lean
ALFRED H. H
!;#<
Wabur L. Cross Library
University of Connecticut
GIFT OF
MRS. ABRAHAM HATFIELD
\-.
ISIOT TO BE TAKEN
FROM THE LIBRARY
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
AMERICAN
PLACE NAME;
By
ALFRED H. HOLT
Author of "Phrase Origins,"
"You Don't Say!"
ESERVED
FOR
ER: NCE
NOT TO BE TXj^.EN
FROM THE LiaJlARY
THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY
PUBLISHERS : : NEW YORK
Copyright, 1938
By THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced in any form except by a reviewer
who may quote brief passages in a review to
be printed in a magazine or newspaper.
Printed in the United States of America
^
■^
^
To
My Wife
—PREFACE —
Not everybody on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los
Angeles knows how the folks on Main Street in
Chickasha, Oklahoma, pronounce "Chickasha" — and
vice versa. Several useful purposes can, I believe,
be served by a compilation which professes to give,
so far as possible, the current local pronunciation of
disputed or difficult place names in every section of
our country. Radio people, especially newscasters
and announcers of winners in nation-wide contests,
should never be without such a list, for the standard
authorities cannot possibly provide up-to-the-minute
information on places like Knippa, Texas, and Ger-
vais, Oregon, that insist on leaping into the headlines
with mass murders or spectacular forest fires ; the un-
abridgers know perfectly well that their exhaustive
research of ten or fifteen years ago, relative to Lake
Tohopekaliga, Florida, may today be of purely aca-
demic interest, when the question arises as to what
the natives of the region, in convention assembled
around the cracker barrel, call it. Even if there
were enormous and authoritative lists of current pro-
nunciations, there would still be room for a mildly
entertaining book in which one could browse — and
almost nobody will browse in a gazetteer — until he
suddenly bit off a sprig of poison ivy, in the shape of
7
8 PREFACE
a name he had been blissfully mutilating ever since
he could read. It isn't the names like "Uwchland"
and "Ydalpom" that are the most poisonous; it's the
innocent-looking ones like "Mikado," Michigan, and
"Pass Christian," Mississippi, that put strong men
into padded cells.
In the second place, there are the serious students
of the evolution of this American language, who can
learn much about recessive accent, for instance, and
about what happens to foreign names over a period
of years. Again the railroad brakemen and train an-
nouncers could make profitable use of this book.
This is just a pious wish. Lastly, if I may drape my-
self in the stars-and-stripes just before the curtain
falls, we'll all be better Americans if we go to a little
extra trouble and pay our neighbors in Saco or Joliet
the delicate compliment of pronouncing properly the
names of their home towns.
References
The books which I have used are listed in the
Bibliography. But in almost every instance I have
checked in one way or another the pronunciation
given by the authorities. I make no pretence of hav-
ing personally investigated, on the spot, every name
listed here, though I have been in all forty-eight
states. My 7600-mile Wild Name Hunt, last year,
to the South and Southwest has been supplemented
by thousands of return-post cards sent to librarians
and superintendents of schools throughout the coun-
PREFACE 9
try. Through these "observers," I have endeavored
to learn from each community (1) what the "better
element," as represented, say, by the President of the
Woman's Club, calls it; (2) what the average man
does with it; and (3) what happens when the brake-
man gets hold of it. The results have been educa-
tional, upsetting, and not seldom highly amusing.
Other information of great value has been received
from Mr. Leonard Thorp of Superior, Wisconsin,
formerly of Ellensburg, Washington, and from Mr.
C. K. Bolton of Shirley, Massachusetts.
Two constant companions, during the prepara-
tion of this material, have been the gazetteer in the
back of the unabridged Webster^ and the United
States Official Postal Guide. I am also indebted
more than a little to Doan's Liver and Kidney Pills,
for the Directory of the United States which its ad-
vertising man left on my doorstep.
Diacritical Marks
At this point, I should like to be able to report,
"Ain't none," and move on to the next paragraph.
However, it has been necessary to use accent marks,
and a number of dotted ^'s (a) to represent "uh" —
and even, once or twice, a dotted e in "the," to sug-
gest the similarly informal "thuh" (note, though,
that when I have used "the" without any decoration
over the e, that is a Machiavellian evasion of the is-
sue, for it means that the ^, as in the word "delay,"
is sometimes long and sometimes not so long) . The
10 PREFACE
reason for this emphasis on the muteness of a is the
well-grounded fear that when I say, for example,
that "Prairie du Rocher" (Illinois) rhymes with
"married a poacher," some of you may sound off
with long a rather that the informal "uh."
Rather than depend on the casual reader to know
that "ch" can be assumed to mean the voiceless af-
fricate and not the "sh" sound, I have made exten-
sive use of the somewhat undignified admonition to
"sneeze the ch'^ as opposed to "hushing" it. Oc-
casionally, I have tried to convey the same idea by
throwing in a /: "tch."
Wherever feasible, accent is indicated by italics,
as in my rhyme for "Penelope," "Then shell a pea."
It will be noted that the mute a is here used to sug-
gest the sound of the mute o; conversely, "o' "
(short for of) may turn up, in these pages, as a
symbol for the same sound. I have even, to the hor-
ror of some conscientious souls, refused to quibble
over the great gaps that are alleged to exist between
Mary^ merry ^ and marry ^ or between hairy and
Harry. For my purposes, if you wish to rhyme
"Cairo" (Illinois) with "arrow," you'll be close
enough to the actual pronunciation to get by. This
is no book for purists.
Acknowledgments
Were I to list all who have been good enough to
write me in detail about the wild names in their vicin-
ity, this volume would resemble a telephone direc-
PREFACE 11
tory. I should however give particular mention to
the following, in addition to those of whose help I
have spoken above: Miss Myrtie J. Bolton, of
Denton, Texas, Librarian Rhoda Marshall, of Los
Angeles, Miss Mamie Meredith, of the University
of Nebraska, Mr. G. W. Cottrell, Jr., of Cambridge,
Massachusetts, Professor Fred A. Dudley, of Iowa
State College, Professor R. M. Harper, of the Uni-
versity of Alabama, Editor J. N. Heiskell, of the
Arkansas Gazette, Mr. P. L. G. Smith, of New Or-
leans, and Librarian Charles W. Spencer, of Colgate
University. Many thanks !
Alfred H. Holt.
Williamstownj Mass.
September, 1938
A
Abbeville. (In five southern states.) Sounds
almost like "Abbey-ville."
Abeytas, N. Mex. Just "abate us," if that
makes any sense. Surely there is such a thing as
abating a nuisance.
Abilene. "Abba-leen." In Texas, accent the
"leen," in Kansas the "ab." But the Bible name is
"Abba-lee'nee."
Abingdon, 111. and Md. The accented ah
rhymes with hlah^ crah^ drab, gab, nab, scab, stab —
will the Abingdon Rotary Clubs kindly suggest a
more pleasant rhyme for it?
Absarokee, Mont. The residents accent the sa
("sah" or "saw") whereas Webster lists an Absa-
roka Range in Wyoming with the main accent on the
ro.
Absecon, N. J. (Name of the island on which
Atlantic City is located.) Rhymes with "Grab me,
Don!"
Accomac, Va. Unlike Potomac, it accents the
first syllable. Unlike Mackinac (q.v.), it sounds the
final c in the normal way: "ack'o-mack."
13
14 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Acequia. In Texas, this is "ah sake you." But
Idaho follows the spelling more closely, getting "ah
seekVe-a" (the vowel sounds of obsequious). It
means canal in Spanish.
Achille, Okla. Turning its back on its French
ancestry, this now rhymes with a dialect pronuncia-
tion of naturally : "natchily."
Acomita, N. Mex. Mexican influence still strong
here: approximately, "acka-mee'ta."
Agawam, Mass. The a^ (accented) should be
as in ha^j and the third syllable is "wawm."
Agua Caliente. "Ah'wa kahl-yen'tay" repre-
sents the California and Arizona version, and
approaches the Mexican. The ^ doesn't rate much.
Aguilar, Colo. Rhymes with "soggy tar," ap-
parently. But this is still suspiciously close to the
Spanish ; the Colorado town is due for further amer-
icanization.
Ahtanum. (Ridge, in the state of Washington.)
As the indignant darky remarked when his son
played truant, "Ah tan 'um."
Ajlune, Wash. Two syllables. Rhymes with
''Madge Boone."
Ajo, Ariz. Not being far from Mexico, the
place is pronounced "ah'ho." In Spain, the ; would
be guttural. It has, according to my little Spanish
dictionary, three widely separated meanings, none
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 15
of them highly complimentary: "garlic; paint for
women; a discreditable transaction."
Akron, Ohio. Why it Is pronounced ''ack'ron"
Is a mystery to me; but since they will have It that
way, don't argue with them about it. Not even the
long a of the Akron's successor, the Macon^ shook
the tradition.
Alabama. The accented al and ham are flat, as
In "Al Smith"; "ah-la bah-ma" is abomination to
the natives, according to Director W. L. Spencer of
the State Department of Education.
Alachua, Fla. Illustrating the widespread tend-
ency to make the final a of an Indian name long,
this Is "a-lotchVay," rhyming with "the Scotch
pay," for goodness' sake.
Alameda, Calif. The best usage, supported by
the dictionary people, leans toward the Spanish,
especially Insisting on the "may" of the accented
syllable. The other half of the population (and
the waitress in Boulder City, Nev., as I happen to
know) anglicize to "alla-meeda."
Alamo. A recent popular song had something
about
When the moon sinks low
On the Alamo
which Indicates the first-syllable accent. The first
syllable Is either "ah" or "al"; the latter (making
the name sound like the first three syllables of alt-
16 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
mony) is the usual pronunciation in both Texas
and North Dakota.
Alamogordo, N. Mex. Even more than in
Alamo, the second a is slighted. Just "armo
gor'do."
Albia, Iowa. Starts with "Al" (flat), as in
album and Albion.
Albion, N. Y. The accented Al is as in "Al
Smith." Why Albany, N. Y., and Alburg, Vt.,
should be "awl" is not at the moment clear. (See
ALTON.)
Albuquerque, N. Mex. "Al'ba kur'kee," rhym-
ing with "Have a turkey," is preferred. However,
with care, the "bu" becomes "biu" or "boo." And
the other extreme, a common one, is just "alba-
kurk."
Algonquin, 111. Authorities say the Indian tribe,
though spelled this way, should be pronounced "kin"
rather than "kwin." But the residents of the Illinois
town sound the «, which seems logical.
Alief, Tex. The accent is still properly on the
"lief" ("leaf"), but the first step in recessive accent
(sounding the first vowel long), has already been
taken. Similar development is under way in Detroit
and Racine.
Allegan, Mich. The first syllable is accented and
the a is flat. Rhymes with the Irish name, Calligan.
Allegany (N. Y. and Oreg.)
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 17
Alleghany (Calif, and Va.)
Allegheny (mountains in Pa., Md., etc.)
No matter how you spell them, they rhyme
pretty well with ''Sally Blaney." Accent first and
third.
Alluwe, Okla. This is said to be Delaware In-
dian for "something better," and to be pronounced
"Al'oo-we."
Alpena, Mich. The al is flat, the accented syl-
lable is "pee."
Altamaha (river, Georgia) . Rhymes with "Call
a macaw." (I discussed it with the old bridge-tender,
where U. S. 17 crosses it.) That the accented last
syllable is "haw," as in Omaha^ is substantiated by
the fact that there is an Altamahaw in North Caro-
lina.
Alton, 111. As in Albany^ Alden^ and Gals-
worthy^ the al is sounded like all. Yet as a given
name Alton often starts out like Alfred. Now what
to do about Albany and Albionl
Alvarado, Minn. Far enough from Mexico to
transform "rah" into "ray" (accented).
Amador (county, Calif.) Rhymes with ^^slam
a door." Curiously enough, the approved pronun-
ciation of Ama^ in Louisiana, is with the long a.
Amboy. Webster used to allow a second-syl-
lable accent, and Century to insist on it. But the
18 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
residents of both Perth Amboy, N. J., and Amboy,
111., accent the first.
Amherst. All agree that the h Is silent ; and the
fact that the last syllable Is given no emphasis pro-
tects It from the barbarians who say "Jolsey City."
Amidon, N. Dak. Rhymes well enough with
Amazon.
Amigo, W. Va. The Spanish (accent on ''mee")
has been kept, possibly through the Influence of the
Wild West serial.
Amite, La. Would we could say that this Is just
"a mite of a town." However, Its French origin,
and Its location In the Creole country have preserved
the pronunciation of "ah-meet'."
Amorita, Okla. Like most other names ending
In ita^ wherever located, this Is "eeta." But see
OUACHITA.
Amory. (Family name.) Given a long a by
Webster, this Is nevertheless heard as "emery" In
Boston and, I am told, as "ammery" In Maryland.
Mississippi sticks to the long ^, however.
Amoskeag. (Part of Manchester, N. H.) The
accented last syllable Is "keg." Rhymes with "Slam
us, M^^!"
Anacortes, Wash. Thorp reports that the resi-
dents would rhyme It, just about, with "man escort
us," whereas Webster's "tes" rhymes with "fez."
Anyway, accent the "cor."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 19
Anaheim, Calif. Keeps the German ei; rhymes
with ^^plan a crime."
Anahuac, Tex. Accent the first syllable: "Anna
whack."
Anatone, Wash. Rhymes with ^^man alone."
Andrade, Calif. This curious surname rhymes
with "fan Daddy," with the accent on "Dad."
Anne Arundel (Maryland). Breaking away
from British tradition, this becomes "Anna Run'del."
Antietam (Pa. and Md.) The "tie" is "tee"
(accented), in this Civil War battle.
Antigo, Wis. Rhymes with " (Where did) Santy
go?" Accent the "an."
Anton Chico, N. Mex. "Anton" rhymes with
"Stanton," while "Chico" remains true to its Mexi-
can ancestry and its Marx brother: "chee'ko." My
observer reports some amusing mispronunciations:
"Anen-Chicker," "Antie-Chicky," or "Anee-Cheek."
Apalachee (bay, Florida). "Appa-latchy." And
the river, Apalachicola^ is "Appa-latcha-co'la." But
the Appalachian Mountains may be "lay" or "latch"
(the latter being preferred by Webster).
Apalachicola, Fla. See apalachee.
