Ohio History Journal

A CLASSIFICATION OF OHIO PLACE-NAMES

 

by WILLIAM COYLE

Associate Professor of English, Wittenberg College

For the academic mind classification is an occupational disease.

But sifting data into logical categories is a harmless, though

pedestrian, form of mental exercitation, which may possess a certain

value in suggesting new approaches to the data or in providing a

framework for systematic examination and discussion. Although the

full story behind each Ohio place-name has disappeared with the

generation that chose it, enough information exists to suggest

schematic differentiation.

An initial difficulty in the classification process is finding a

fundamentum divisionis, a basis for division, which groups all

names with a minimum of overlapping. Function, often a useful

standard, has no value here; for all names have one ultimate func-

tion-identification. Although interesting, etymological origin lacks

significance, because most Ohio place-names are derived from

terms which have a long linguistic history intervening between

their origin and their use in Ohio. Chronological classification has

no real efficacy, for most Ohio localities were named within a rela-

tively brief period. The methods of selection, ranging from the toss

of a coin to the fiat of a postal official, likewise lack consistent

relevance.

Although it has certain limitations, there remains a basis for

division which embraces yet differentiates Ohio place-names. Names

are bestowed by human beings, and in any human activity one

can expect to find diversified motives. The reasons underlying the

choice of most place-names have deep roots in human nature.

Despite meager and contradictory information, Ohio names seem,

on the basis of the probable motivation prompting their selection,

to fall into four broad classes:

I. COMMEMORATIVE: individuals, groups, places

II. ASSOCIATIVE: nostalgic, exotic, Biblical

273

• 1
 

274     Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly

III. DESCRIPTIVE: English, other languages

IV. ECCENTRIC

 

 

Man's desire to perpetuate a memory is universal. It is, in a

sense, a challenge to time, a defiance of oblivion. Commemorative

names were bestowed as tributes to worthy individuals, groups, or

places. Those honoring individuals are by far the most numerous.

Hero worship is a familiar human phenomenon, most common,

perhaps, in a democracy. Certainly it is characteristic of youth; and

most Ohio settlements were named during America's youthful

years. In the first half of the nineteenth century, the founders of

the republic acquired legendary qualities, and Americans looked

back to an age of Titans. Although many insignificant men have

been memorialized, great figures of the American past have re-

ceived their due, and Ohioans have heeded the Biblical counsel

to praise famous men.

The predominance of individualized commemoration is shown

by the fifty-one counties which bear the names of more or less

illustrious men. That thirty of these names belong to military or

naval annals was partly due to the high proportion of veterans

among early settlers and partly due to the vital importance of the

conflicts with the French, the Indians, and the British in bringing

security and peace to the region. Doubtless, too, landowners were

aware of the appeal to prospective settlers of a storied name like

Perry, Wayne, or Washington. The latter was a favorite choice,

lending his name to forty-four townships; the runners-up among

townships are Perry (26), Wayne (22), and Franklin (22). Some-

times a fort named for an officer furnished the name for the subse-

quent community on its site. A few communities (e.g., Eaton,

Findlay, Harmar, Harrison, Lafayette, Marion, Ripley, Steuben-

ville, and Wooster) further illustrate the commemoration of military

heroes.

Paulding, Van Wert, and Williams counties, named for the

captors of Major Andre, are a minor mystery in Ohio nomenclature.

Their apprehension of Andre was largely accidental; he may have

revealed his identity because he mistook them for Loyalists. The

• 2
 

A Classification of Ohio Place-Names       275

best explanation for the county names seems to be that after his

death Andre became a romantic legend. His courtesy and courage;

his being ignominiously hanged although Arnold, the master plotter,

escaped; and rumors of an unhappy love affair cast a glow of

martyrdom over Andre's story.

The political arena also has furnished a large stock of com-

memorative names. The presidents of the United States from

Washington to William Henry Harrison can be found in the Ohio

gazetteers. The governors so honored (some before reaching the

gubernatorial chair) include Dennison, Lucas, McArthur, Morrow,

Tiffin, and Worthington. Meigs County and the village of Wickliffe

were named for postmasters general. Knox County honors Wash-

ington's secretary of war. Wilmot was named as a tribute to the

Pennsylvania congressman who drew up the famous proviso. The

naming of Ross County expressed support of the 1798 campaign of

James Ross for the governorship of Pennsylvania; Ross was un-

successful, as was Samuel F. Vinton in Ohio over half a century

later, although he also inspired a county name.

Except for Garfield Heights, no Ohio locality of any consequence

honors an Ohioan who has reached prominence since the Civil War.

