A Horse Story from New York

Horseheads, NY - There is definitely a heart breaking horse story here. In 1779, American Revolutionary War hero, Major General John Sullivan was leading his army of 5,000 men and a large number of military pack horses through a 450 mile march back into in this area. He was now fighting the mighty Iroquois Indians and it was essential this equipment and his force of men return to confront this enemy. The military horses were so decimated from the journey the General ordered the horses be put out of their misery at the end of their journey. Years later, the few remaining Indians in the area used the skulls of these horses to mark the trail and scare off would be white visitors to the area. The early colonists were so outraged by this savage behavior they settled in this area and immediately started a community. They named their town Horseheads in honor of the fallen military horse heroes. Today, the area claims the largest memorial to the American Military Horse.

San Juan Capistrano, CA

Father Junipero Serra started a mission here around 1775. He convinced a Spanish Captain that a settlement was needed between the long journeys from San Diego to San Gabriel. Father Serra named his new mission after Saint John of Capistrano, Italy. Shortly after, local Indians attacked the nearby settlement of San Diego. Father Serra quickly buried the Mission’s bells to secure them from an anticipated Indian attack. A year later, Father Serra dug up the bells and friendly Indians helped build his church and other buildings for the community. San Juan Capistrano is famous for the annual return of swallows. Legend has it the swallows were scared off by an innkeeper who hated these birds. The swallows were known for building mud nests. The innkeeper destroyed all of their nests and the swallows took refuge in the mission. October 23rd is San Juan Day. This is a holiday when the citizens celebrate the leaving of the swallows. The swallows return around March 19th. During this time, the mission rings its bells and many visitors and local residents gather to celebrate their return.

Towns named from new found freedoms

Amerigo Vespucci – Way to go Amerigo!

In 1497, Amerigo Vespucci discovered a new continent when he landed in present day South America. During this time, map makers were trying to decide on a new name for Vespucci’s continent. Famous German map maker, Martin Waldseemuller, created a map signifying this new continent as “America” in honor of Amerigo Vespucci. The map maker chose the Latin version of Amerigo because he wanted to have the new name of the continent end in an “a” similar to other continents like Africa and Asia. The name “America” and other derivatives of Amerigo caught on and became very popular in the naming of the “New World”. Names like Americus, Liberty and Independence followed and became synonymous with the spirit of freedom being found in this new land.

Waverly - Many towns honor Sir Walter

Sir Walter Scott

Sir Walter Scott was a Scotsman born in 1771. Sir Walter is known as the father of the romantic novel. He started his literary career at the age of 25. He is considered to be one of the first true international authors. He became popular throughout Europe, Australia, and the United States. His novel “Waverley” was a sensational success and he followed with a series of other books on this topic. His books were so popular that many towns in the United States are named after his titles or characters. Scott always considered himself as a poet and would publish his novels using the name “Author of Waverley”. However, by 1825, it became common knowledge that Sir Walter was the true author of these works. It was at this time that Sir Walter fell into bankruptcy. His royalties paid all of his debts after his death in 1832.

Bellefontaine Neighbors

In the early 1800's, land ownership to settlers in this area was made from land grants by French, Spanish, and American officials. Fort Bellefontaine was nearby and they were all neighbors. So why not name the new town, Bellefontaine Neighbors?

Ghostly remains of Fort Bellefontaine
The fort was established in 1805. It was the first military post west of the Mississippi. Located near St. Louis, Fort Bellefontaine became a major starting point for many westward expeditions. Zebulon Pike started his famous trek west here. Lewis and Clark ended returned here from their “Corps of Discovery” expedition. Due to the ever changing course of the Mississippi River, the Fort became flooded and fell into disrepair. In 1904, over 30 bodies were excavated at the present day site. Many of these victims were assumed to be former soldiers and family members that lived here in the early 1800’s. Today the site is noted for its ghost stories. Tourists and visitors report that when they take photographs of the area, a mysterious red smoke appear on their pictures. Legend has it that the red smoke appearing on these pictures are from the souls of the soldiers from the past. .

Neptune City Swallowed Up by Another Community!

As the United States grew so did the imagination of our ancestors with the names of their new communities. In 1881, the citizens in this community chose a Greek god for their town’s name. The town is located near the Atlantic Ocean and much of the economy at the time was based upon the ocean traffic. Neptune being the Greek god of the ocean seemed to be a logical choice. During this period, it was not unusual for towns to be named after mythical gods or legends. Other communities used names like Hercules, Venus, Jupiter and even Mars as names. Neptune City grew tremendously in land area. In 1900, the New Jersey legislature annexed much of the city and created a new township. Oddly enough, the town that swallowed up the land from Neptune City was named “Avon by the Sea”! The name “Avon” is a Welsh term meaning “river”.

Tuxedo, New York and the Tuxedo Suit

In 1886, Pierre Lorillard IV built an exclusive country club here. He named it the “Tuxedo Club”. It was a private country club and only exclusive socialites were included in its membership. One of its members was wealthy millionaire, James Potter. Potter was friends with Edward VII of England, the Prince of Wales. The Prince fancied Potter’s wife, Cora, and invited both of them to come visit him in England. Potter was impressed with Edward’s smoking jacket. The Prince replied that it was manufactured by the Henry Poole Company in England and that the company had exclusively designed it for him. Potter liked the Prince’s suit so well that he had a duplicate made. When Potter returned to his hometown to show it off, his wealthy friends at the Tuxedo County Club were ecstatic. It was such a hit that all of the country club members started sporting this new fashion in apparel and the tuxedo became the popular attire for the club’s social events. Later, other wealthy American socialites joined in on the new fashion. However, no one knows for sure how impressed Cora Potter was with the Prince of Wale’s tuxedo. I guess only the Prince and Cora know!

Photo courtesy of Library of Congress