Apison, Tenn. This suspicious-looking name
from the Bible Belt has, in point of fact, nothing
to do with evolution, as shown by the flat a (as in
tap). .It is apparently related to the better-known
AppersoHj only served southern style.
20 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Appalachian. See apalachee.
Aquidneck (island — now Rhode Island). Em-
phasize the "quid/' as in tobacco chewing. The a
is mute.
Arabi, Ga. Still hke Milton's word for Arabia,
Arahy. Approximate rhyme : ^^scare a bee."
Aransas Pass, Tex. "Kansas" is an approxi-
mate rhyme, though the first s of "Aransas" is per-
haps more of a hiss.
Arapahoe, Nebr. Rhymes with "a nap ago" (I
understand that Joe Louis, inveterate nap-taker,
keeps track of the time this way).
Areata, Calif. Americanized, to rhyme with the
approved pronunciation of "data" (the accented a
long).
Arkansas. The state is, of course, "ar' kan-
saw." At a gas station near Fort Smith, where U. S.
64 crosses the Arkansas River, a man with one arm
(cotton-gin accident) assured me that the river was
pronounced both ways; i.e., "ar Kan' zas" in Kansas.
That ought to settle that argument once and for all,
especially when you reflect that he was a very serious-
minded individual with only one arm. In case you
are interested, Webster confirms his assertion that
both versions are accepted.
Arkansas City, Kansas. In tribute to their own
state, and in mild defiance of their neighbors, the
people here call it "ar-Kan'zas" City.
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 21
Amheim, Mich. Keeps the German ei; i.e.,
rhymes with "rhyme."
Aroostook (Maine). "A ruse took (me by sur-
prise)." Hiss the s.
Arriba, Colo. Having turned its back on its
Spanish original (which means "upstairs"), it is now
like "arable" without the / sound.
Arthyde, Minn. Founded by two brothers, Ar-
thur and Clyde Hutchins, . the town is pronounced
like the first part of Arthur, "arth," and the last part
of Clyde, "yde" — I am informed by Mr. Clyde him-
self. Accent "arth."
Ashokan, N. Y. Rhymes with "a token." Ac-
cent on the "show."
Ashtabula, Ohio. Accent the "bu," rhyming it
with "few."
Ashuelot, N. H. "AshVe-lot," rhyming with
"mashie-shot," according to Webster. But the Bishop
of New Hampshire told me the other day to stress
the "wee," just like the little pig on his way home
from market. Both are common.
Asotin, Wash. Rhymes with "a-floatin'." Note
that the accent corresponds with that of Ashokan^
N. Y., another Indian name.
Atascosa, Tex. Rhymes with "Pat a crow, suh."
Atchafalaya Bayou (La.) The main accent is
on the next-to-the-last syllable, but there is an un-
expected secondary accent on "chaff." The thing
22 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
rhymes with "a staff, Maria" (long i). And
''Bayou" is just ''By you."
Athens. In New York: "The older generation
invariably pronounces the a long." Or you can
put it this way, according to one correspondent: "If
you have money in the bank, the a is flat, as in
Greece; if you are down and out, the a is long."
(Apparently in Athens, N. Y., only the younger gen-
eration have money in the bank, mirahile dictu.)
The candy-shop man by the Hudson ferry, on being
interviewed by Mr. Bolton, said it was long a until
the schools changed it.
New Athens^ Ohio, uses the long a^ thus pointing
the difference between it and plain Athens in the
same state, which is short. In Maine and Illinois,
the residents, for reasons satisfactory to themselves,
keep the long a. But in other states the flat a is
regular.
Athol. In Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and
South Dakota, the "ath" is accented and the o un-
stressed; the general effect much like "ath'l." The
Scotch have an "Athole" and an "Atholl," all pro-
nounced as above.
Ausable. The river in upstate New York is usu-
ally spelled this way; the Michigan river, Au Sable,
Both rhyme with "aw Mabel!"
Auxvasse, Mo. The most common local pronun-
ciation is "aw-vawz'." Which is neither French nor
English.
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 23
Ava, 111. and N. Y. Rhymes with "wave a," as in
"wave a flag."
Avon. (Shakespeare's river.) In England, usu-
ally long a. Towns named after it in Idaho, Mas-
sachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, and New
York are correctly long a also, but the flat a (as in
"avenue") is more common in Montana, while at
Avondale (Colo., Pa., and W. Va.) and Avonmore,
Pa., the flat a is correct.
B
Baca (Colo.) As In "Bake a (cake)."
Baden. The only American one that Webster
lists is in Pennsylvania, and is given the German
pronunciation (rhyming with "sodden") though it
is hundreds of miles from "Dutch" spheres of in-
fluence. In Illinois and Texas, we have two places
called "New Baden," both of which rhyme with
"laden."
Bala-Cynwyd, Pa. "Balla (as in "ballot") kin'
wid." Welsh, of course.
Balaton, Minn. The "bala" is the same as in
the previous name; the whole is, approximately,
"ballot on" ( "When shall we ballot on this issue ?" ) .
Ballagh, Nebr. Knocks off the "gh" in approved
Irish style: rhymes with "Allah" (first a flat and
accented).
Balmorhea, Tex. This rhymes with "Pal, more
hay!" only don't pronounce the h.
Bamberg, S. C. No German left. Rhymes with
"hamburg" (also americanized).
Bandera, Tex. In process of amerlcanization.
24
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 25
Webster says "ban-day'ra," Bolton ''ban-dee'ra."
The latter is gaining.
Bangor. In Wales and Pennsylvania, this rhymes
with *'anger"; but in Maine, according to Mawson,
they ^''ban gore" (i.e., prohibit bloodshed).
Banida, Idaho. The pronunciation indicates that
the name derived from "Idaho" ; in reality, however,
it is a collision-form of "Bannock" and "Oneida," as
at the time it was named it was on the boundary be-
tween those two counties. Accent the long i.
Banock, Ky. The same flat a (accented) as in
Bannock, Idaho, despite the difference in the number
of «'s.
Banquete, Tex. "Ban-ketty," rhyming with
"Can Hetty." Accent in the middle, as in the orig-
inal Spanish.
Baraga, Mich. Rhymes, about, with "Harrigan,"
If you cancel the n.
Barnstable, Mass. This is pronounced much like
Its ancestor In England, "Barnstaple," both being
strongly accented on the first syllable. On Cape Cod
it rhymes pretty well with "constable" (and I don't
mean "constabule").
Barre, Mass., Vt. Rhymes with "Harry" (which
purists will tell you is different from "hairy").
Basalt, Idaho. Neither pronunciation given in
Webster for this kind of marble checks with the local
version in Idaho. There It is "Bay'salt," which has
26 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
an incongruous seashore ring about it. The moun-
tain in Colorado is given by Webster as either
"ba-sawlt"' or "bass'awlt" (flat a, Hke the fish) . In-
cidentally, why don't the experts list "bass" as a
rhyme for "pass" and "brass"?
Basehor, Kans. Unpleasant predicament here:
one must choose between the comparative of "base"
("baser") and the two words ^^hase hore." The
latter is more common. Even the German word
from which it may ultimately have derived, hoser^
means "worse."
Baton Rouge, La. "Baton" rhymes pretty well
with "satin"; and "rouge" is just what you would
expect.
Baugh, Tenn. A worth-while exhibit in the study
of English inconsistencies. This is "Baw."
Bayonne, N. J. "Bay-own." Long ^, long o;
slightly more accent on the "own."
Bazile Mills, Nebr. Rhymes with "Brazil" (ac-
cent on the "zill").
Beallsville, Ohio. Bolton says the a is silent;
first syllable just "Bells."
Beatrice. In Alabama and Nebraska, the "at"
is emphasized, making the name rhyme with "free
mattress."
Beaufort. In North Carolina, more people keep
the French "bo"; in South Carolina, influenced by
"beauty," they call it "biu."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 27
Beaulieu. In England and In Georgia, this usu-
ally rhymes with ''Muley" (pet-name constantly used
by mule-drivers, I don't think). In North Dakota,
some attempt has been made at the French, the name
commonly rhyming with "magnolia" ("bolla") ; yet
there is a prevalent notion that the brakeman says
"Beulah."
Becida, Minn. "Beside a," as In "Beside a
waterfall" or something.
Bedias, Tex. My observer, frank and Ingenious,
represents It with "bead-eyes."
Bejou, Minn. This spelling Is an approximation
not of the French word for "jewel," but of the Chip-
pewa word for "hello." It Is pronounced "Bee'shoo"
in Bejou.
Belen, N. Mex. Rhymes with "relen(t)," If
you drop the t. Filling-station man there told me
it was the Spanish speUIng of Bethlehem.
Bellaire, Ohio. "Bell-air'."
Bellefontaine, Ohio. A partial translation from
the French has been achieved, locally: "bell-foun-
tain" (accent in the middle).
Bellefonte, Pa. "Bell-font." About equal ac-
cents.
Belle Fourche, S. Dak. This has kept the
French, "bell foorsh" ("oor" as in "poor").
Belle Isle. (En route to Newfoundland.)
28 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Rhymes with "Well, I'll," as in the classic phrase,
''Well, I'll be !"
Belo, W. Va. Not liking the connotation of "be-
low," the residents accent the "bee."
Beloit, Kans. and Wis. Almost rhymes with
"adroit"; the e is not at all noticeable.
Belpre, Ohio. Could be rhymed with "belfry"
without undue acrobatics.
Beltrami, Minn. Accent in the middle. Rhymes
with "Well, Sammy!"
Bemidji, Minn. Accent in the middle: "be
Midgy."
Benewah (county, Idaho) . Rhymes with " (Give
me a) penny ^ Ma!"
Benicia, Calif. Rhymes with "We wish ya (good
luck)."
Benzien, Mont. "Ben zeen'" — just as if spelled
the regular way. Then there is a "Benzie" in Mi-
chigan that rhymes with "frenzy."
Berea, Ky. and Ohio. Rhymes with "we see
ya," only soft-pedal the first e.
Bergen. In New Jersey this rhymes meekly with
Jurgen (first syllable accent, hard ^), but get up
into Genesee County, N. Y., and you find the last
syllable "jen," and even accented! Perhaps by asso-
ciation with the soft g of Genesee,
Berlin. The German accentuation (on the last
syllable) has been hopelessly lost in almost all sec-
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 29
tions of this country — at least as applied to towns
named after the German capital; in Maryland, "bur
lin'" is heard but not approved; only among the
Pennsylvania Dutch does it flourish.
Berthoud, Colo. Abandon French when you en-
ter here. Just tack 3, d on the end of *'Bertha."
Bethune, S. C. Usually "beth yoon'," rhyming
with "tune." It has French and Scotch connections.
Bexar, Texas. To account for the silencing of
the X in Bexar, the story is told that an illiterate In-
dian named "Bear" used to sign his name with an X,
across which one of the local intelligentsia would
write "Bear" to identify the signature; and that thus
the county came to be spelled Bexar and pronounced
"Bear." The correct explanation is, of course, that
the Mexican version of x or j (it was originally
Bejar) is simply an h sound, making Bexar rhyme,
to all intents and purposes, with "fare." I prophesy
that, eventually, through analogy with Texas if for
no other reason, it will rhyme with "vex 'er."
Bieber, Calif. A contribution to our study of the
German ie in America. (It will be remembered that
Hank Leiber, baseball player, is generally pro-
nounced "lee.") The literati of Bieber call it "bee^
her," but the popularity of "by' ber" is increasing.
Billerica, Mass. Its ancestor in England is
spelled Billericay and pronounced "Bill Ricky."
Harriet Beecher Stowe said in one of her stories
that that was the way New England did it, too. But
30 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
today "bilF rick-a" represents better the most com-
mon usage.
Biloxi, Miss. Tourists say "bill lock'see," to
rhyme with "foxy," but the natives of this pictur-
esque resort on the Gulf shorten the middle syllable
to "lux."
Binghamton, N. Y. Perhaps the p in "North-
ampton" makes all the difference. But the hamp
certainly gets the accent in the latter, while in the
former the "ham" is but a murmur (the accent be-
ing on the "bing").
Birmingham. See Buckingham.
Birome, Tex. Not Spanish ; not any longer, any-
way. Just ^'By Rome."
Blabon, N. Dak. Rhymes perfectly with Jack
Benny's old cue for the orchestra : ^^Play, Don."
Blenheim. The British corrupted Blindheim into
Blenheim, and then rhymed it with "pen 'em." In
New York and South Carolina the British spelling
and pronunciation are standard, though both of my
observers comment that it ought to be "hime" (long
i) . Which is not strictly true, inasmuch as the name
in its present form is Enghsh, not German.
Blevins, Ky. Rhymes with the dialect exclama-
tion, "Kevins!"
Blough, Pa. Exhibit A in our collection of
"ough" oddities. This rhymes with "plow."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 31
Blount (Ala.) According to Webster, this is
''blunt," like the English surname.
Boca Raton, Fla. See raton.
Boelus, Nebr. Like a large pill for a horse : "bo'
lus."
Boerne, Tex. This "oe" is different. Just "Bur-
ney," like Fanny and Ben.
Bogota. While ''Bogata," Tex., was named for
''Bogota," — somebody slipped on the spelling, and
fell headlong on the pronunciation ; in South America
it is "bo-go-tah'" but in Texas it is "bo go' ta." In
Illinois and New Jersey this same "go" accent is
used, though the spelling blunder has been corrected.
Bois D'Arc, Mo. Usually "Bo' dark." But
occasionally gets itself mixed up with Noah's boat
and becomes "Board Ark."
Boise, Idaho. Though commonly rhymed with
"noisy," it should be ^''hoy say," according to the
Superintendent of Schools. Webster has recently
changed his second syllable from a sort of unaccented
"zay" to a "see."
Bolckow, Mo. Something like "ball' co." My
observer reports "a sort of Missouri drawl"; at any
rate, the "kow" is not bovine (see MOSCOW).
Bolivar. South of Panama, this is "bo lee' var."
But in Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Pennsyl-
vania, and Tennessee, it just about rhymes with
"Oliver."
22 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Boiling. (Field in Washington.) Rhymes with
"rolling."
Bondurant, Iowa. The "du" used to be "diu,"
accented. But the accent has receded to the "bon."