This apparent indifference to her eminent native sons is a result

of Ohio's rapid growth. Because most promising sites were platted

and named in the first half of the nineteenth century, Grant,

Sherman, Sheridan, Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, McKinley, Taft,

Harding, Edison, and other latter-day notables are not represented

by place-names. Several, however, are favorite choices for more

recent developments such as roads, schools, and parks.

Many settlements were named for landowners, founders, or promi-

nent citizens of the communities. Sometimes the choice was dictated

by the bearer of the name or by a member of his family (e.g.,

Chardon, Olmsted). But convenience was probably a more common

reason than self-glorification, particularly when a local utility

like a tavern or a mill preceded the settlement (e.g., Gates Mills,

Martins Ferry). The apostrophe ordinarily disappears in such com-

binations. Although Cleveland and Dayton belong in this category,

most communities so named are small (e.g., Cable, Caldwell, Carey,

Gutman, Hubbard, Hudson, Kinsman, Struthers, Wadsworth).

• 3
 

276    Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly

When the simple family name was not euphonic, -ville was the

favorite combining form (e.g., Haydenville, Hayesville, Hicksville,

Nelsonville, Painesville, Sedamsville, Stoutsville). Variant forms of

-burg and -town were also common (e.g., Austinburg, Leavittsburg,

Rainsborough, Streetsboro, Swanktown).

Besides military, political, and local figures, various other types

of men have been commemorated by place-names. That surveyors

were persons of consequence in a new region is illustrated by

Warren, named for one of Moses Cleaveland's surveying crew, and

Mansfield, named for the surveyor general of the United States.

Ostrander, Bourneville, and Newman's Creek also bear the names

of surveyors. Euclid was a surveyor's tribute to his ideal mathe-

matician.

In more recent years industries and railroads have determined

the prosperity, if not the actual existence, of some towns. Addystown,

Barberton, Campbell, Hooven, and Wellston were named for indus-

trialists. Buckland, Kent, Madeira, and Willard were named for

railway officials.

A rather surprising number of localities have been named for

individual Indians (e.g., Big Darby, Charloe, Killbuck, Lewis-

town, Logan, Oceola, Roundhead, Wapakoneta, and Wauseon).

Tecumseh, probably the ablest of the Indian leaders, has not been

commemorated in any significant way.

In choosing place-names, Ohioans have generally singled out

individuals rather than groups. Shaker Heights, however, represents

the socio-religious colony once flourishing there. Indian tribes have

furnished the largest number of group names (e.g., Delaware, Erie,

Huron, Miami, Ottawa, Seneca, and Wyandot counties). Generally

speaking, such names became popular when the Indian was still

a vivid memory but no longer a menace.

The largest city commemorating a group was named for the

Order of the Cincinnati, an honorary society of Revolutionary of-

ficers. Arthur St. Clair, who was a prominent member of the order,

was directly responsible for the city's name. The order itself was

named for Cincinnatus, who left his plow to lead the Roman army

but returned to his farm with the coming of peace. In a roundabout

way the name was a tribute to Washington. More than any better-

• 4
 

A Classification of Ohio Place-Names       277

known ancient hero, Cincinnatus symbolized the simplicity and self-

sacrifice of Washington, the ideal citizen-soldier.

The few names which honor places of significance commemorate

indirectly some related event or person. Lexington, of course, com-

memorates the battle of the Revolution. The village of Salem

changed its name to Shiloh shortly after Grant's victory. Ashland,

named for Henry Clay's estate near Lexington, suggests the Whig

strength in Ohio. Mount Vernon was a tribute to Washington.

 

II

A name is more than a combination of letters signifying a pattern

of sounds. With the passing of time it acquires a connotation, a

suggestive coloring. Associative names are those which seemingly

were chosen for their inherent evocations.

The largest associative group comprises names transferred from

the settlers' former homes. Sojourners in the new region naturally

felt a nostalgic desire to preserve some token of the community

from which they came. Some names (e.g., Belfort, Cheviot, Geneva,

Kendal, Londonderry, Toronto, Winesburg) represent points of

origin beyond the United States. More often newcomers seized a

real or fancied resemblance to the place left behind in the East

as an excuse for clinging to the familiar name. A dual impulsion

operated here: a settler chose a site because it resembled his former

home, and he called it by the old name because of the resemblance.

Although New England names are common in the Western Reserve,

while Virginia and Kentucky names prevail in southern Ohio, there

is no exclusive distribution on a regional basis. Maine, Massachu-

setts, Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Penn-

sylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Kentucky, Virginia, and North

Carolina are represented in that order by Maineville, Deerfield,

West Windsor, Greenwich, Amherst, Albany, Lancaster, Cambridge,

Newark, Bowling Green, Portsmouth, and Wilmington. The wide

range of sources indicates the diversified nature of Ohio's settlement.

