mountain". Woad was a form of dye used in clothing in those times.

MONTPELIER = NAMED AFTER MONTPELLIER IN FRANCE (WHICH MEANS WOAD MOUNTAIN)

There are many sights in Nashville, or Music City as it is nicknamed, most of which have connections to country music and its legends. However, in downtown Nashville there is a statue to Butler, a labrador spaniel cross rescue dog that used to run around the streets and alleyways of the city, often pausing at restaurants for an odd titbit or two. One day during his travels, he managed to leave paw prints in newly laid concrete in an alleyway alongside his home. When he died in 1999, a statue was erected in his memory and the alleyway, that leads to the river, was forever to be known as "Butler's Run"

Nashville was founded in 1779 when its location was still within the land known as North Carolina. Like Montgomery, Nashville was named after a General in the American Revolutionary War although on opposing sides to Richard Montgomery. His name was Francis Nash. The city was originally called French Lick, I think Nashville is probably an improvement.

NASHVILLE = NAMED AFTER FRANCIS NASH

On the historic Route 66 in OKC (The nickname of Oklahoma City) stands a wedge shaped building that has what appears to be a gigantic milk bottle on its roof. The strange thing is that the milk bottle and the shop have no connection to each other. The shop has had several uses since it was built in 1930, including a barbeque shack, a design studio, and a nail salon. The milk bottle has advertised various dairies since its construction, although none of them have occupied the building beneath.

Oklahoma City was given it's name to differentiate from the state name (Oklahoma, in case you wondered). The state's name however, is derived from the Choctaw words, okla and humma meaning "people" and "red" respectively. So, the city name means "The city of the Red People" (I think).

OKLAHOMA CITY = THE CITY OF RED PEOPLE

You can't just rock up to Olympia and see this attraction, because on 364 days of the year it isn't there. This event is held on the fourth Saturday in April to celebrate Earth day and the many species of flora and fauna that live there. Many residents of Olympia are involved in the procession, a local art centre offers the use of its buildings, and many companies donate their time, resources, and recyclable materials to the cause. There are lions, insects, roses, whales, ...well you get the idea, it's a moving menagerie!

The first recorded Europeans came to what is now Olympia in 1792, however the area was not settled until around 1846, thereafter the population was increased by settlers from the Oregon Trail. The city was named after its proximity to the Olympic Mountain range.

OLYMPIA = NAMED AFTER THE OLYMPIC MOUNTAINS

Phoenix is the largest state capital and as such probably has the highest crime rates (I haven't checked, so I could be wrong, but more people = more crime...right?) Anyway, sculptor Robert Miley, built a 24ft high statue made from various weapons fused together to create a figure with arms raised to the sky to signify the struggle to overcome violence. It took 10 years to construct, the weapons coming from the Phoenix Police Department having been confiscated during many crimes. He named it "Release the Fear" and it has received support from former convicts and local schools and businesses.

The area around Phoenix was inhabited for at least 2,000 years by the Hohokam people, they built canals to irrigate the land, however floods and drought led to them abandoning the area. various Native American groups settled the land until the end of the Mexican-American war and the region's residents became U.S. citizens. The city of Phoenix was founded by Jack Swilling, a veteran of the Civil War and prospector. He noticed the lines of the old irrigation canals and used them to create a fertile area. He named the city after the legendary phoenix bird that rose from the ashes because he declared that the city had risen from the ashes of an ancient civilisation.

PHOENIX = NAMED AFTER THE PHOENIX BIRD OF LEGEND

From the largest state capital to one of the smallest, second only after Montpelier. Here you can find South Dakota's National Guard Museum. The National Guard was actually founded before the state of South Dakota, 27 years before to be exact. The museum however, was only opened in 1982 in an old maintenance building belonging to the National Guard. there are exhibits from various places and conflicts both in the US and abroad. The museum is open Monday to Friday only.

Pierre was established in 1880 on the east bank of the Missouri river opposite Fort Pierre, a former trading post that developed into a larger community. The city was named after a fur trader from St.Louis, Missouri, Pierre Chouteau Jr., who was of French descent. Pierre is the French version of Peter.

PIERRE = NAMED AFTER PIERRE CHOUTEAU, A FUR TRADER

So, there you have it1 The third and penultimate episode in the blog series I like to call State Capital Origins. Only one more to do with the final twelve capitals, starting with Providence, RI, and ending in Trenton, NJ. But that's in the future, probably a week or so away, depending on how motivated I am and what time I have spare.

It is at this time that we start thinking about what is next, I know I am. Well, just a sneak preview, the next series starts with a connection to the last episode in this series. As I said earlier, the next one ends at Trenton which is in New Jersey. Well, NJ was named after a small island in the English Channel called...wait for it....Jersey! And that is where I am starting the next series. Jersey, the original one, is a dependency of the UK with its own government and its own capital of St. Helier, which is the first entry of the new series about the etymology of capitals cities. This time they will be the ones that are forgotten, well not forgotten as such, but little known. But anyway, that's something to look forward to, if you like.

For now my friends I shall say, in the words of Grandpa Potts in the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,

"I'm on my way to far away ta ta and toodle-oo