Bonneville Dam, Oreg. Though Webster says
"bon' vil," F. D. R. made it three syllables, in his
speech there: "bon' a-vil." And Bonneville, Wyo.,
makes it "Bonny-ville."
Borger, Tex. The g is hard as in "Gertrude";
accent on the "bor."
Borgne (Louisiana). Omit the g and the e-,
"born." It means "one-eyed."
Boscawen. In New Hampshire, the approved
version is almost "bah' skwen," though an earlier
rendering concludes, according to different authori-
ties, with "woin" or "wine." The British admiral
for whom it was named seems to have accented the
middle, making it "sko" or "skaw." An island in
the South Seas was named after him, but it proved
to be too hard to pronounce, and was changed to
Niuatohutahu.
Boscobel. One in England, one in Wisconsin,
one in New York City (street in the Bronx) — all
are pronounced "bah' sko-bell."
Bosque, Tex. Best usage retains the Spanish e
(as long a) but "skee" is gaining. Stick to "bah'
skay" for a while. But Bolton says Bosqueville, in
the same state, has an accented "skee."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 33
Boston. (A collapsed form, originally Botolphs-
town.) Even to a New Englander "bahss' tun'*
is likely to sound affected; the farther west you go,
the broader the "aw."
Botetourt. (County in Virginia.) Accent on
first syllable. Rhymes pretty well with "spotty
shirt."
Bouse, Ariz. Though the brakeman tends to
say "Booze," natives tell me the "ou" is as in
"ouch." The rhyme is "arouse."
Bovina. In New York and Mississippi, the i is
long, as in "Dinah." But in Texas it is "vee." I
remember because I had a flat tire between there and
"Friona" — and both the i's were "ee."
Bowden, W. Va. Lippincott gives Cape Bowden,
in the Arctic, a long o; but West Virginia rhymes
"bow" with "cow."
Bowdoin, Maine. "Bo-d'n." And the correct
pronunciation of Bowdoinham^ in the same state, is
just "Bo-d'n-ham," but I am told that "Bordingham"
is common locally.
Bowie. In Arizona, one finds the expected "boo'
ee" (traditional in Texas, though Mawson asserts
that the colonel himself, defender of the Alamo,
rhymed it with "showy"), but one is surprised to
find that the same "oo" is correct as far north as
Maryland.
Brazos, Tex. Still close to the Mexican: "brah'
zose," rhyming with "dose."
34 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Brea, Calif. (Spanish for "asphalt.") Unlike
Rea and McCrea, this breaks its "ea" in two: "bree'
a."
Breakabeen, N. Y. Just ''break a bean," like
a novel substitute for "take pot luck" : "Just drop in
and break a bean with us."
Breathitt (county, Ky.) According to Webster,
the breath (accented) rhymes with deaths as of
course it should; and the "itt" is "it."
Bremen. Don't go Teutonic on this one in Indi-
ana, nor in New Bremen, Ohio. Both are "bree'
men."
Brielle, N. J. Named after a Dutch city, and
still pronounced much as it is : "bree-ell'."
Brodhead. Though Webster calls for "brahd,"
''Broad head" (or "Broad 'ed," to rhyme with "ap-
plauded") is just about as common in the Ashokan
section of New York as it is in Wisconsin.
Bruni, Tex. To say that this rhymes with
"loony" would be fully as bad as to say that Frazeej
Minn., rhymes with "crazy." So I won't. But they
do.
Bryn Mawr. In Wales, it may rhyme with
"our," but the town and school in Pennsylvania
rhyme with "shin scar^^^ as in field-hockey.
Bucatunna, Miss. Sometimes spelled "Buck,"
and should be pronounced that way. Rhymes with
"Duck a son o' (mine)."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 3S
Buchanan, Iowa, Mich., Mo., Va. As an Ameri-
can place-name, this seems to be losing its old "biu''
and coming to rhyme with "a cannon."
Buckingham. In England, just hum the "ham."
But in Virginia, the "ham" is important. The same
Anglo-American difference can be heard in Birming-
ham,
Bucoda, Wash. Unlike "Buchanan," this has
kept the normal "biu." The accent is in the middle,
and the rhyme, "You, Rhoda."
Bucyrus, O. Again, "biu." And "Cyrus" is just
"Cyrus" (emphasis on the "sigh").
Buena. As used in American place-names (alone,
or in Buena Vista, or Buenaventura, or Buena Park) ,
this has pretty generally lost touch with the Spanish
and become "bew' na" (to rhyme with the first part
of "funeral") or even come to rhyme with "puny."
In Cahfornia, however, the "better element" hold
out for "bway' na," while Washington has its own
variation, in "biu en' na."
Bueyeros, N. Mex. Corrupted from the Mexi-
can into something that, my observer says, sounds
like "wide arrows," with the d omitted. However,
indications are that the b will eventually be pro-
nounced, if not now; be conservative with "Buy ar-
rows."
Bunger, Tex. On my card of inquiry, I asked
whether this rhymed with "hunger," "plunger," or
"one-lunger." My fears that feelings would be hurt
26 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
and no reply forthcoming were unfounded. It rhymes
with "hunger."
Burlingame, Calif. Accent on the first syllable;
the middle may be "ling" or "lin"; but the last is
unmistakably "game," with a long a,
Bustamante, Tex. In evolving from Spanish to
English, this has reached the "boost-a-men-tee"
stage.
Butte, Mont. Just like the abbreviation of
"beauty" : "beaut."
c
Caballo, N. Mex. ("Horse.") Proximity to
the Mexican border has kept this "Kah vah' yo."
Cabell (county, Virginia). Like James Branch
Cahell, rhymes with "gabble."
Cabery, 111. Accent and vowel sounds as in
"quavery."
Cache, 111., and Utah. Straight French : "cash."
Cadiz. In Indiana and Kentucky, "Kay' Diz,"
as if you were saying a curt "O.K." to Dizzy Dean.
But in Ohio, a "cad" has crept in.
Caillou, La. ("Pebble.") An approximation of
the French, "kahyoo'," is still standard, but "kay
loo'" is gaining.
Cairo, 111. In Egypt, "ky' ro." But in Little
Egypt (where the Ohio joins the Mississippi), it is,
as my observer says, "just like the corn syrup" — and
that means "care" plus "oh," not long a,
Calais. When I told Richard Warren Hatch,
young novelist of the Down East scene, that I had
never heard "Calais" rhymed with "palace," he mur-
mured, "Very ca'less of you." Careless or not, it
represents not only the Simon-pure Republican ver-
37
38 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
sion (Maine and Vermont) but also a common Brit-
ish pronunciation of the channel port. The French
rhymes with "a play."
Calaveras (CaHfornia). The Spanish is still ap-
proximated: "Cala" rhymes with "Allah" (first syl-
lable accent) ; "vay' rus" properly has a long a
sound, but weakens often into a rhyme for "terrace."
Calcasieu (Louisiana). "Kal' ka-shoo." Rhymes
with "girl sneezes," if you see what I mean.
Calexico, Calif. This is a type of collision-name
found on the borders of almost every state ; it is pro-
nounced, of course, "Cal(ifornia-M)exico," with
eviscerations.
Calipatria, Calif. Though sometimes abbrevi-
ated to "Calipat," its soup-and-fish name is pro-
nounced "cal-i-pay' tree-a." Local people say this is
more common than Webster's "pat."
Callao, Utah. Nothing Peruvian here. Rhymes
with "a K.O." Accent the "lay."
Calliope, Iowa. Out where the tall corn grows,
this rhymes with "G<^/ elope." The same is true,
there, of the wheezy steam-organ, now happily al-
most extinct.
Camack, Ga. (Also spelled Camak.) Rhymes
pretty well with "Some hackV (i.e., the first a is
"uh").
Camano (Washington). Thorp, professing to
represent current local usage, contradicts Webster
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 39
and Lipplncott, in regard to this island. Not "ca
mah' no," he asserts, but a rhyme for "a pain, oh!"
Camas, Wash. Like "campus" with the p omit-
ted. So is Kamas, Utah.
Cambria, Calif., Va. First syllable rhymes with
"clam." It's the Latin name for Wales.
Canajoharie, N. Y. Rhymes with "Anna, Joe,
Harry." Stress "Harry."
Canalon, Mo. Preferably as in "canal on fire I"
though first-syllable accent is common. My observer
says it means, in Spanish, "Where goeth the chan-
nel," but my dictionary, less poetical, says "large gut-
ter."
Canandaigua, N. Y. "Cannon day' gwah."
Canaseraga, N. Y. "Canna se-raw' ga." There
is something about an a in an Indian name that
makes folks do unexpected things. Examples : Chick-
as ha, Ojibwa, Wichita. Look them up. . . . And
how did you make out?
Caneadea, N. Y. The more careful say "canny
a dee'a," most folks slur it a bit, "can a dee' a."
Caney, Kans. Rhymes with "Delaney," as you
would expect.
Canon, Ariz. The postoffice does not permit the
n that the residents continue to use in both this and
Canon City, Colo. But both pronounce it "can-yun"
— and, in view of certain obvious differences between
40 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
canyons, cannons, and canons, would do well to
change the spelling to "canyon."
Canonsburg, Pa. If it ever was "canon," it is
just "cannon" now.
Canton. Everywhere in America, accent the
"can," but in China the "ton."
Cape Girardeau, Mo. "Girard, oh" for natives.
The accent has receded to the "rar."
Carmine, Tex. A common pronunciation rhymes
with "sardine"; but Webster's preference for the
color, "car' min," is also preferred for the place.
Carpinteria, Calif. Mexican influence has kept
the accent on the next-to-the-last syllable, "ree," just
as it has in "cafeteria" — in Southern California.
Carrizo Springs, Tex. "Kah ree' zo." And for
Carrizozoy N. Mex., just push the accent along one
notch. The filling-station man there made it rhyme
pretty well with "merry bozo."
Caruthersville, Mo. The name of the founder
was evidently a variant of Carruthers or Crothers;
there's a rhyme for mother in all three. The "ca"
of the first is sometimes sung out by the brakeman as
"kay," incorrectly, as anyone with an ear for brake-
men would expect. The a is mute, and the accent on
the u.
Casa Piedra, Tex. Still quite Mexican : "kah'sah
pee ed' ra." Or even lengthen the "ed" to "aid," if
you want to make an impression on some seiiorita.
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 41
Cason, Tex. Like "caisson," it rhymes with "Ja-
son" or "Mason."
Cassadaga. In both New York and Florida, the
accented syllable is "day." (See canaseraga.)
Castile, N. Y. This rhymes with "last mileJ^
But let me say here that the name for Spain and the
name for soap end in "steel" (usually accented).
Cathlamet, Wash. Girl named Catherine comes
to bat. Brother cries, "Cath, lam it I"
Cattaraugus, N. Y. Rhymes, informally, with
"Pat 'er jaw, Gus."
Cayucos, Calif. Rhymes well with "my new
bus."
Cayuga, N. Y. According to Webster, the first
a is as in "chaotic." Evidently we must treat the
Indian cay differently from the same combination in
Spanish. Say "kay oo' ga."
Cayuse, Wash. Though a Cayuse is a Waiilat-
puan Indian from Umatilla (I just mention this to
keep you from forgetting that we are engaged in a
Wild Name Hunt) , I believe the name to be of Span-
ish origin. At any rate, it is Spanish enough to rhyme
with "my noose"; Webster emphasizes the second
syllable, the state of Washington the first.
Cebolla, N. Mex. ("Onion.") The Mexicans
don't pronounce the /'s, and neither should we. You
might rhyme this with "We know ya." Begin, of
course, with a hissing "s." See seboyeta.
42 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Cecil. The high-brow radio announcer calls this
''sessil" if the Cecil in question is British; and the
higher the brow, the closer he comes to "sissil."
However, towns in Arkansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin,
and a county in Maryland appear to be unanimously
for "see' sil," while in Pennsylvania a rhyme for
"vessel" is "used by a few."
Cecilton, Md., and Cecilville, Calif., are curi-
ously akin, in that the accepted pronunciation,
whether you are on Chesapeake Bay or in the Cas-
cade Mountains, is "sissil."
Celina, Ohio. Naturally this is "se li' na," rhym-
ing with "Dinah" ; but I was a little surprised to
learn that in Texas it is the same — the explanation
of the long i being, I suppose, the four hundred miles
that separate Celina from the Mexican border.
Celoron, N. Y. Sounds a good deal like "sell'
or-own," as in this slightly cock-eyed conversation:
"Do you eat your own vegetables?" "No, we sell
oV own."
Ceres. The goddess of grain, and towns in her
honor in California, New York, and Virginia, are all
pronounced about like "series." But how do you pro-
nounce "series"? Webster allows "see'rizz," for in-
stance, and is indeed very firm about that "ee" in the
first syllable, whereas Ceres, N. Y., reports, "I have
never heard it pronounced 'see'reez.' " The fact is
that most of us rhyme that first syllable of "series"
(and Ceres) with "beer."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 43
Ceylon, Minn. In spite of the hymn —
What though the spicy breezes
Blow soft o'er Ceylon's isle —
Minnesota correctly rhymes it with "see Z)ow."
Chaffee. Logically, and even etymologically (as
it comes, I am told, from the village of Chafcombe,
in England), this ought to rhyme with "taffy" unless
spelled with one /, as it sometimes is. In Colorado,
Missouri, and North Dakota, the "taffy" version ap-
pears to be regular, though by some strange quirk,
in the last-named state, a minority consisting chiefly
of the brakeman and the superintendent of schools
are holding the fort for the exotic long ^, which is
really a New Englandism.
Chagres (Canal Zone). Rhymes with *'prog-
ress" (noun, American style) — accent on the "ah."
Chagrin Falls, Ohio. The Buckeyes don't at-
tempt to disguise this depressing name; but anyway
they emphasize the "grin."
Challis, Idaho. Like the word "chalice," rhymes
with "AHce."
Chalybeate, Miss. "Killibeate" is what Mr.
John Smauker called "the wery strong flavour o'
warm flat irons" that Sam Weller thought particu-
larly unpleasant. The accent is on the first syllable :
"colHe be-it."
Champaign, 111. and Ohio. Just like the drink:
"sham pain.^^
44 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Chanute, Kans. Starts out like "shut"; vowel
sounds and accent as in "uproot."
Chappaqua, N. Y. The sneezing "ch" is ap-
parently gaining on "shap" ; rhyme the whole with
''tap a jaw."