The promising new territory was a melting pot from the start, as

emigrants from the seaboard converged on it.

Other associative names, which bear no clear relation to settlers'

everyday lives, are exotic in the sense of being foreign or strange.

• 5
 

278     Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly

Although such names are common in the Midwest, Ohio seems to

have more than its share. Motives can be discerned behind a few

exotic names. Malta derives from a resident's pleasant visit to that

island. Ravenna suggests an admiration for Dante. Several names

(e.g., Corsica, Elba, Helena, Napoleon, Waterloo) seem, in a

sense, commemorative. Of the classical names (e.g., Athens, Attica,

Castalia, Ithaca, Macedonia, Marathon, Sparta, Syracuse, and Utica;

Scipio and Aurelius townships), some arrived by way of New York

state. Troy and Rome were most popular, furnishing names respec-

tively for seven and three townships. The enthusiasm for Greece

and Rome, best exemplified in Thomas Jefferson, was a late mani-

festation of the neo-classical spirit and is a partial explanation of

such names.

But most exotic names are more difficult to explain. Although

several legends exist regarding Toledo and Lima, the largest cities

in this group, the true story behind each name remains shrouded

in conjecture. Euphony was doubtless a consideration, for names

like Damascus, Delhi, Ganges, Havana, Iberia, and Peru sound

trippingly on the tongue. Novelty was also important, and local

residents thumbed gazetteers to discover a name which would be

unique on this continent. Also, however, one senses behind names

like Congo, Lisbon, Moscow, Orient, Russia, Seville, Siam, Tokio,

and Warsaw the wistfulness, the longing for distant horizons, which

originally brought many settlers into the state.

The clergyman responsible for naming Lima is said to have

been disappointed by the residents' refusal to adopt the long "e"

pronunciation. Ohioans generally have shown a healthy disregard

for foreign pronunciation. Europeans may wince on hearing the

Ohio version of Versailles or Milan, but the Americanization of

foreign words is a normal process. Bellefontaine is an interesting

variation, for meaning rather than spelling governs pronunciation.

Of the relatively few associative names borrowed from the Bible,

several were transplantations from eastern states. A few like Enon

(place of springs), Zoar (place of refuge), or Rehoboth (spacious-

ness) have descriptive significance. But their pleasing sounds, their

familiarity, and their pious connotations account for names like

Goshen, Hebron, Jerusalem, Lebanon, Palestine, Sharon, and Sinai.

• 6
 

A Classification of Ohio Place-Names        279

 

III

Names in the third category are representational of some local

feature, permanent or temporary, physical or abstract. Some derive

from outward appearance (e.g., Plain City, Yellow Springs); others

describe the location of a community (e.g., Crestline, Middletown,

North Bend, South Point, Summit). Still others, like Fairfield and

Richland counties, are general, tending toward the abstract. Union

County describes its formation from four other counties. Alliance

refers to the junction of two railroads. Defiance and Fort Recovery

describe phases of military operations. Antiquity, Circleville, and

Moundsville derive from relics of a former civilization. Optimistic

or patriotic abstractions of a descriptive nature include township

names like Union (in 28 counties), Liberty (25), Pleasant (15),

Harmony, Freedom, and Unity, as well as town names like Inde-

pendence, Mutual, and Mount Union. Many road names fall into

this category, notably clumsy combinations which describe the

termini (e.g., Springfield-North Hampton Road, Ravenna-Warren

Road). Streams and lakes also often have descriptive names (e.g.,

Clear Creek, Crooked Creek, Muddy Lake, Rocky River, Sandy

Lake).

Many descriptive names are literal (e.g., Lakewood, Maple

Heights, Springfield, Westlake). A few are out-of-the-ordinary

(e.g., Carryal Township, named for a rock resembling a sleigh;

Lockland, named for the numerous locks of the Miami and Erie

Canal; Mad River, named for its mad plunging along a seemingly

level course; Paint Creek and Vermilion Creek, named for the clay

along their banks, which was used by Indians); but most are

prosaic and unimaginative.

Most names which have been borrowed or retained from other

languages have a descriptive basis. The settlers, understandably,

kept few French names; and later adoptions (e.g., Belmont, Cham-

paign, and Clermont counties) may have been borrowed as proper

names. Akron (a high place), Kalida (beautiful), Lithopolis (city

of stone), and Xenia (friendship) are descriptive names from

Greek. Urbana describes that community's early aspirations; it may

have been clipped from urbanity, or it may have come directly

from the division of Roman citizens into plebs rustica and plebs

• 7
 

280     Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly

urbana. Gallipolis combines two languages to recall the ill-starred

emigrants to that community. Ohioans generally avoided the awk-

ward -opolis and -adelphia formations, which were more popular

farther west.

