June in Town Name History

What happened in June, year after year, in the stories behind 32 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.

June 1

  • 1792Kentucky: Kentucky enters the Union as a state.
  • 1855Manhattan, KS: The Hartford runs aground past the Big Blue, and Boston soon becomes Manhattan.

June 5

  • 1775Lexington, KY: Around June 5: hunters camped by a spring hear the news and name their campsite Lexington.

June 6

  • 1835Kenosha, WI: The Western Emigration Company's party reaches Pike Creek.
  • 1848Ogden, UT: James Brown buys Miles Goodyear's fort, and the place becomes Brown's Fort.

June 7

  • 1618Delaware: De la Warr dies on his way back to Virginia.
  • 1763Burlington, VT: Benning Wentworth grants the charter to Samuel Willis and sixty-three others.
  • 1765Concord, NH: New Hampshire sets off part of Bow as a parish "by the name of Concord."
  • 1916El Reno, OK: The federal decision on the spelling El Reno, "Not Elreno."

June 8

  • 1950Gene Autry, OK: The U.S. Board on Geographic Names makes Gene Autry official for government maps.

June 9

  • 1732Georgia: King George II's charter creates a province "by the name of Georgia."
  • 1797Augusta, ME: After the town petitions "for many reasons," Harrington becomes Augusta.
  • 1881Broken Arrow, OK: A Broken Arrow post office opens in the Creek Nation.

June 10

  • 1736Wilmington, DE: 103 residents ask the governor for a borough charter.
  • 1834Joliet, IL: James B. Campbell's plat is recorded, and the town is named Juliet.

June 11

  • 1754Cranston, RI: A petition with 92 signatures asks for a new town. On June 14 the Assembly creates it as Cranston.
  • 1890Pearl City, HI: A Sunday-school picnic is held at a grove at "Pearl City," before any lots go on sale.

June 12

  • 1838Iowa: Congress creates the Territory of Iowa.

June 15

  • 1836Arkansas: Arkansas becomes a state.
  • 1854Normal, IL: Lots go on sale at the railroad crossing, by then called North Bloomington.

June 18

  • 1812Columbus, OH: The town is laid out, the same day Congress declares war on Great Britain.

June 19

  • 1852Minnesota: Congress makes it official that the St. Peter River is now the Minnesota.
  • 1871Aurora, NE: The night of the naming, by the local museum's date, with a bright aurora borealis in the sky.

June 20

  • 1632Maryland: The charter goes to his son Cecilius and names the land Maryland, for the queen.
  • 1863West Virginia: West Virginia becomes a state.

June 23

  • 1664New Jersey: June 23-24: the Duke of York's grant says the land will be called "Nova-Cesaria or New-Jersey."
  • 1842Nashua, NH: The town splits, and the part north of the river becomes Nashville.

June 25

  • 1754Cranston, RI: The new town of Cranston holds its first meeting.
  • 1876Sturgis, SD: Lt. James G. "Jack" Sturgis is killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

June 26

  • 1857The Dalles, OR: The territorial legislature grants the charter to Dalles City.

June 27

  • 1687Nantucket, MA: Nason says the town is incorporated under the name "Sherburn."

June 28

  • 1889El Reno, OK: June: A second townsite is platted, the Post Office rejects "Reno," and El Reno's first postmaster is named on June 28.

June 29

  • 1629Salem, MA: Rev. Francis Higginson reaches Naumkeag, and his letter soon calls it "Nehumkek, now Salem."

June 30

  • 1805Michigan: Michigan Territory is split off from Indiana Territory.