Chariton, Iowa and Mo. Change the d of "Sher-
idan" to a /, and you have it.
Charlemont, Mass. (The other side of the Mo-
hawk Trail.) The natives don't bother with the
French "sh." Yet it's not quite "Charlie." Rhyme
it with ^^mar a font."
Charleroi, Pa. Here again the French "sh" Is
yielding to the sneeze; the French "rwah" long ago
surrendered to "Roy"; but the last-syllable accent
has been largely retained. Regrettably like "Charley
Royr
Charlotte. The usual accent (on the "shar") is
found in Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, and
Canada. But Michigan and Vermont emphasize the
"lot," just to be different. Or is it French-Canadian
influence ?
Chat a wa, Miss. ("Sparkling water.") Rhymes
with ''Bat a jaw."
Chateaugay, N. Y. This name seems to be In
process of changing from the French to something
that might rhyme with "pat a bee." At present,
"shatty-gee" (hard g) is the most common.
Chatham. Bolton says that the "ham" Is gen-
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 45
erously brought out, down Cape Cod way. I do not
find this to be true of Chatham, N. Y., where it is
usually a mute sort of "um." But see eastham.
Chautauqua, N. Y. The first ''au" and the last
a are similar in sound ("uh") : "sha taw' kwa."
Chazy, N. Y. The French-Canadian accent, on
the "ee," is still favored by Webster, but the power
of the "lazy-crazy" analogy cannot be denied. The
"ch" is still "sh."
Cheboygan, Mich. Pronounced the same as She-
boygan, Wis., ("sha boy' gan"), it may also have
originated with the squaw who reported thus lacon-
ically on the birth of a second son — but the un-
romantic truth is that there is an Indian word,
shehoygan, that means "cornstalk."
Chehalis, Wash. Starts with a sneeze, and
rhymes with "we say this."
Chelan, Wash. Preferably, "sha Ian'," to rhyme
with "a many
Chelmsford. In England and in Massachusetts,
the / is often silent (as in "palm" or "calm"), but the
"chemz" is giving way to the spelling pronunciation,
influenced by "elm," especially in ^/m-shaded New
England.
Chemung, N. Y. Like many "ch" names of In-
dian origin — especially when the "ch" syllable is un-
accented— this starts with an "sh" ; rhymes with "the
youngy
46 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Chenango (New York). Means "large bull
thistles." Begins with "sh," and rhymes pretty
well with "we tango" (not dwelling on the we),
Chenoa, 111. "She know a," as in "Does she
know a good place to go?" (See GENOA.)
Chepachet, N. Y., R. I. Better start with a
sneeze, and accent "patch."
Chesaning, Mich. Accent on the first syllable;
fair enough rhyme for "lessening."
Cheviot, Ohio. Here the Chevrolet influence has
established the "sh" sound. Some rhyme the name
with idiot, but the preferred rhyme is with ^^ heavy
butt."
Chevy Chase, Md. Sneeze the first "ch" as well
as the second, and rhyme "Chevy" with "heavy."
Chewelah, Wash. Sneeze the "ch," and rhyme
the whole with "a meal a (minute.)"
Cheyenne, Wyo. The Cheyenne librarian con-
siders that "shy Ann,^^ popularized in a pre-war
dance tune, expresses it accurately.
Chicago. Chicagoans, even the very cultured,
prefer "kaw" to "kah." The Saturday Review once
ran a story, sent in by Anne Pursee of Cambridge, to
the effect that an English visitor to Chicago, on being
corrected for her flagrant mispronunciation, replied
icily, "But / say 'chick' a-go.' " And Margaret
Widdemore capped this one with that of the Boston-
ian who, being asked how Bostonians pronounced
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 47
it, returned with dignity, "We never pronounce it in
Boston at all."
Chichester, N. Y. Webster says the first syl-
lable (accented) rhymes with "itch" in England; but
the i is long in New York.
Chickasha, Okla. A few Indian names ending in
sha take your breath away by calling it "shay" (see
neodesha). This is one of them. Yet it comes
from the same Indian word as Chickasaw. A lady
on Chickasha Street, in Chickasha, once was awarded
a Packard car in a prize contest. But the radio an-
nouncer didn't win any new friends for Packard in
Oklahoma when he mispronounced Chickasha twice
in one sentence !
Chico, Calif. Keeps to the Mexican (and Marx-
ian) : "tehee' co."
Chicopee, Mass. Accent the "chick."
Chicot (Arkansas) . The French has been kept:
"shee'ko."
Chillicothe, Ohio. The first two syllables about
as spelled; the third, "kah," accented (but a first-
syllable accent is gaining, among the residents, in line
with the familiar recessive-accent trend) ; the last
syllable, like "the" in "theme." It is the Shawnee
word for "Old Town."
Chiloquin, Oreg. ("The meeting of the wa-
ters.") Accent on the "chill." Rhymes with "pil-
low thin."
48 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Chimacum, Wash. They mostly sneeze their
"ch's" in Washington. Rhymes with "mm a chum."
China Lake, Maine. Bolton says this is locally
pronounced "Chaney." Back in 1791, that way of
saying "china" was given preference by Walker, in
his Critical Pronouncing Dictionary,
Chinati, Tex. Has nothing to do with tea-from-
China. Call it "tehee nah' tee."
Chinook, Mont. "Chin" as in "double chin."
And "nook" (accented) rhymes with "cook." This
is sensible, in that "spook" is the only "-ook" word
which has the long "oo."
Chino Wash (Arizona). Nothing to do with a
laundry. The "Chino" (as with Chino, Calif.) is
"chee' no." A wash is a sort of creek, usually broad
and shallow. Near Flagstaff, there is a Woody
Wash. New Mexico has a Tuntsa Wash (near
Toadlena) which can no doubt be worked into the
conversation at this point.
Chippewa Falls, Wis. Though there is a rela-
tion between this and "Ojibwa," (often pronounced
and even spelled "way"), "Chippewa" has the vowel
sounds of "hip of a," as in "hip of a snake."
Chocorua (mountain, N. H., just three feet
higher than Mt. Greylock). Start with a sneeze,
and accent the "core." Rhymes with "Joe shore
threw a (fit)."
Cibecue, Ariz. "Sibby-cue," rhyming with
"Libby Q."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 49
Cibolo, Tex. ^'See' bo-lo."
Cimarron, Colo., Kans., N. Mex., Okla. Accent
on the "sim," and rhymes pretty well with ^^ grimmer
tone."
Cincinnati, O. The "natty" ending seems to be
approved by the natives; "nah-tee" is not heard,
thereabouts; ''nattah" is "common but slovenly," be-
ing quite general with outsiders (unlike the otherwise
similar "mizoora" for Missouri or "my-amma" for
Miami),
Cincinnatus, N. Y. "Sin-sin-nay' tus." "Every-
body anywhere near here always calls it that."
Clatskanie, Oreg. LIppincott had the accent in
the middle, but latest reports are that the thing
rhymes with ''^cats can die."
Cleburne, Ala., Ark., Tex. "Klee' burn."
Cle Elum, Wash. "Clee ellum" (remember it
by the "slippery ellum" of our childhood). It is In-
dian for "clear water."
Cleves, Ohio. "Kleevz." The nickname "Cleve,"
equipped with apostrophe-and-s, was not however the
origin, but rather the German town of that name.
Clio, Ala., Iowa, Ky., Mich. Rhymes with
"Ohio" (though one brakeman on the Rock Island
has been understood to give it the classical "ee").
Clito, Ga. Observer writes: "Everyone, white,
black, and otherwise, pronounces it 'klee-to,' with
50 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
the same accent on both syllables." But I suspect
the stress is chiefly on the first.
Cloquet, Minn. There is unanimous local agree-
ment that this rhymes with "croquet," even to the
accent on the second syllable.
Cocheset, Mass. Accent on the "chee"
(sneezed).
Cochituate, Mass. Accent on the "chit." Rhymes
with "the very last bit you ate^^ (Oliver Wendell
Holmes).
Cocolamus, Pa. Interesting evolution here. Lip-
pincott had "law' mus," and strangers still say "lah'
mus," according to my observer — who asserts un-
equivocally that "lay" is right.
Coeur d* Alene, Idaho. The most common local
pronunciation is "cur da lane," with accent varying
between first and third. "Core" is heard.
Coeymans, N. Y. Not quite a rhyme for "wom-
en's." Make it "kwee' manz."
Coffeyville, Kans. The "kah" that Mawson
called for is considered an affectation in Kansas. In
fact, throughout America, "kaw'fee" is preferred, as
Freddie Bartholomew found out when he undertook
to be master of ceremonies for Maxwell House.
Cognac, N. C. Rhymes with ''Jog, Mac." But
don't shoot the waiter in the Paris cafe if you pro-
nounce it that way and he doesn't catch on right at
first.
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 51
Cohoes, N. Y. Rhymes with "no toes''
Colchester, Conn. In both England and Amer-
ica, this begins with an accented "coal."
Colcord, W. Va. But here the "col" is as in
"column." And in Colgan, N. D., too.
Colockum, or Colocham (Wash.) Rhymes with
''Go sock 'em!"
Colon, Mich. Like the punctuation mark, this
rhymes fairly well with "stolen."
Colorado. Railroad men venture, too often, on
"ray"; "rad" appears in good company; but "rah"
(rhyming with the o of the first syllable) is popular,
and correct, and might even prevail.
Colosse, N. Y. Like the first two syllables of
"colossal," an expression of mild approval still some-
times used of second-feature pictures in Hollywood.
Concord. In Mass., and N. H., much like "con-
quered." But in N. C, the "ng" is less frequently
heard: usually "con'cord."
Conejos, Colo. The proper rhyme is with "No-
pay dose" (i.e., a dose administered by a quack who
hasn't been paid for a long time). The ; is like h.
However, a collapsed form, "co ness'," is common,
and tourists ring the changes on "Coney Joe's."
Conemaugh (Penn.) "Connie Maw." Near
relative of Connie Mack? The accent has drifted
back from third to first.
52 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Conesus, N. Y. Rhymes with "Oh crease us!"
as the baggy pants exclaimed.
Conger, Minn. Hard g, as in "Congo." Also
in Congerville^ 111.
Conicville, Va. (From the shape of the hill,
formerly "Cabin Hill," on which it is situated.)
"Conic" is almost "comic."
Conimicut, R. I. Rhymes with "so grim a hut"
or "Go rim a putt" or "Go trim a nut" or something.
Conneaut, Ohio. (Indian for "many fish.")
"Connie ought," as in ^''Connie ought to go."
Connecticut. Hardly seems necessary to mention
that this has no "neck-tie." It's "Nettie."
Connellsville, Pa. The double / does not steal
the accent away from the "con."
Conowingo, Md. Start with "con," not "co,"
and hit it on the "wing."
Coos. The approved pronunciation in New
Hampshire, according to Webster, is "ko' ahss." In
Oregon, it rhymes with "loose."
Copalis (Washington). Rhymes with "Oh,
hail us!"
Copemish, Mich. Rhymes, to all intents and pur-
poses, with ^''soap dish."
Copiah (Miss.) Rhymes with "Josiah." (Long
i, accented.)
Coplay, Pa. Soft-pedal the a, as if you were
describing a cop who acted "coply." This is also cor-
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 53
rect for Copley Square, in Boston, but I am told that
cab-drivers there rhyme "cop" with "pope."
Coquille, Oreg. "Ko keel," rhyming with "no
deal:'
Cordele, Ga. Rhymes with "More eelV (the
gentleman is fond of eel) .
Cordes, Ariz. Two syllables. A fair rhyme for
^^board us."
Cordova. Webster says that in Alabama they
stress the "cor." But in South Carolina the accent is
in the middle.
Corinth, N. Y. (Also Vermont.) Accent the
first syllable. "Old residents did call it 'Kerinth','
likewise the railroad employees, which did much to-
ward making it incorrectly pronounced." Query:
were the old residents led astray by too great fa-
miliarity with First and Second Corinthtansl
Corpus Christi, Tex. "Kristy" to rhyme with
''mistyr
Corsicana, Tex. Emphasize the "can." No
longer "kah."
Corydon, Ind., Iowa. Accent the first syllable.
Rhymes with "torrid ^un" as in "She's a torrid 'un"
(i.e., a hot number).
Coshocton, Ohio. The accented syllable is a
"shock."
Cotati, CaHf. (A famous Indian chief.)
Rhymes with "Oh sotty."
54 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Cotopaxi, Colo. (Evidently named for a town
in Ecuador.) Rhymes with "photo-taxi." Stress the
"ax."
Coughran, Tex. "Ko' ran." Does not rhyme
with "foreign."
Coulee City, Wash. Pronounced like a Chinese
"coolie." The Grand Coulee (accented by F. D. R.
on the "ee" but by Webster on the "koo") is liter-
ally a big-dry-river-bed.
Coupeville, Wash. Cheerfully facing facts, my
observer writes that the "coupe" is "just like any
chicken coop."
Covelo, Calif. Unaffected by the Spanish, this
name of Indian origin rhymes with ^^stove below."
Covert, N. Y. Though Lippincott implies that
it used to be "kuv" (as in cover) , it now starts with
"ko."
Covina, Calif. Close enough to Mexico to
rhyme with "Oh Lena!" (accent in the middle).
Covington, Ky. "Coving" rhymes with "loving."
Cowesett, R. I. Rhymes with "Go lease it."
Coweta, Okla. "Co wee' ta." My observer
kindly, if quaintly, adds: "I beheve this to be the
nearest pronouncement as spoken by people here.
It is the name of the town of Indians locating here
when they were removed here from the south east."
Cowiche, Wash. I am happy to report that the
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES SS
whole thing is as funny as it looks. The cow is itchy,
with the emphasis on the "itch.'*
Cowpens, S. C. Colloquially, "kuppens," but it
is no breach of good taste to pronounce it as spelled.
Cozad, Nebr. Webster accents the "zad," but
there is evidence that the stress is already receding
rapidly to the "ko."
Creek. As with "Lawss Anjeleez" (q.v.),
people seem to think this should rhyme with "leak,"
but keep right on saying "crick." At least, that is
the case in Battle Creek, Mich., and Creek Locks,
N. Y., while Rio Creek, Wis., and Caines Creek,
Ky., frankly admit that for them "crick" is correct.
