New York is certainly an international locale, a player on the world stage attracting people from every corner of the world. It has been that way for a long time, a point of debarkation for more than two centuries. Perhaps I should expect to see the names of so many European capitals diffused within the state. However it still surprised me.
The Search
I counted fifteen European capital cities within the state of New York.
Initially I started with a complete list of forty-six capital cities. Then I threw each name into Google Maps with a “, NY” suffix to find the easy strikes. Next, I ran the names of those that failed to produce a positive hit through US Board on Geographic Names database to find smaller locations that don’t appear on Google.
Rome is the largest with nearly 50,000 residents. Most of the others had considerably smaller populations. Nonetheless, most of them registered populations of at least the single-digit thousands. That was impressive!
I didn’t have much luck with some of the more obscure capitals — Baku, Ljubljana, Podgorica, Vaduz, or Yerevan for instance — so maybe we should give it another hundred years and check again.
This started out as a much larger search, incidentally. I focused on New York after noticing that the state appeared on the list time-after-time. A combined Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont gave it an honest run for the money. Even so, New York came out way ahead.
Amsterdam
Most of the derivations were as one would expect. People of a certain cultural or national heritage moved to an area and named a town after their homeland. That wasn’t always the case. Here are some of the more interesting stories.
I examined Amsterdam (map). The area featured abundant flowing rivers including one that ran directly through town. This must have inspired early Dutch settlers. It’s a scenic place although maybe not exactly like the canals of the better-known Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Nonetheless, I’ll give them points for trying.
The waters turned on Amsterdam in August 2011 when Hurricane Irene pounded the Mohawk Valley. Unfortunately, this Amsterdam is prone to flooding like the other one.
Berne
Berne holds a place in history as well, although much earlier (map). It was the sight of the 1781 Dietz Massacre. Those familiar with U.S. history will recognize 1781 as a date occurring during a period of warfare that led to American independence, and indeed that is the case in Berne.
Here, Iroquois Indians commanded by Loyalists butchered the family of militia Capt. William Deitz in a particularly atrocious manner. Native Americans took the majority of the blame even though it was people of European descent who directed the action.
Lisbon
One might be inclined to believe that a Portuguese community sprang-up improbably along the Canadian border, based upon the existence of Lisbon, NY. However, it may be a bit more complicated. The town began as Lisburn in some earlier records, which happens to share a name with a town in Northern Ireland. Coincidence? I think this one probably developed organically.
Others Too
Some other places of interest:
- Stockholm: Apparently the story is as simple as Swedish surveyors filling voids in the map and they decided to name a place after their homeland.
- Paris: This has more to do with an early settler, Colonel Isaac Paris, than any direct connection to France.
- Riga: As much as I’d like this Riga to originate with the capital of Latvia, it’s pronounced RYE-ga rather than REE-ga which diminishes the possibility.
Totally Unrelated
Snow in Virginia in October? Really? October should be the perfect weather month, the month we wait for all the rest of the year. It’s not supposed to be cold enough for snow. Look! — the grass is still green; the leaves are still on the trees and have barely changed colors. Go away! This is crazy.
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