April in Town Name History

What happened in April, year after year, in the stories behind 37 American place names. Every line comes from the "Key dates" of one of our articles, and each article lists its sources. Dates are the ones the sources give.

April 1

  • 1796Dayton, OH: The first families move in.
  • 1860Virginia City, NV: The first baby born in town is named Virginia, after the camp.
  • 1892Klamath Falls, OR: The post office becomes Klamath Falls.
  • 1950Truth or Consequences, NM: Ralph Edwards airs the show's 10th anniversary broadcast from the renamed town.

April 2

  • 1513Florida: They reach a coast they think is an island and call it la Florida.

April 3

  • 1639Maine: Sir Ferdinando Gorges gets a royal charter for the Province of Maine.
  • 1848Lansing, MI: Act No. 237 renames the Town of Michigan "Lansing."

April 4

  • 1855Manhattan, KS: The merged settlers organize as the Boston Association and name the town Boston.

April 5

  • 1870Seward, NE: Seward becomes a village, by the city's date.

April 6

  • 1808Elmira, NY: One act renames 33 New York towns, and Newtown becomes Elmira.
  • 1858Normal, IL: The name officially changes from North Bloomington to Normal.

April 7

  • 1798Mississippi: President Adams approves the act creating the Mississippi Territory.
  • 1909Wilkes-Barre, PA: The board decision behind today's spelling, according to GNIS.

April 8

  • 1812Louisiana: Congress admits the new state "under the name of the state of Louisiana."

April 9

  • 1682Louisiana: At the mouth of the Mississippi, La Salle takes possession "of this country of Louisiana."

April 10

  • 1820Little Rock, AR: A post office opens, "called for the want of another name, Little Rock."
  • 1821Springfield, IL: Sangamon County's commissioners name the new county seat Springfield.
  • 1825Lafayette, LA: Lafayette himself lands at Chalmette on a visit to Louisiana.
  • 1891Klamath Falls, OR: The local paper reports Isa Leskeard's idea to call the town Klamath Falls.

April 11

  • 1753Keene, NH: The New Hampshire charter renames Upper Ashuelot as Keene.
  • 1781Havre de Grace, MD: Lafayette leaves Elkton and crosses the Susquehanna at Bald Friar.

April 12

  • 1822Rochester, NY: The name goes back to plain Rochester, per French's gazetteer.

April 13

  • 1839Austin, TX: The commissioners report they've picked the site of the town of Waterloo, on the Colorado.

April 15

  • 1632Maryland: George Calvert dies before his charter passes the royal seals.

April 16

April 17

  • 1779Louisville, KY: Trustees agree on a plan for a town "to be called Louisville."
  • 1852Marshalltown, IA: Adrian C. Anson, later the ballplayer Cap Anson, is born there.

April 18

  • 1853Selma, AL: King, just sworn in as vice president, dies at home in Dallas County.

April 19

  • 1775Lexington, KY: The fighting at Lexington, Massachusetts, opens the Revolution.

April 20

  • 1836Wisconsin: Congress passes the act creating the territory of Wisconsin.

April 21

  • 1828Elmira, NY: The village is renamed Elmira too.
  • 1889Oklahoma City, OK: The postmaster hands over the office, the day before the land run.

April 22

  • 1875Pasadena, CA: Indiana Colony stockholders vote for Pasadena over Indianola and Granada.
  • 1902Okemah, OK: The town opens. Chief Okemah has been living on the townsite since March.

April 25

  • 1851Olympia, WA: The Nisqually Journal reports a port of entry at "the City of Olympia."

April 26

  • 1727Cranston, RI: Governor Cranston dies, still in office.
  • 1736Augusta, GA: Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha marries Frederick, Prince of Wales.

April 27

  • 1855Manhattan, KS: A Cincinnati colony that has already picked the name Manhattan leaves aboard the Hartford.
  • 2011Altoona, PA: Altoona takes on a movie title as its name for a 60-day promotion.

April 28

  • 1639Newport, RI: William Coddington and others sign an agreement to start a new plantation on the island.

April 30

  • 1802Ohio: Congress passes the enabling act for the new state.
  • 1812Louisiana: Louisiana enters the Union.