Creve Coeur, Mo. Natives rhyme it with "we
see far," or possibly "fur" where a trace of the
French persists.
Crichton, Ala. Rhymes with "Brighton," as
Barrie's admirable butler did.
Crillon. This Alaska mountain of nearly 16,000
feet rhymes with "Dillon" (French influence lost).
Croatan Sound (N. C.) According to Webster,
just two syllables, rhyming with "no /^«," which was
why the fan dancer got arrested.
Croton, N. Y. Rhymes plausibly with "boatin*,"
but not with Groton (q.v.).
Crugers, N. Y. Hard g, both here and in Cruger,
Miss. There is reason to believe that they come
from German Kruger, "saloon-keeper."
S6 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Cuero, Tex. (^'Leather.") Rhymes usually with
"Karo" : "kway' ro" — or just the a of "care."
Cumi, Ark. The accented syllable is "Q". 'Too
high" is the rhyme.
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Mawson and I had an
idea this rhymed with "try a toga," but Webster
labels that "rarely," and tells us to say "ky hah'
ga." It is unlikely that "hah" will stick; it will either
drop to "haw" or go back to "ho."
Cuyiina, Minn. Rhymes with "guy Luna." Ac-
cent in the middle.
D
Dahlonega, Ga. Lippincott put the accent on
the "nee," but my observer stresses the "Ion," mak-
ing the name rhyme roughly with "harmonica." He
also says the first syllable is "day," but that is hard
to justify unless you are one of those who start
"dahlia" with "day" — as some do.
Damar, Kans. Rhymes with "afar."
Dannemora, N. Y. Accent on the "mo"; rhyme
it with Fanny-Laura, but keep the "ee" sound as
unobtrusive as possible.
Darrouzett, Tex. Rhymes adequately with
"Sarah Brett."
Dartmouth. As in Plymouth^ the mouth col-
lapses into "muth."
Decorah, la. Accent on the second syllable;
rhymes with "fedora," or {W,) E. Borah; named
after an Indian chief whose surname was a corrup-
tion of French De Carrie.
Deferiet, N. Y. Paraphrase Milton's line in
UAlle^ro
How Faery Mab the junkets eat
and you get "De-fairy-et de junkets."
57
58 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
De Kalb, 111. *'Dee kalb"^— "kal" as in "Cal
Coolidge."
Delano, Mont., Pa., Tenn. These are "dell'
a-no," as in President Roosevelt's name. But Cali-
fornia, home state of Hoover, sturdily refuses to
climb on the bandwagon. There it rhymes with "the
Drano:'
Delhi, Colo., 111., N. Y. Just as spelled, rhyming
with ^^Szvell pie." But in India it rhymes with
"belly."
Del Rio, Tex. (Where the Old Spanish Trail
first hits the Rio Grande.) Naturally, "ree-o" —
with Mexico right across the river.
Demund, Ky. The most common version sounds
perilously like "demon"; "dee' mund."
De Pere, Wis. The first "dee" is not slighted,
but the accent falls on the "peer." No trace of
French influence left.
De Queen, Ark. This simplified spelHng was
adopted when it was found that the original Dutch
name, De Goeijen, was becoming nationally famous
as a tonsil-cracker. The Dutchman was one of the
backers of the original Kansas City Southern Rail-
way.
Derby. The traditional "dar" is breaking down
in England, though still preferred by some authori-
ties. As with "leftenant," the British hate to give it
up. In America, "darby" is seldom heard.
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 59
Des Arc, Ark. Rhymes with "sez Clark J^
Deslacs, N. Dak. Generally rhymes with
"relax."
Desmet, Idaho. If Uncle Sam would write it
the way my observer says it should be written —
De Smet — there would be little argument about the
pronunciation. It was the name of a Catholic mis-
sionary to the Coeur d'Alene Indians.
Des Moines, Iowa. Rhymes with "a tofw."
Railroad men tend to accent the first part, calling
it "dee," but this is frowned on. (See Detroit.)
Des Plaines, 111. Now forget what you just
learned about Des Moines. This rhymes with "less
hrainsy It's not really a question of brains, how-
ever; rather, let us say, "less French."
Detroit, Mich. Mute the e and accent the sec-
ond syllable. Avoid "dee' troyt."
D'Hanis, Tex. Three guesses on this one. It's
an old French name, corrupted to "dee hannis."
Diehlstadt, Mo. Still a bit Germanic. Rhymes
with ''steel hat."
Dietrich, Idaho. "Dee' trick," approaching the
German, but stopping short of the gargle.
Disautel, Wash. Sounds like broken English
for "this hotel" : "diss aw-tell'."
Dolores, Colo. Rhymes with "Oh wo, Bess,"
according to Webster. But the average American
60 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
cannot be trusted to keep a full-rounded o before r.
The accented syllable becomes more like "lore."
Doniphan, Mo. Sounds a good deal like "Dono-
van," if you substitute "f" for "v."
Donora, Pa. Put a i in front of "Oh Nora!"
Deny, Ky. Rhymes with "pony."
Dos Cabezas, Ariz. ("Two heads," from a
curious mountain nearby having twin peaks. ) Being
close to Mexico, the "Dos" has a long o; and
"Cabezas" rhymes, about, with ^'abase us."
Doucette, Tex. Keep the French: "doo sett'."
Dowagiac, Mich. Rhymes with "Oh Ma, back!"
Last syllable is plain "Jack."
Dowell, 111. Originally this may have expressed
the pious hope, "Do well," but today the name
rhymes, practically, with "fowl."
Dravosburg, Pa. (Formerly Drawsburg.) To
all intents and purposes, "Dravos" rhymes with
"Davis."
Du Bois. In Pennsylvania, "doo boyce'," rhymed
with voice, is probably the best. In Indiana and
Montana and Wyoming, the "doo" is more likely
to be accented.
Dubuque, Iowa. "Duh biuk." Would rhyme
with "a duke" if everybody would say "diuk,"
which everybody won't, and small wonder.
Duchesne, Utah. "Doo shane" — rhyming with
"too plain" or "Touraine."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 61
Duluth, Minn. Some of our "lu" acrobats
probably say "diu lluth," heaven help them. It's
just "doo looth'."
Dunbar. The Scotch emphasize the "bar" but
in Pennsylvania and West Virginia the first syllable
gets the accent.
Dungeness, Wash. Just "dungeon" plus "ess,"
and accent the "ess."
Dunnavant, Ala. Named after the Irishman
(?) who supervised the construction of the tunnels
on either side of the town, fifty years ago. Possibly
a variant of "Donovan," which is often pronounced
"Dunnavan." Just add a t.
Duquesne, Pa. "Doo cane," rhyming with
"through trains
Duquoin, 111. A majority of the residents, I
am told, say "diu coin," rhyming "diu" with "few"
and emphasizing the "coin." The reason it is not
"doo" is that the town is fairly far south, below
St. Louis.
E
Eastham, Mass. In England and New England,
these syllables are thought of as separate. The
natives, Bolton says, would as soon think of saying
"fried 'um and eggs" as "East 'um."
Eau Claire, Wis. If you know somebody named
Clare, you're all right; just say "Oh Clare V^
Ebro, Fla. (Named after a river in Spain.)
Mix up "Hebrew" and "Negro," keeping the accent
on the first syllable.
Echeta, Wyo. (Indian for "Wild Horse," not
Pidgin English for "The man is dishonest." "Ee
cheat' a."
Ecleto, Tex. At present, a curious mixture of
Spanish and English; rhymes with "See Cato,"
accent on "cay."
Edensburg, Pa. As in "Evans," start off with
a short e.
Edhube, Tex. Evidently named for "Ed Hube,"
whose last name rhymes with "few be" ("Will few
be chosen?")
Edinburg, Ind., Tex., Va. The first syllable
62
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 63
rhymes with "dead" or maybe they prefer ''bed"
or "wed." The "burg" is pronounced as spelled,
without Scotch guttural or bagpipe accompaniment.
Edisto Island, S. C. Accent the ed as In pedestal.
Rhymes roughly with "(They)/^i us sol" (Note
that in ordinary, rapid speech, which Is all we are
concerned with in this book, short i, short ^, and
short w, when unaccented, are so similar as to be
almost indistinguishable.)
Egeria, W. Va. The folks In this farming
community are having so much trouble with this
that I shouldn't be surprised if they changed It. My
observer writes, "A farm-hand would say 'ee-jerry,' "
but indicates that the rest run the gamut from "ee
jeer' ee-a" (Webster's recommendation for the
classical name — which meant, by the way, "back
seat driver") to "ee' gree." For the present, string
along with Webster.
Eifort, Ohio. Rhymes with ^'die fur*t," as In
the patriot's answer to the question, "Do you love
your country?" "I'd die fur't."
Ekalaka, Mont. "Eek'a-lack-a" ; sounds like
part of an old "boom-a-lack-a" cheer. And is It fun
to do on a typewriter !
Ekron, Ky. Must be related to Akron, Ohio,
though I can't prove It. Anyway, "eck."
Elbe, Wash. The German river doesn't quite
rhyme with "Shelby," but this Far West community
does.
64 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
El Cajon, Calif. The Mexican ("chest of
drawers") has been scrupulously kept: "el ka
hone'," rhyming with "smell a honey
El Centro, Calif. Not the Castilian "th"; the
same c as in "central."
El Dorado. The gilded country of mythology
is generally given the Spanish "ah," but in Illinois
and Kansas the name rhymes with "hell-tornado."
Poe's rhyme for it was "shadow," just to be different.
Elgin. The watch city, in Illinois, is "el-jin,"
but in Texas, strangely, the Scottish hard g is pre-
ferred (as in "give").
Elkader, Iowa. Accent on the "ka"; rhymes with
"Well, trader."
Ellinger, Tex. Soft g as in "danger"; accent
on the "ell."
El Paso, Tex. "Ell pass'o" — flat a. Comment
of a native : " 'pah' only for those who have studied
Spanish, and insist upon being queer." A New Eng-
lander reports: "We say 'pay-so'." But when you
say that in Texas, stranger, smile.
El Verano, Calif. Has already largely aban-
doned the Mexican "ah" for the flat a of "piano."
Probabilities are that eventually it will be "ray."
Emaus, Pa. "Probably 70% of the older inhabi-
tants do not talk English, but South German";
however, the preferred version rhymes with ^''tree
moss" ("aw").
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 6S
Encinal, Tex. If I saw a friend fencing and
asked him what he was doing, he might say,
"Fencin', Al." That would rhyme with '^Encinal."
Encinitas, Calif. ("Little Oaks.") Rhymes
with "Fencin' beat us." Apparently one should know
something about fencing.
Engadine, Mich. Accent the first syllable, and
— here, I am told, the natives disagree with the
brakeman — rhyme "dine" with "line." Can it be
that the brakeman has heard Webster's "deen" end-
ing for the Alpine valley after which the Michigan
town was named?
Enroughty. (Excerpt from letter to C. K.
Bolton from the Assistant Secretary of the Virginia
Historical Society.) "A member of the Enroughty
family inherited an estate and was to take the name
Derby ( 'Darby' ) . He was called 'Darby' but signed
Enroughty. The family place, Darbytown, is near
Richmond. They were charcoal burners."
For the sake of those who, by some freak of
intellectual honesty, cannot pronounce Enroughty
"Darby," the accented "rough" rhymes with
"bough."
Entiat, Wash. "En'tee-at."
Enumclaw, Wash. Rhymes with "(I've) seen
'em raw," according to Thorp. Webster has an idea
it starts out the way "enema" does, but Washing-
tonians appear to prefer "ee."
Ephrata. In Washington, accent the "fray";
G(> AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
rhymes with "He delayed a (moment)." But In
Pennsylvania the "eff" is accented, and both a\ are
mute.
Erick, Okla. Webster says "air," but when I
drove through there (literally, as I didn^t even stop)
the young bicyclist of whom I inquired said he
"guessed it was more like ear*^ — pointing to his ear.
The presumption is that either will do.
Erlanger, Ky., N. C. Accent on the "ur"; and
the g is usually sung, as in "paperhanger."
Erose, Ky. Rhymes with ^^free dose." I don't
know whether it traces its ancestry to Cupid or soil
erosion.
Escanaba, Mich. Webster gives the na (ac-
cented) as "naw." But my childhood is threaded
with memories of the "Es-ca-nah'ba" train. And
"nah" is still right.
Escondido, Calif. (Means "hidden.") Like
its relative in Guatemala, it sticks close to the
Spanish: last two syllables are "dee'do," rhyming
with the approved pronunciation of Credo.
Escuela, Ariz. Accent "skway" (long a) to
keep the Spanish ("school"). No "squeal" yet.
Esperance, N. Y. (Archaic for "hope.") Squeeze
it into two syllables, to make it rhyme with "L^'5
dance!"
Estelline, Tex. Rhymes with ''Test a line."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 67
Etiwanda, Calif. Rhymes with "Letta yawned
a (few times)."
Etowah, Tenn. Rhymes with ^^Pet a ma!"
Eureka, Calif., 111., Utah. "You reek-?iV' as the
Italian said when he encountered a skunk.
Eutaw Springs, S. C. Like "Utah," rhymes with
^^few saw."
Eyota, Minn. Separate into syllables : "ee
yo' ta." Originally, it is said, an unsuccessful attempt
to spell "iota," "a very small quantity."
F
Falfurrias, Tex. Rhymes with "(What makes
that) gal curiousT'' Observer mentions that "our
Mexican people give it more Spanish sound" — ^what-
ever that may mean.
Falmouth. As in *Tlymouth/' the"mouth"
lapses into "muth." The "fal" rhymes with "pal."
Accent "fal."
Faribault, Minn. "Fairy-bo" is close enough,
says the head of the EngHsh Department at the
Shattuck School.
Farina, 111. Rhymes with "Dinah," just as the
cereal does in England, though not always in this
country.
Farisita, Colo. Pronounced as if it were founded
by the inventor of the Ferris wheel: "Ferris ee' ta,"
as in the question, "Will Ferris eat a piece of pie?"
Fauquier (county, Va.) "Faw-keer'." Those
who have read Hell on Ice may remember that the
last letter of the great-hearted doctor was addressed
to his family, in Fauquier County.
Fidalgo (island, Washington). Rhymes with
"Did y^/ go?"
