I had so much fun hunting through counties with the recent Google Maps boundary release that I simply kept going. Then I fixated on a set of United States counties somehow considered “New.”
Well they started with the prefix New, and referenced something older. Several states included that format so I figured I’d find plenty of counties too. Surprisingly, this wasn’t the case. It’s actually rather uncommon and many of the examples are boring or obvious.
It wasn’t entirely a wasted effort, though.
New Haven County, Connecticut
If we have New Haven I wondered, what made Haven? Apparently it was the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A set of Puritans considered themselves even more pure than their Puritan brethren. The colony in Massachusetts wasn’t theologically devout enough for this group of about five hundred people led by the Reverend John Davenport. They left in 1638, arriving at a suitable harbor along the Connecticut coastline, their New Haven.
Let’s note that New Haven County (map) isn’t really a county anymore, because if I don’t then someone else will. It counts only in minimal instances such as the decennial census. Connecticut abolished county governments in 1960. Functions performed by counties elsewhere happen at the town level in Connecticut.
New Madrid, Missouri
One perplexing aspect of New Madrid is its unusual pronunciation: New MAD-rid (map). I figured it couldn’t possibly come from the Madrid in Spain. Well, I continue to learn new things every day. Indeed the name did come from there.
“In 1789, Spain granted Col. George Morgan, a Princeton graduate and Indian trader, governorship of a portion of New Spain… Promising to develop the region, he took control of the town and renamed it New Madrid, hoping to turn it into the future capital of New Spain… New Madrid, as the seat of government for one of five Spanish districts in the territory, became one of the first five counties in Missouri.”
It’s also remarkable for two nearby geo-oddities across the river: Reelfoot Lake (one of the earliest 12MC articles) formed after the massive 1811-1812 earthquakes along the New Madrid fault; and the exclave known as Kentucky Bend or Bubbleland.
New Castle, Delaware
I have to mention New Castle County (map) because this northernmost slice of Delaware anchors the Twelve Mile Circle! The circle centers on the town of New Castle that’s located in the county of the same name. Yet, I couldn’t find the castle within the name. Does it tie back to Newcastle in England? I did find that it traced to 1664. James, the Duke of York, named it when he received the original land grant.
Before that and sometimes afterwards it fell within territory contested by Swedish, Dutch and English interests. This area was within or around several different New prefixes such as New Sweden, New Netherlands, and New Amstel before the English finally gained the upper hand and made sure that New Castle stuck.
Other Condenders
Let’s take a look at the rest.
Straightforward Instances
- New York: New York County (map): Duke of York (later King James II)
- Connecticut: New London County (map): London, England.
- Virginia: New Kent County (map): Kent, England
- North Carolina: New Hanover County (map): The House of Hanover that ruled Great Britain at the time, and then by extension back to the German Hanover.
That’s the complete list of New [Something] Counties.
Mashups
Also I found several instances where New and some other word mashed up together.
- Newport County, Rhode Island (map): The originally settlers left Portsmouth, Rhode Island after a falling-out with the Puritan leader Anne Hutchinson. I’m going to guess that Newport may have derived from the name of the earlier Rhode Island settlement. Rhode Island is another one of those states where counties have little meaning.
- Newport News, Virginia (map): Nobody is quite sure. It may have something to do with Christopher Newport who led the three ships to the original Jamestown Colony (where I visied recently). News may have come from an old English term for “new town.” There are several other theories. Newport News isn’t actually a county. It’s one of those odd Virginia independent cities that registers as a county-equivalent.
- Newaygo County, Michigan (map): This one is a ringer. It’s of Ojibwe Indian origin and has nothing to do with anything new.
A Little Further Afield
And I’ll throw in a Newberry and a few Newtons.
- Newberry County, South Carolina (map)
- Newton County in Arkansas (map); Georgia (map); Indiana (map); Mississippi (map) and Missouri (map)
[UPDATE: See the Jasper and Newton Article].
I went a little overboard with all the county map links in this post. I’m still having too much fun with the new Google Maps feature.
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