January in Town Name History

What happened in January, year after year, in the stories behind 31 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.

January 1

  • 1795Honolulu, HI: Brown and Captain Gordon are killed when the chief Kamohomoho boards their ships.
  • 1837Nashua, NH: Dunstable becomes Nashua, named for its river.
  • 1855Topeka, KS: The town association meets to pick a name and gets nowhere.

January 2

  • 1788Georgia: Georgia becomes a state.
  • 1790Cincinnati, OH: Gov. St. Clair arrives. Howe's 1891 edition says he asked for the name Cincinnati; Burnet disagreed.
  • 1855Topeka, KS: Giles brings the word Topeka, heard that day from the Rev. S. Y. Lum, and it's soon adopted.

January 3

  • 1617Santa Fe, NM: Santa Fe's town council writes to the king, the first definite record of the town.
  • 1749Bennington, VT: Gov. Benning Wentworth grants the township, named after his own first name.
  • 1862Seward, NE: The legislature renames the county Seward after its first namesake joins the Confederacy.
  • 1910St. Cloud, MN: Wilson, the "Father of St. Cloud," dies.
  • 1959Alaska: Alaska becomes the 49th state.

January 5

  • 1852Vallejo, CA: The legislature first meets in Vallejo, and on January 12 it leaves for Sacramento.

January 6

  • 1766Winston-Salem, NC: Twelve men from Bethabara fell the first tree for Salem.
  • 1819Memphis, TN: Andrew Jackson, John Overton and James Winchester sign the agreement behind the town plan.
  • 1821Indianapolis, IN: The law naming the new capital Indianapolis is approved.

January 9

January 11

  • 1796Knoxville, TN: The convention that forms the State of Tennessee starts meeting in Knoxville.

January 13

  • 1860Falls City, NE: An act makes Falls City the permanent county seat.

January 14

  • 1839Austin, TX: President Lamar approves the act that says the new capital shall be "the city of Austin."

January 15

  • 1821Indianapolis, IN: A Vincennes paper calls it one of the most "ludicrous" acts at Corydon.
  • 1851Winston-Salem, NC: An act names the county town Winston, for Maj. Joseph Winston.

January 17

  • 1725Concord, NH: Massachusetts grants the tract, then called Penacook.
  • 1822Jefferson City, MO: A St. Charles paper announces the new capital is called the City of Jefferson.

January 18

  • Jan. 1886Crawford, NE: Emmet Crawford is killed in Mexico.

January 19

  • 1822Key West, FL: Salas sells the island to John W. Simonton for $2,000.
  • 1853Council Bluffs, IA: Kanesville takes the name Council Bluffs.

January 20

  • 1787Cumberland, MD: An act makes it a town "known by the name of Cumberland," after the old fort.

January 22

  • 1872Golden, CO: A legislative act shortens the corporate name from Golden City to Golden.

January 25

  • 1851Ogden, UT: The church's Weber branch is renamed Ogden. On February 6, the city charter is approved.

January 26

  • 1814Hagerstown, MD: The legislature changes the name of Elizabeth Town to Hager's Town.
  • 1837Michigan: Michigan becomes a state.

January 29

  • 1825Vicksburg, MS: The town is incorporated as Vicksburg.
  • 1858Spokane, WA: The territorial legislature creates Spokane County.
  • 1868Salt Lake City, UT: A legislative act shortens the name to Salt Lake City.