68
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 69
Findlay, Ohio. Differs from the traditional
Scottish pronunciation (which rhymes with "thinly")
only in that the Ohio town does sound the d. Maw-
son is mistaken In calling for an unaccented long a
in the last syllable.
Flomaton, Ala. The Flo ma rhymes with aroma,
and the last syllable is the usual ''tun." An erro-
neous long a in the middle sometimes leads to a
facetious accent on "may."
Floydada, Tex. A boy-girl combination; just
"F/o)'i-Ada," Floyd being a little more Important
than Ada.
Fond du Lac, Wis. ("Foot of the lake.")
Usually accented on the "fon." Rhyme it with "ow
a rack."
Forada, Minn. "Ada" was evidently a common
name for the Pioneer Woman (see floydada).
The Minnesota town was named "for Ada."
Forsyth, Mo. My observer writes, "We are
100% on the pronunciation of Forsyth excepting
the Presbyterian minister. . . . He accents the last
syllable instead of the first one."
Frankenmuth, Mich. (Famous for chicken
dinners.) Accent on "Frank"; and "muth" rhymes
with "Ruth," except among some of the oldest resi-
dents, who are German.
Frazee, Minn. Narrow escape here. I thought
70 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
at first it rhymed with "crazy"; on the contrary, it
rhymes perfectly with "daisy."
Fremont. Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wis-
consin accent the "free."
Fresno, Calif. ("White ash tree.") Rhymes
with "5^2 no." My observer writes: "should be
hissed, but in actual usage it is buzzed; we Ameri-
cans make such heavy sounds where possible."
Fried, N. Dak. This keeps the German, and
stays well out of the kitchen: "freed."
Friedens, Pa. This is "free," too.
Friedheim, Mo. The German vowel sounds have
been kept: "freed' hime," rhyming with "seed time."
Friesland, Wis. Still loyal to the German ie^
this is "freeze-land." Then there's a Fries m Vir-
ginia which is also "freeze."
Frijole, Tex. "Free Holy," accent in the middle,
mostly.
Friona, Tex. "Free o' na." "Frio" is almost
always "free'o" in Texas. (See bovina.)
Frontenac, Kans. Like Fond du Lac, rhymes
pretty well with "ow a rack."
Fyffe, Ala. As in "fife and drum."
G
Galata, Mont. The first and third ^'s are mute,
the second flat. Can be rhymed with "regatta,"
(accent in the middle).
Gallon, Ohio. Like the "galleon" of old, rhymes
acceptably with "rapscallion."
Gallipolis, Ohio. (0.0. Mclntyre's home
town.) "Gallop, poHce!"
Gallup, N. Mex. As on a horse.
Galveston, Tex. Has nothing to do with girls
wearing vests. "Gal" gets the accent, and the rest is
just "vest-un." Or rather "v'st'n."
Gambler, Ohio. Rhymes with ^^sham beer"
(i. e., near-beer).
Ganado, Tex. Still close enough to the border
to keep the accented "ah."
Garciasville, Tex. Approximately two whoops
and a holler from the border. Therefore "gar see'
us."
Genesee, N. Y. "Jenny see, oh!" But Jenny's
"knee" is not at all noticeable.
Gannett, Tenn. Pronounced as the girPs name
is (Jeannette, or, often, Jeanette).
71
72 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Genoa, Colo., Nebr. Both accent the "no."
Pronounce as in this question; "Did ja know a fel-
low of that name?"
Genola, Ga. Accent on the o; and the g hard
as in "go."
Genou, Mont. ("Knee.") The French has been
kept; starts with the soft "zh," and rhymes with
"ado."
Gera, Va. Unlike its predecessor in Germany,
this is "jeer' a."
Geronimo, Ariz., Tex. Begins with a ; sound,
and rhymes pretty well with "See Donnie go I"
Gervais, Oreg. The newscasters had a bad time
with this last summer, and small wonder (as Ransom
Sherman would put it), for it^s in a state of flux,
as shown by its nickname, "Gravy." Apparently
"Jarvis" best represents the most common render-
ing, and thus may become the official spelling some-
day.
Geuda Springs, Kans. Hard ^, and rhymes with
the last two syllables of "Bermuda."
Gila (Ariz., N. Mex.) Close enough to Mexico
to be "hee' la."
Gillett. All start with the y sound, and none of
the postoffices have a final e. But Texas and Wyo-
ming accent the "ett," while Wisconsin rhymes the
name with "skillet."
Glady, W. Va. Rhymes with "lady."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 73
Gloucester, Mass. "Glaw-ster" rather than
'*Glah-ster." Glouster, O., rhymes with "ouster,"
however.
Goessel, Kans. In German, GosseL Most peo-
ple rhyme the Kansas town with "vessel."
Goetzville, Mich. My observer calls it "Gates-
ville," the Poles (of whom there are many) say
"Getsfeel," and the brakeman makes it "Goatsville."
And "Goatsville" it will remain, to most people,
until it gets its name changed.
Goffe. (Street in New Haven.) The "Regicide
Judge's" name still rhymes with "doff."
Goliad, Tex. This rhymes with "Oh bedad!"
(accent on the end).
Goltry, Okla. Long o. Rhymes with "poultry."
Gonic, N. H. Rhymes with "tonic."
Gonzales, Tex. "Gon zaFiss," rhyming with
"On Alice."
Goshen, Conn., Ind., N. Y., Wyo. All long o.
Rhymes with "ocean." I have personally investiga-
ted the Connecticut Goshen, having heard the accu-
sation (which proved false) that folks there say
"gosh." Incidentally, it is just outside Torrington,
Conn., whereas Torrington, Wyo., is in Goshen
County. Must be some connection.
Gotebo, Okla. Rhymes with ^^throw the snow."
Gotham. In England, rhymes with "bottom."
In this country, it's a toss-up. Webster and Mawson
74 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
disagree as to whether "goth" should rhyme with
''both," or be pronounced "gahth." Wisconsin pre-
fers the latter.
Gough, S. C. Rhymes with "cough."
Graettinger, Iowa. When Hitler hears about
this, there will be an angry protest. The umlaut has
gone and the g has softened into "j" : "grett' injer."
Gratiot. The accent is on the first syllable. But
in Ohio say "Gray-shot," in Michigan rhyme the
name with "mashie-putt," and in Wisconsin rhyme
it with ''Dash ut!" (profanity).
Greenwich. In England this is still "grin-nij,"
rhyming with an old pronunciation of spinach ( "spin-
nage" ) . The American variant of this, "grennitch,"
and even the English original, are still heard in up-
state New York and in the old Quaker town of New
Jersey, but in Greenwich, Conn., the so-called best
people have not been able to stem the trend to the
spelling-pronunciation: "green-witch." In New York
City's Greenwich Village, the shorter form, "gren-
nitch" is common, partly because it is shorter, partly
because the Village is still, by fits and starts, pretty
arty.
Grinnell, Iowa. Accent the second syllable;
rhymes with "in . . . ." but why risk a libel suit?
Groesbeck, Tex. Rhymes with ''Dose, heck!"
as the small boy exclaimed when he saw castor oil
approaching.
Grosse Pointe, Mich. (Detroit surburb.) Just
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 75
like English gross point. ''Gross," with its deriva-
tives such as "engross," is the only English word in
**-oss" that has the long o.
Gros Ventre (Wyo.) Partly anglicized to "gro
vent'r." Means "big belly."
Groton, Conn., Mass., N. H., N. Y. All are
"grah^ tun," with the possible exception of Connecti-
cut, where "gro" is heard.
Guadalupe (Tex.) The Spanish is slipping:
"gawd-a-loop'."
Guage, Ky. Pronounced just like "gauge"
("gage"), this misspelling has distressingly got it-
self enshrined in the Postal Guide. Even if it is
the way the Scotch and Irish used to spell it, it is
no longer justifiable. The wee hilly-billies have
enough trouble with their spelling as it is.
Gualala, Calif. Approach the Indian, but at a
respectful distance. "Gwah lah'la" should get you by.
Guasti, Calif. "Gwah' stee," rhyming with the
British version of "nasty."
Gueydan, La. Apparently named after Don
Juan: ^^gay Don."
Guttenberg, N. J. This city of 7,000 faces the
situation courageously, calls that first syllable "gut,"
and emphasizes it.
H
Hallowell, Maine. Webster has conferred his
blessing on the somewhat peculiar local version:
''hollow well."
Hamel, Minn. Rhymes gratifyingly with
"camel."
Hamtramck, Mich. The 56,000 who live there
have to choose between the difficult "tramk," in
which the devil usually gets that hindmost k^ and
"trammick." The latter is winning out.
Harbinger, N. C. Like "harbinger of spring,"
this accents the "har" and has the soft g of "pas-
senger."
Harwich, Mass. Nobody says "sandidge" for
"sandwich" ; pronounce "Har-wich," as spelled.
Hassayampa (Arizona). Rhymes with "Sass
a grampa."
Havasupai (Ariz.) At the Grand Canyon, this
is pronounced "Have a 5ow/)-pie."
Haverhill. Usually "hayVrill" in Massachu-
setts and New Hampshire, BBC says "hay'vrill,"
too.
Haverstraw, N. Y. Not like "Haverhill." This
a is flat, as in "haversack."
76
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 77
Havre, Mont. Pronounced as in this expression
of self-denial, ''You can have 'erl"
Havre de Grace, Md. The "Havre" is as
above; the commonest rendering of "Grace" is
"grass," but the long a is catching up with it.
Hawaii. Not just "Hawaiian" with the n
chopped off. "Ah, try me" is the rhyme recom-
mended. Locally, the w often sounds like v^ but the
folks out there like to boast that their written lan-
guage represents perfectly the spoken syllables — so
until they "spell it with a wee" we shall pronounce it
with a w.
Hawarden, Iowa. Ruth Suckow's birthplace is
^^Hay^ warden."
Haworth, N. J. Rhymes with ^^paw worth" as
in "How much is your paw worth?"
Hayti, Mo., S. Dak. You are far from the West
Indies, here: "hay," (as in barn), "tie" (as around
your neck). Haysi, Va., rhymes with it.
Heavener, Okla. Long "ee," as in "I was
heavin' 'er a line."
Heil, N. Dak. Rhymes with "file," as in Ger-
many.
Heimdal, N. Dak. German ei as in "stein" and
"heil."
Heiner, Utah. Again the German ei. Rhymes
with "finer."
Heise, Idaho. The German rhymes fairly well
78 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
with Liza. Idahoans tend to make the second syl-
lable "zee," though keeping the accent on "high."
Heizer, Kans. Again the long i. Rhymes with
"wiser."
Helena, Ala., Ark., Mont., Okla. Stress the
"hell" in these four states. But in Ohio and Mis-
souri "lee" gets the emphasis.
Helix, Oreg. Rhymes with "Felix," (long
ee ).
Hematite, Va. Webster allows both "hem" and
"hee" for the iron ore. But everybody in the Vir-
ginia town, according to my observer, rhymes it
with ^''Emma might."
Henlopen (Delaware). Accent in the middle.
Rhymes with "when open."
Henrico, Va. Authorities agree that a good old
Virginia rhyme for it would be "Men like yo\"
Hereford, Tex. (Deaf Smith county.) The
Hereford is the red steer with white face that you
see everywhere in the southwest. Webster chooses
a rhyme for ^^Nary word," but the tire man there
shortened the first two syllables to plain "her"
(female). He sold me an inner tube that blew all to
pieces, three days later, in Bardstown, Ky., where
My Old Kentucky Home was written. Don't trust
him.
Hettinger, N. Dak. Germany won this con-
test (see graettinger). "Hettinger" rhymes with
"getting 'er," as in "He was getting 'er goat."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 79
Hialeah, Fla. Means "High Prairie," in Semi-
nole, and is pronounced the way an Italian organ-
grinder would say "high lee" : "high-a lee-a."
Hiawatha, Kans., Utah, W. Va. Like "Hialeah,"
starts out with a long "Hi."
Hico, La., Tex., W. Va. Rhymes with 'Why
go?"
Hickory Withe, Tenn. Usually the same as
the preposition "with" (voiced). For the common
noun, Webster gives you three chances: the whis-
pered "with" (preferred), the voiced "with," and
a rhyme for "blithe."
Hidalgo, N. Mex., Tex. Rhymes presentably
with "See Sal go !" The mouth-full-of-potato d which
can still be heard in Spain above the genial noises
of war is not much used in this hemisphere. See
MADRID.
Hindes, Tex. One syllable ; rhymes with "finds."
There's a Hinds County in Mississippi.
Hitchita, Okla. This would rhyme with Wichita
(q.v.) if the Kansas "taw" had not been frowned
on, and an attempt made to replace it with a mute
a (as in Kenosha), The result was, perversely
enough, that most of the natives took to saying
"Hitchity."
Hiwassee, N. C. Both this and Hiwasse^ Ark.,
must be related in some way to "Hiawatha"; all
three start with "high" ; and then the first two rhyme
with "bossy."
80 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Hoboken, N. J. Long o's as in "hobo"; the
major accent is on the first syllable, but the "bo"
gets some attention too. Incidentally, there is a
Hohucken in North Carolina.
Hochatown, Okla. I had hoped that this would
prove to be the original "hot cha town." But
"hocha" rhymes with '^ coach a" ("coach a team").
Hochheim, Tex. (Card from neighboring
Yoakum.) This part of Texas seems to be quite a
German settlement : Lindenau, Nordheim, Westhoff ,
Waelder, Schulenburg, Weimar. So the heim is
"hime"; but the guttural "ch" has been purged, and
the name rhymes with "«o time."
Hoehne, Colo. Card from there : "You seem to
have difficulty in pronunciation of this Irishman's
name. I want to help you. I suggest that you fol-
low the plural of pony^ ponies ; crony ^ cronies. It has
two syllables with rough breathing accent (Greek) :
Ho'nes. . . ."
I hate to confess that this is all Greek to me.
For one thing, the "Irishman" was probably a Ger-
man. I shall have to visit this remarkable place
sometime and see where they get that s from. Till
then, let's rhyme it with "pony."
Holstein, Nebr. In confirmation of Webster's
decision that "steen" is the "popular" pronunciation
for the cow, the Nebraska town is always that way:
rhyming with "5ow/ Queen."
