December in Town Name History
What happened in December, year after year, in the stories behind 30 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.
December 1
- 1882Livingston, MT: The first construction train pulls in. The camp has thirty saloons.
- 1901Oklahoma City, OK: The Santa Fe railroad renames its station Oklahoma City.
December 2
December 3
- 1818Illinois: The president signs the act that makes Illinois a state.
- 1819Montgomery, AL: The first state legislature joins two of the towns under the name Montgomery.
- Dec. 1861West Virginia: Delegates strike out Kanawha, and West Virginia wins the vote for a new name.
December 4
- 1820Selma, AL: The town is incorporated as Selma.
December 5
- 1792Frankfort, KY: Commissioners pick Frankfort as the seat of government of the new state.
December 6
- 1776Kentucky: Virginia sets up Kentucky County out of part of Fincastle County.
December 7
- 1787Delaware: Delaware becomes a state.
December 8
- 1651Perth Amboy, NJ: An Indian deed to Augustine Herman names the point Ompoge.
December 9
- 1867Golden, CO: Denver is made the permanent capital.
December 10
- 1817Mississippi: Congress declares Mississippi a state.
- 1909Red Cloud, NE: Red Cloud dies.
December 13
- 1819Tuscaloosa, AL: The legislature incorporates Tuscaloosa.
December 14
- 1814Shreveport, LA: Shreve brings the steamboat Enterprise into New Orleans in time to help Andrew Jackson.
- 1819Alabama: Alabama joins the Union.
December 17
- 1679Charleston, SC: The Lords Proprietors order the port town moved to Oyster Point and called Charles Town.
December 18
- 1888Oklahoma City, OK: Oklahoma Station becomes plain Oklahoma.
December 19
- 1794Charleston, WV: The Virginia legislature makes it a town named "Charles Town."
December 20
- 1661Providence, RI: Williams signs a deed explaining he named the place for "God's merciful providence."
- 1853Corvallis, OR: The territorial legislature changes the town's name from Marysville to Corvallis.
December 21
- 1882Livingston, MT: The railroad's plat of Livingston, named for director Crawford Livingston, is recorded.
December 22
- 1809Huntsville, AL: The territorial legislature orders a county seat to be called Twickenham.
December 23
December 28
- 1828Great Salt Lake: Peter Skene Ogden writes, "Here we are at the end of Great Salt Lake."
- 1846Iowa: Iowa becomes a state.
December 29
- 1847Atlanta, GA: The legislature makes it official that Marthasville will be called Atlanta.
December 30
- 1887Oklahoma City, OK: The Oklahoma Station post office opens.
December 31
- 1775Montgomery, AL: Gen. Richard Montgomery is killed in the attack on Quebec.
- 1821Jefferson City, MO: The legislature picks the site at the mouth of Wier's Creek.
- 1857Nebraska City, NE: The town is incorporated again.
- 1890Mount Rainier: The federal board decides on Rainier.