THE ORIGIN OF AMERICAN STATE NAMES 



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Photograph by U. S. Air Service 



A RAILROAD ROUNDHOUSE PRESENTS A STRANGELY SYMMETRICAL PICTURE FROM 



THE AIR: PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA 



As the home of Independence Hall and the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence, 

 the Keystone State, whose name means ''Penn's Woods," has chosen "Virtue, Liberty, and 

 Independence" for its motto. 



land, in 1634, and this colony, by the way, 

 was the first to extend religious toleration 

 to all. It was named after the queen of 

 Charles I, Henrietta Maria, who was the 

 daughter of Henry of Navarre and was 

 of the Roman Catholic faith. 



LOYALTY OF SETTLERS TO THE BRITISH 

 CROWN REFLECTED IN STATE NAMES 



The strong tendency of the earlier 

 English settlers to perpetuate English 

 royal names in their settlements is in- 

 dicative of their loyalty to the crown and 

 is further illustrated in the names of the 

 Virginias, the Carolinas, and Georgia. 



The first of these was named by Sir 

 AValter Raleigh for Elizabeth, the Virgin 

 Queen, who was on the throne of Eng- 



land when the first settlements were at- 

 tempted, in 1585. It is interesting to 

 note that Virginia is the only State whose 

 name appears in literature associated 

 with the royal title. Spenser dedicated 

 his "Faerie Oueene" to "Elizabeth, by 

 the grace of God, Oueene of England. 

 France and Ireland and of Virginia." 



When the State of West Virginia was 

 formed, in 1863, it was first proposed to 

 call it "Kanawha," after one of its rivers, 

 and much regret has been voiced that this 

 fine old Indian name was not adopted. 



There has been some confusion as to 

 which King Charles the Carolinas were 

 named for. In 1560 Jean Ribault. a 

 French explorer, named this region after 

 Charles IX of France. The name, how- 