Holyoke. Colorado arid Minnesota see no ob-
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 81
jectlon to "Holy Oak," but Massachusetts rather in-
sists on collapsing it into two syllables: ^^whole
yoke."
Honaker, Ky. Rhymes with ^^stone a cur."
Honea Path, S. C. Webster says it's just
"Honey" as in hives.
Honeyoye Falls, N. Y. "Honey-oy."
Honolulu. Travelers are almost unanimous in
rhyming "hon" with "John" ; but the natives are
sticklers for "ho," and now that newscasters have
adopted it it has a brilliant future.
Hoquiam, Wash. "Ho' quee-um."
Horicon, Wis. Unlike "horizon," accents the
first syllable; "Horic" rhymes with "Doric."
Horine, Mo. Long i; rhymes with ^^more wine."
Hoschton, Ga. The natives say "hoosh-tun" —
first syllable rhyming with "push."
Houghton, Mich., N. Y., Wash. In these states,
"hough" rhymes with "though" : "ho't'n." In South
Dakota, there seems to be some wavering toward
"how," while Iowa, thinking about "cough," experi-
ments with "hoff'tun."
Houlka, Miss. A fifty-year resident writes me
that she says "HooFka" (first syllable rhyming with
pull)^ but that "Hulky" is more common. If she
doesn't know the correct historical pronunciation, no-
body does.
Houma, La. As in the question, "/FAo, Ma?"
82 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Housatonic (river, New England). Rhymes
with *'Moose Masonic" — and if that makes sense
Tm a B. P. O. E.
Houston. From Minnesota south to Texas (in-
cluding Houstonia, Mo.) "hew" is supreme, though
illogical. The English, and many Americans, prefer
"hoo." In Pennsylvania and in the south-east,
"how" [au'\ can be heard. And the New Yorker
reports that in the metropolis it's "house-ton,"
though there is one subway guard who always calls
out, "Hew-ston next." The New Yorker adds:
"People who want off at House-ton Street probably
just ride on by, but after all, right is right."
Hovenweep National Monument (Colo, and
Utah). Rhymes pretty well with ^^rove an' creep."
Hueneme, Calif. Take your choice : "when'a-
mee," "when Amy," "why neemy," "why namey."
If the city fathers will adopt the spelling "Wild
Namey," I will dedicate my next book, Wild Names
I Have Met J to them. In the meantime, the natives
keep on calling it practically everything but "hue-
neem."
Humptulips, Wash. As spelled; accent the "too"
— not "tiu," unless you can manage such monstrosi-
ties as "Stiu-debaker."
Huron. The discovery that this was originally
accented on the second syllable helped me at long last
to get the joke about "What lake are we on?"
"Lake You're ow," etc.
/
lago, Tex. This rhymes with "my Dago.**
Ibapah, Utah. (''Deep waters.") This ends
with the characteristic "aw." Rhymes with ^''Fve a
saw."
Iberville, La. According to Webster, this is
"ee'ber."
Icard, N. C. Rhymes with ''High card."
Iceledo, Ark. Approximately: "icy" as in winter,
"ledo" as in "Toledo."
Ickesburg, Pa. "Ickes" rhymes understandably
with ''Kick us."
Ihlen, Minn. Long i; rhymes with "Hylan."
Iliff, Colo. Rhymes with "high cHff."
Illinois. The French-English compromise is the
preferred form: "noy" rather than "noise." The
same is true of Illinois Bayou, in Arkansas.
The collegiate nickname, "Illini," rhymes with "in
Sinai," or "will /lie?"
Ilwaco, Wash. Rhymes with "Kill Socko I" (as-
sume Socko to be a pugilist's nickname). Or the
"waco" can be pronounced "waw'co" (see SACO).
Ima, N. Mex. Long i, as in "Tm a white man."
84 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Imogene, Iowa. "Immo-jean," rhyming pretty
well with "limousine" (first syllable accent allow-
able).
Inger, Minn. Rhymes with "finger," mostly.
And in regard to what the brakeman says, my ob-
server writes cheerfully, "As soon as we get our rail-
road, we'll let you know."
Ingomar, Miss., Ohio. (Was an Indian chief
celebrated in a German play.) "Ing-go-mar." Ac-
cent first and third, chiefly first.
Interlaken, Mass., N. Y. In Swiss it's "lock"
but in American it's usually "lake." Accent first and
third.
Iowa. A century of controversy boils down to
something like this : the natives like "Fo-way" and
sing about it ("There's where the tall corn grows") ;
but we outsiders are really expected to say it some-
what as in the sentence, "/ owe a dollar." All agree
that the accent is on the first syllable.
Ipswich, Mass. "Ipsidge" is still heard. But
see HARWICH.
Iraan, Tex. Rhymes all right with "Why Don !"
The man who gave this hamlet the official name for
Persia had a bit more imagination than his neigh-
bors; the only other settlement within a radius of
twenty miles is named "Red Barn."
Iroquois, 111., N. Y. The accent wavers from
third to first, brakemen and announcers always find-
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 85
ing It easier to begin loud and trickle off. But the
main thing is the "kwoy." Don't sound the s.
Isaban, W. Va. (Not far from Horsepen, Fish-
trap, and Mouthcard.) Rhymes with " ^Tis a man I"
Iselin, N. J., Pa. Both rhyme satisfactorily with
''sizzlin'."
Ishpeming, Mich. First syllable accent. Rhymes
with ''Dish the king."
Isle au Haut, Maine. When I was there a few
years ago, I understood that everybody said "Eel-
o-ho." But now Bolton assures me that the local ver-
sion Is "111 o' Holt,'''' which would seem to mean sick
of me. I prefer the other, for personal as well as
linguistic reasons.
Isle La Motte, Vt. Near the Quebec border ; but
the French "eel" has not prevailed. Rhyme the
name with ''smile a lot."
Isleta, N. Mex. Webster's version (accenting
"lay") is a Httle more Mexican than the accepted lo-
cal pronunciation: "iss let'ta."
Islip, Long Island. Just as in the well-known
chant, "I slip, you slip, he slips."
Issaquah, Wash. Comes perilously close to
rhyming with "Kiss a squaw."
Issaquena (Miss.) Accent on "queen." Con-
trasts nicely with Assawoman (Va.) In regard to de-
gree of royalty.
Istrouma, La. Sounds like a small boy trying
86 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
to convince his mother that he's not lying: "iss
true, ma."
Itasca (Minn.) The source of the Mississippi,
and the cutter that made a valiant search for Amelia
Earhart, both rhyme with "I ask a (favor)." And
I don't mean "ahsk."
Itawamba (county, Miss.) "Itta" as in baby
talk; "Wamba" as in Ivanhoe (the jester) ; i.e., the
"warn" rhymes with "Tom."
luka, Kans., Miss. Rhymes with "My yoo'ka"
as in "My ukulele."
Izard (county, Ark.) Rhymes with "gizzard."
Izee, Oreg. Just the letters "I. Z." (name of a
ranch), equally accented.
/
Jaite, Ohio. Named for Mr. Jaite (originally
Yaite) who had a paper mill and whose nationality is
as yet a mystery, the place now rhymes with "fate."
Take it or leave it.
Jamul, Cahf. Mexican influence is strong in San
Diego County: "ha mooF," rhyming with "a pooiy
Jarbalo, Kans. Sounds a good deal like a two-
word description of an earthquake : ";<^r below."
Jere, W. Va. Refreshingly, just "Jerry." I sup-
pose somebody named "Jeremiah" got tired of it all.
Jicarilla, N. Mex. Though 170 miles from the
border, this "Httle chocolate-cup" is off the beaten
track, and its Mexican ; has not been "touristified."
Say "hicka-ree-ya."
Job, W. Va. Not a monument to a social phe-
nomenon apparently becoming extinct. This Job is
from the Bible, and rhymes with "globe."
Jochin, W. Va. Joking aside, it's "jokin'."
Joffre, Pa. This calls for AEF French, not
Parisian. Resembles "Jeffrey," except that you be-
gin with "Jaw" instead of "Jeff."
Joliet, 111. (Excerpts from a long and emphatic
letter written me by the head of the high school Eng-
87
88 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
lish Department) "Practically every citizen of six
months* standing pronounces it with the long o. We
of the city know the 'outsider' by his pronunciation
of *Jolly-et/ Railroad officials are either ignorant
or reprehensible if they fail to instruct their brake-
men and train callers. . . . Our annoyance at any
one mispronouncing Joliet turns to resentment when
that one is a railroad brakeman or train caller."
And this leads us to make the modest suggestion that
all such employees be required by law to possess a
copy of this book.
Joralemon (street, Brooklyn). Accent "rah."
Rhymes acceptably with "No Solomon."
Jordan. In Kentucky and Virginia, and even as
far north as Noble County, Ohio, this is usually
"jurd' en."
Joseco, Nev. "Ho sa/ co," they tell me. But
you will be understood if you say "Jo see'co."
Juab (county, Utah) . Two syllables : "joo' ab."
Juan, Ky. Economic royalists and other slickers
may try to put this all into one syllable ("hwan") or
even try to hawk up a Spanish ;', but us mountaineers
rhyme it with ^^true one," the way Lord Byron did.
Juanita, N. Dak. "You and I know" that this
is usually "wa nee' ta" — and North Dakota is no ex-
ception. This is included because I couldn't find the
name Juanita anywhere in the big Webster.
Juniata (Pa.) Rhymes with "Mooney at a
(party)."
K
Kaaterskill (creek, Catskills). Originally
^'kah," now usually "kaw" — including the boys'
camp of that name, in southern Vermont.
Kahlotus, Wash. Accent the "lo."
Kalama, Wash. Sounds like the first three syl-
lables of "calamity."
Kalamazoo, Mich. For those unfamiliar with
the slogan, "Kalamazoo, Direct to You" — this
rhymes, syllable by syllable, with "Sal, a canoe!"
Accent on the zoo,
Kalispell, Mont. Rhymes, raggedly, with "pal
a spell." Accent either first or third.
Kanaranzi, Minn. Rhymes with "fan a pansys
Kanawha. Whether in the Appalachians, Iowa,
or Texas, the correct accent is on the "naw" : "ka
naw' wah," rhyming with "a straw, Ma!"
Kandiyohi, Minn. Rhymes with "(Why is)
Mandy so shy?" (Webster has something different
for that last syllable, but my Kandiyohi correspond-
ent is perfectly positive about the longness of that
last i.)
Kankakee, 111. Rhymes with "gang agree."
89
90 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Kanorado, Kans. (Where U. S. 24 crosses the
Kansas-Colorado Hne.) One resident says the ac-
cented syllable is "rah." But the chances are that if
you say "rad" in Colorado (q.v.) you will say it here
too.
Kanosh, Utah. Rhymes with "M' Gosh!"
Kapowsin, Wash. Rhymes with "a dousin' "
(as with a bucket of water) . Emphasize the "pow."
Karlsruhe, N. Dak. The final syllable of the
German has been chopped off. Just ^^Karl's Roo."
Karlstad, Minn. Accent the first syllable; and
"stad" rhymes with "dad."
Katahdin (Maine). Rhymes with "(His head
was) a-noddin'."
Katrine, Va. Unlike the Scotch lake, this
rhymes with "machine."
Kaweah, Calif. Best usage is, "ka wee' ah."
Kearney. Whether spelled this way, in Mis-
souri, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania, or "ny," in New
Jersey, this rhymes with "blarney."
Kearsarge. This "kear" is not so queer. The
name rhymes with ^^here^ sarge," as they don't say
at West Point when the roll is called.
Keating, Pa. Bolton indicates that this rhymes
with "hating."
Keechi, Tex. (An Indian tribe.) Rhymes with
^^each eye."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 91
Keewatin, Minn. Rhymes with "He fought in
(the war)."
Kenduskeag, Me. The last syllable is as in hard-
ware stores and breweries : "keg." Accent on "duss."
Earlier speHings for it have been Kadeskit and Con-
deskeag. (See AMOSKEAG.)
Keokuk, Iowa. Rhymes adequately with ''''see a
duck."
Keshena, Wis. Rhymes acceptably with "Ga-
lena." Emphasize "she."
Kewanee, 111. Is pronounced as its Wisconsin
relative, Kewaunee, is spelled — accent on the "waw."
Keweenaw, Mich. Rhymes with ^^see me draw."
Keyser, W. Va. Like Reiser^ Ark., Keysor,
Colo., and Kaiser Bill, this rhymes with "miser."
Kiamichi, Okla. Not Japanese, but Indian.
Rhymes roughly with "try a fishy."
Kila, Mont. Rhymes with "Delilah" (long i,
accented).
Kiomatia, Tex. Rhymes with "Try a facial^^^ if
you'll be good enough to forget the /.
Kiowa, Okla. The Oklahoma drawl makes this
sound a good deal like a rhyme for ^'My maw."
However, if the drawl comes hard, pronounce this
like "Iowa" with a ^ in front of it.
Kinard, Fla. Though the name looks to be re-
lated to "Cunard," it rhymes with ^'Dine hard."
Kinde, Mich. Rhymes with "Lindy."
92 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Kineo, Maine. Rhyme "kin-e" with "skinny,"
and then say "Oh."
Kinzua, Oreg., Pa. The two communities agree
surprisingly well, that the final a usually has no part
in the proceedings, and that the whole is two syl-
lables, rhyming with ^^Tin's a (metal)."
Kissee Mills, Mo. Accent on the "see."
Kissimmee, Fla. No luck. This is accented on
the "sim."
Kittanning, Pa. Had hoped against hope that
it would be "kitten-ing," because of the potential
wise-crack — ^but the emphasis is on the "tan," follow-
ing the double-consonant rule.
Kittitas, Wash.
If you've never been to Kittitas
Things have reached a pretty pass.
Kiva, Mich. Rhymes with "Eva."
Klamath Falls, Oreg. This rhymes with "mam-
moth."
Klein, Mont. ("Little.") Rhymes with "fine."
Klickitat, Wash. Just as spelled. Rhymes pretty
well with "pitty-pat" or "kitty-cat."
Knifley, Ky. "Niff-ly," rhyming with "stiffly."
Knippa, Tex. When a mass murder was com-
mitted near here, the newscasters took chances. I
stopped at a Knippa filHng station, and interrupted
an informal boxing match long enough to learn that
the k is pronounced.
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 93
Knoke, Iowa. Pronounce the k. And rhyme
the "noke" with "smoke."
