THE BIZARRE AND CREATIVE TITLES THAT NEARLY DEFINED OUR STATES NAMES THAT ALMOST WERE
Covington
Frankfort
Louisville
Lexington
TRANSYLVANIA
Owensboro
Bowling Green
One of the first things you likely learned was the name of your home state, but what if everything you knew about your state’s namesake could have been different? Prepare for a journey through the quirky and bizarre world of almost-names for states! The early days of American statehood were filled with creative, peculiar, and downright odd suggestions. Let’s look into history and uncover the surprising stories behind the names that could have been. Kentucky Kentucky’s famous horse race was almost known as the Transylvania Derby, but it has nothing to do with vampires. In 1775, a businessman named Richard Henderson established the Transylvania Company and signed a treaty with the Cherokee tribe, securing land known as the Transylvania colony. However, Henderson’s treaty failed as Virginia had already claimed the land. Years later, in 1792, those living on Henderson’s attempted purchase broke away from Virginia to become Kentucky. Despite naming the state themselves, the residents couldn’t decide whether the state’s new name meant “prairie,” “land of tomorrow,” or “river of blood.” Utah When Brigham Young, the leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (widely known as the Mormon church),
moved the congregation west, they settled
in the Salt Lake Basin. He petitioned Congress to create a new state for them and settled on Deseret, after a name in the Book of Mormon, one of their scriptural texts. The government declined the request until 1896, granting them statehood in a smaller area than they had originally hoped for. They still didn’t get their desired name, though; the government named the state Utah after the Ute tribe that called the area home. Nevada The name Humboldt almost became the name of the state of Nevada. It comes from explorer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, who helped popularize scientific exploration. Though he traveled thousands of miles across Central and South America, he never made it to the Western United States. So, when Nevada became a state in 1864, they used the Spanish word for “snow-covered” instead. History is full of “what ifs” and whimsical alternatives that could have shaped our country. These almost-names remind us of the rich tapestry of the past and the imagination that defines our nation.
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