Of the non-English languages, Indian dialects have furnished

the largest number of place-names, most of them originally descrip-

tive. Here confusion is piled on contradiction. A resident of Con-

neaut, for example, may decide for himself whether that name

means snow place, many fish, or it is a long time since they have

gone. Coshocton may mean black bear town or union of waters;

Muskingum, by the river's edge or an elk's eye. One reason for

this chaos is that most Indian names are phonetic representations

of the way Indian words sounded to unaccustomed ears. Some, like

Sandusky (probably meaning at the cold water), have been dis-

torted further by an intermediate French phonetic version. But a

more important reason is that American linguists pursued con-

ventional patterns of investigation and neglected the unique op-

portunity of studying a fresh field. The Indian dialects, seldom

preserved in written records, were ignored until they had been

corrupted. The result is controversy over the literal meaning of

almost every place-name derived from Indian words.

Even the meaning of Ohio is disputed. The popular idea is that

it means beautiful. Many assume that the French name, La Belle

Riviere, was a translation of the Iroquois word; Longfellow gave

wide currency to this notion by proclaiming it in Evangeline. The

song "Beautiful Ohio" has strengthened the public's impression.

But psychologically there is much to be said for the theory that the

word meant large or great. Indian names were functional rather

than esthetic; they usually identified a physical feature as exactly

as possible (e.g., Ashtabula, probably meaning river of many fish;

Auglaize, probably meaning fallen timbers; Cuyahoga, probably

meaning crooked; Hocking, probably meaning bottle-shaped; and

Mahoning, probably meaning at the licks). A hunting party could

be directed accurately to the great river, but not so surely to the

beautiful river. Perhaps, on the other hand, such a waterway did not

need minute identification. Like that of most Indian names, the

• 8
 

A Classification of Ohio Place-Names           281

meaning of Ohio is in doubt, and the beautiful river it will remain

to most people.

A few Indian names have given way to English ones, as Lagonda

Creek has been replaced by Buck Creek, its English equivalent.

The name describes the course of the stream, which resembles a

stand of antlers. But most names of Indian origin are too firmly

implanted in public usage to be displaced.

 

IV

Names in the final category have developed humorously through

incongruity, punning, or downright tomfoolery. Many rest upon

local legend; Mechanicsburg, for example, supposedly derived from

Mechanic, a Shawnee maiden's pet name for one of General Hull's

engineers. There is a touch of drollery in each of the following

place-names:

Bucyrus-from beautiful and Cyrus the Persian, a hero of Colonel Kil-

bourne, a founder.

Chagrin River--from the reaction of Cleaveland's surveyors, who followed

it in the belief that it was the Cuyahoga.

Chasetown--from the residents' customary treatment of strangers.

Colerain Township--from the weather on the day the township was

organized.

Fly--from the residents' desire to have the shortest name in Ohio.

Mount Healthy--from the town's escape from a cholera epidemic.

Pee Pee Creek--from the initials P.P. carved on a nearby tree.

Pitchin-from a tavern keeper's customary invitation.

Plattsburg-from a surveyor's ironic inscription on the plat of the unnamed

community.

Vandalia--from Vandalia, Illinois, the announced terminus of the

National Road, when it appeared unlikely that the road would extend beyond

the Ohio town.

Widowville--from the number of wives who lost husbands in the

Civil War.

 

Statements in the above list range from the credible to the ridicu-

lous; one hesitates immediately over accepting Bucyrus, Chagrin,

Colerain, and Plattsburg.

Some commemorative names have a jocose twist (e.g., Bumtown,

• 9
 

282     Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly

for the Bumgardner family; Danville, for Daniel P. March, the

founder; Felicity, for William Fee, the proprietor; Maxville, for

William McCormick; and Twinsburg, for the Wilcox twins, who

furnished the site). Although basically commemorative, towns

named for female relatives also seem to fit the eccentric classi-

fication (e.g., Amanda, Anna, Aurora, Cynthiana, Elizabethtown,

Marysville, Minerva, and Olivesburg).

Literature has supplied a few eccentric choices. Waverly was

named by a surveyor who admired Scott's novels. Norwood was

supposedly drawn from Henry Ward Beecher's sole attempt at

novel writing; his rambling account of a New England village

appeared about a year before the town was platted. Mount Auburn,

according to legend, was named after an admirer of Goldsmith's

"Deserted Village" posted a sign reading "One Mile to Mount

Auburn" and thus ended a controversy over a new name for Key's

Hill.

Many folk names which were restricted to local use and seldom

reached the atlases (e.g., Egg Nog Hill, Hardscrabble, Johnnycake

Hollow, Kate's Bottom, and Knock-em-stiff) also belong in the

mischievous category of eccentric names.

• 10