Category: History
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Directional Upstart Eclipses Namesake
Loyal reader Cary suggested an article idea that built upon a previous topic, Upstart Eclipses Namesake. In that previous posting I offered “new” places that grew more prominent than their original namesakes. Examples I proposed included New Zealand (vs. Zealand), New South Wales (vs. South Wales) and others. There were several comments and a lively…
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Braintree
I’ve always thought that places called Braintree sounded odd. I knew it couldn’t have derived from a tree with brains dangling from its branches. Nonetheless, that’s exactly what came to mind. If that’s the case then the Osage Orange or Hedge Apple (Maclura pomifera) might come closest to that twisted image. My overactive imagination still…
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Columbus Name Symmetry, Part 2
It doesn’t take much to please Twelve Mile Circle and I’d been particularly fascinated by the first name / surname symmetry of Cristóbal, Colón, Panamá. Never one to stop beating that dead horse I considered that Christopher Columbus had lots of other places named for him that remained unexplored. Certainly there must be plenty of…
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Columbus Name Symmetry, Part 1
Quite some time ago, way back in April 2012, Twelve Mile Circle posted an article called First Name, Surname Symmetry. It involved places where different levels of government nestled to form the full names of important people. Examples included the city Hernando, in De Soto County, Mississippi; the town of George in the state of…
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Bridges of Frederick County
First came a book, then a movie called “The Bridges of Madison County.” It took place in Iowa and the title referenced the many covered bridges common to the area. Apparently the plot involved a love affair or so I’ve inferred from summaries. I neither read the novel nor saw the film because I never…
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Where They Lived as Children
My recent trip to western North Carolina was like the gift that kept on giving for Twelve Mile Circle article ideas. Sadly I’ve reached the end of the line on that thread so this will be the last article that contains a connection to that earlier adventure. As noted in a prior installment, I enjoyed…
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Of Of
Mouth of Wilson. I used it as a waypoint during my recent county counting quest. Otherwise I put it out of mind as I drove through an expansive rural corner of Virginia. It came to mind again a little later. I passed a sign for another town about an hour farther north and east, Meadows…
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Western North Carolina, Part 4 (Beer Tourism)
Originally we’d hoped to travel north to the Thousand Islands region of New York. Unfortunately we waited too long to make our plans and couldn’t find anywhere decent to stay. Anyway, I quickly shifted my thoughts to Asheville, North Carolina, a place that had been on my mind for quite awhile. It combined an abundance…
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Western North Carolina, Part 3 (Cherokee Loop)
The second day-trip loop from Asheville plowed nearly due west onto the domain of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation. Then we continued into Great Smoky Mountains National Park for another easy U.S. state highpoint capture. I guess it was actually more of an out-and-back. Technically, one could cut the corner just a bit…
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Western North Carolina, Part 1 (Asheville)
Subscribers to the 12MC Twitter site likely noticed that I’ve been on vacation recently and probably already understood that it foreshadowed another travelogue. You’ll be happy with the next several articles if you like those. I was in Western North Carolina using Asheville as my base of operations for the week. I wasn’t sure exactly…