Koch Ridge, Ark. Apparently of German ex-
traction; the German guttural is preferred, but most
people say "Coke."
Kokomo, Ind. Three long o's, accent on the first.
Even the brakemen ("If one could understand a
brakeman!" exclaims my observer) do it this way.
Koosharem, Utah. The accented "share" rhymes
with "fare."
Kootenay. (Also Kootenai^ Idaho.) Rhymes
not badly with ^^Hoot away."
Kosciusko. Outside of Poland — i.e., in Austra-
lia, Indiana, and Mississippi — this has been angli-
cized to, approximately, "cossy-usko," rhyming with
"Ma, see bus go." There's a story about a Brook-
lyn policeman who found a dead horse on Kosciusko
Street, and couldn't phone headquarters about it un-
til he had dragged the carcass over to a street with a
pronounceable name.
L
Lachine, Mich. Exactly parallel with '^machine."
La Crosse, Wis. Just put an / in front of
ross."
Lac Vieux Desert (Mich, and Wis.) According
to a letter from President ElHs of the Wisconsin-
Michigan Lumber Company, this is "Lac Vo Desar,"
rhyming with "Mac, row me far." Apparently an
American variation of the French-Canadian corrup-
tion. Obviously, this does not exhaust the possibili-
ties.
La Cygne, Kans. ("The Swan.") Parallels Ra-
cine (q.v.), even to the long a customarily used by
brakemen to add resonance and dignity.
Lafayette. You probably pronounce this "laffy-
yet," or thereabouts; but in Alabama and Georgia
the accent comes on the "fay," while in Mississippi
and Louisiana you may hear "lay-fay-et." The clerk
at the LaFayette Hotel in Fayetteville, N. C, said
that it should be accented on the "laff," but that "lots
get it wrong." I present him, not as an authority,
but as a material witness.
La FoUette, Tenn. Named for its founder, a
cousin of Senator Bob the Elder, it correctly accents
94
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 95
the ''foil." The French Canadian lumberjacks who
formed much of Old Bob's early support in Wiscon-
sin accented the "ette," of course, but their children
have learned better.
La Fox, 111. I understand that this la is as In
"Oo la la." But see la place.
La Grange, 111. In conversation, rhymes with
"arrange." Orators and announcers emphasize the
la more. It is not a question of correctness, but one
of sonority.
La Habra, CaKf. Accent the "hah." The first
and last ^'s are less important.
Laing, W. Va. Rhymes with "slang."
La Jolla, Calif. Parkyakakas had trouble with
the / of "Jolson," after being painstakingly in-
structed in the mysteries of "La Jolla" ("hoy'' ah").
New Mexica has a La Joya^ also pronounced "hoy
ah."
La Junta, Colo. ("Junction" of two branches of
the Santa Fe : the one from Delhi and Wormington,
and the one from Manzanola and Swink.) My ob-
server, who sends in "Hun" for that first syllable,
differs with Webster, whose "Hoon" rhymes with
"spoon." It is devoutly to be hoped that an agree-
ment is reached before some public-spirited citizen
gets the name changed to Swink Junction. In the
meantime, say "Hunt-a" if you want to be under-
stood in Colorado.
96 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Lake Cicott, Ind.
The brakeman, I'm told, hollers ''Seek-ut"
And that's the way some others speak-ut.
But most of the natives like ''Sy-hit"
So better say "«Sj;-kut" and like-ut.
Lake Mahopac, N. Y. Not settled yet ; but what
you hear most is a rhyme for ^'Dago Jack," accent
on the first syllable, the h unnoticeable.
Lakenan, Mo. This illustrates an unfortunate
tendency among our postoffice pundits. This is not
"la-kee'nan" — don't be ridiculous — it's just *'Lake
Nan." Or look at these: Loneash, Lucernemines,
Mineralking (especially after you've been looking at
Rockawalking). Why not two words, Mr. Farley?
Lake Nebagamon, Wis. ( "Hunting-with-fire-by-
nlght.") But for the final d, this rhymes with "the
vagabond."
Lake Ronkonkoma, Long Island. Accent the
"konk." Rhymes with "on bronco, Ma," except for
that last 0, which is usually squashed into muteness.
Lamar, Colo. Rhymes with "afar."
La Mesa. In California and New Mexico the
Mexican "may" is kept. But in Texas, not only is the
spelling "Lamesa" official, but also the "mee" pro-
nunciation, despite the protests of "the ladies' clubs."
Mesa, and Redmesa, Colo., are "may," and Me-
silla, Ariz., (little mesa) is "may see ya."
Lamoille, Minn. Rhymes with "a boiL^^
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 97
Lamoni, Iowa. My observer reports that the
majority disagrees with Webster. The Itahan in-
fluence is gone. Rhyme the name with "a stone eye.'*
Lampasas, Tex. *'Lamb pass us," with a couple
of good flat ^'s.
Lampeter, Pa. (In the Amish country.) The be-
lief that this derived from a certain "lame Peter"
was jolted by the discovery that there was a village
of Lampeter in Wales, and the realization that early
settlers of that part of Pennsylvania were Welsh-
men (just east of town there lie the "Welsh Moun-
tains"). Anyway, the accent is on the first syllable.
Call it ''Lam Peter."
Lanark, 111. Accented on the first syllable as it
is in Scotland; rhymes with the first two syllables of
"anarchy."
Lancaster. Lean as lightly as possible on the
middle syllable. It's practically 'Hank stir."
Langeloth, Pa. Two syllables : "lang'lahth."
Langlois, Oreg. Rhymes with "Hang boysl"
(benevolent exclamation sometimes heard around
Hallowe'en time).
L'Anse, Mich. Called "lahnce" by most of the
citizens, says my observer. However, a good few
rhyme it with "pants."
Lapine, Oreg. Out of line with some similar
names, this rhymes with "Ah, Kline" (long i).
La Place. In Louisiana, naturally enough, the
98 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
French "plass" (as in "placid") has been kept. But
in Illinois the Anglo-Saxon conquest, not content with
rhyming "Place" and "race," is bent on butchering
the first a. Yes, "lay" is common.
Lapush, Wash. Should be two words, as it is a
corruption of French la houche, the mouth (of the
river) . The la is as in music, the "push" is as in the
subway in rush hour.
Laquin, Pa. This might almost as well be spelled
"Lake Wynn." The brakeman is more likely than
the townspeople to accent the first syllable.
Laredo. Texas keeps the Spanish ^, making the
name rhyme raggedly with "potato." But Missouri
says "ree."
Las Cruces, N. Mex. It is hard to give a rhyme
for "las" without entering into controversy as to the
proper American pronunciation of "grass" and
"loss"; an3rway, "lah-ss" represents it. As for
Cruces^ though the town is only an hour from the
Rio Grande, those who rhyme it with ''''goose chase"
are outnumbered by those who think "?r«^, sis" a
good enough rhyme.
Las Vegas, N. Mex. Vegas is pronounced
"vagues'," as in "I haven't the vagues' idea."
Latah, Idaho, Wash. Rhymes with ''Say^ paw !"
(the "aw" of Vtah),
Lauada, N. C. "Law Ada," with the accent on
the "A." (See forada.)
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 99
Lauderdale. (Counties in three southern states;
and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) As in Harry Lauder's
case, the rhyme is with ^^hroadery The German
[tfw] is incorrect — except in Pennsylvania.
Lavaca, Tex. As in El Paso, the Mexican "ah"
is losing out to the flat a. This usually rhymes with
''ksack o' (flour)."
La Veta, Colo. (A pass here, at 9,300 feet.)
This is not an attempt to spell the Spanish word for
''life" (which is vida) more phonetically. On the
contrary, it is the word for "vein," and in Spanish is
"vay' ta." But in spite of its nearness to the New
Mexican border it is now called "vee' ta."
Lavina, Mont. Rhymes with "a Dinah."
Lead, S. Dak. Rhymes with "bead," because it
refers not to the metal but to a lode or vein; spe-
cifically, "a channel of auriferous gravel" (Web-
ster).
Leahy, Wash. The h is pronounced, the whole
rhyming with "maybe."
Lebam, Wash. Rhymes with "the clam I"
Lechmere (square in Boston). "Leech'meer."
Bolton says, "Even the street-car conductors get it
right."
Lederach, Pa. Americanize to ''Led rock."
Legerwood, N. C. Might as well have been
"ledger."
Lehman, Pa., Tex. Like Governor Lehman and
100 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
the Lehman Caves in Nevada, both of these are
''lee' man."
Leicester, Mass.
I once knew a half-wit named Leicester
Who thought himself quite a young jeicester.
He blew up a school
And said, "April Fool!"—
His conscience will soon start to feicester.
Leigh, Nebr. Same as "Lee."
Leipsic, Ohio. Pronounced "/fp sick." Roll
your own wise-crack.
Leiter, Wyo. (And Leiters Ford, Ind.) German
ei. Just like "lighter."
Leith, N. Dak., Ohio. The Scotch ei is "ee."
Rhyme this with "Keith."
Lemert, Ohio. The "lem" is accented and
rhymes with "stem."
Lemhi, Idaho. "Lem' high." Rhymes with
''Clem, try."
Lemmon, S. Dak. Yes, it's "lemon." So what?
Lemoore, Calif. Named for Dr. Lee Moore,
but not pronounced that way. It rhymes with "the
door''' — and don't spend any more time on the e than
you have to.
Lenapah, Okla. Like "Omaha" and "Wauke-
sha," this ends in "aw." Rhymes with '^Glenna
Shaw."
Lenarue, Ky. As in the previous name, the first
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 101
syllable is accented; and the first two usually rhyme
with ''Glenna."
Lenoir City, Tenn. Like "Lenore," rhymes with
"the doorr
Leominster, Mass. Though the British squeeze
this into two syllables, to sound like "lem-ster," in
New England it is usually '7^mow-stir," like some
fantastic new name for lemonade.
Leoneth, Minn. A combination of "Leonidas"
and "Eveleth," (neighboring town) ; hence accented
on a flat ''on." The town would properly have been
called "Leonidas" because of the Leonidas mine
there; but the postal authorities objected on the
ground that there was a Leonidas in Michigan. So
the folks in Minnesota keep on calling their town
''Leonidas" as if nothing had happened.
Les Cheneaux (islands in Lake Huron) . Means
"The Oaks" but is very frequently referred to as
"The Snows" — a beautiful example of a phonetic
"translation." Those who don't call it this, or "Snow
Islands," generally aim at the French: something
like "lay sh-no."
Le Sueur, Minn. "Best usage" approximates the
French — but inasmuch as it means "sweat" why
bother? It is commonly anglicized to rhyme with
"the brewer."
Leupp, Ariz. "Loop," rhyming with "scoop."
Levan, Utah. Rhymes with "the man'^ This
102 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
is about the way the great Garry, Princeton football
hero, pronounced his name.
Levant, Kans. Rhymes with "the plant, ^^
Levesque, Ark. (Site of a large refugee camp,
in the 1937 Mississippi flood.) Rhymes with "the
desk:'
Leyden. New York rhymes this with "Dryden,"
as in Holland and in physics laboratories. But in
North Dakota everybody says "lay."
Liebenthal, Kans. Straight German: "lee' ben-
tahl."
Liege, Mo. Rhymes with "siege."
Ligonier, Pa. Nothing to do with the American
Legion, though it does rhyme pretty decently with
"brigadier."
Lima, N. Y., Ohio. Rhymes with "I'm a" as in
"Pm a wreck." But not in Peru.
Linary, Tenn. Rhymes acceptably with "finery."
Llano, Tex. Fully 250 miles from the border
(by any sort of decent roads), this isn't even "lah'
no" any longer. It now rhymes with "c<^«-o" as in
"can-opener."
Webster says that the Llano Estacado ("Staked
Plain"), which lies, in a general way, between Ros-
well, N. Mex., and Lubbock, Tex., is "lah'no ess
tah kah' do."
Locklies, Va. As if the man's name were Lockly
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 103
C^ock'lee") and you simply had added an apos-
trophe-and-s.
Lodi, Calif., N. J., Ohio. Though a descendant
of Lodi, Italy, this rhymes with "50 high" in Amer-
ican.
Loesch, Mont. German-Americans with um-
lauts in their names have a real problem on their
hands. Look at Loeh for Lowe. As for the not un-
common German name, Losch, in this country it has
been pronounced "laysh," "losh" (long o), "lesh,"
and "lush." Montana has chosen the last. As in
"luscious."
Lonaconing, Md. Rhymes with "Jonah moan-
ing^''^ and is affectionately known, locally, as
"Coney."
Loneash, Va. "Lone Ash" would be clearer.
See LAKENAN.
Loogootee, Ind. Created, in 1858, out of two
names, Engineer Low of the B. & O., and Squire
Gootee (rhyming with throaty)^ the whole name is
pronounced "lo go' tee."
Lookeba, Okla. My observer would rhyme It
with "Oh see^ Ma !" but I imagine that the analogy
with "look" must be making itself felt. The main
thing is : accent the "kee."
Los Angeles, Calif. L. A.'s leading daily con-
tinues to advocate a "Spanish" pronunciation which
it represents as follows : "Loce Ahng-hail-ais." And
a Boston paper snickers : "We still do not know how
104 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
to pronounce it. But then inlanders tell us that
Bostonians do not know how to pronounce Boston^
A Los Angeles librarian writes me that people
there, almost without exception, when asked about
it, reply, "Well, I pronounce it 'Los Anjelles' but I
know that's not right." The town is largely com-
posed of Easterners who pronounce it any number
of ways. The majority, however, according to my
observer, say "Los Anjelles." Personally, she fol-
lows Charles Fletcher Lummis's recommendation in
a poetic appeal that the "^ shall not be jellified."
Here, slightly paraphrased, is his conclusion :
O long, g hard, and rhyme with "Yes" —
That's how to say "Loce Ang-el-ess."
I have tried valiantly to rhyme "los" with "dose,"
but am more and more convinced that it is high-brow
and unusual. The hard g and the rhyme with "Yes"
are, on the other hand, often heard and are hereby
advocated.
Evidently "Loss" is not unanimously approved as
a nickname, "L. A." being much easier and safer
to say.
Losantville, Ind. Accent on "sant." Rhymes
with "Go plant, Bill."
Los Gates, Calif. The San Francisco area is
hundreds of miles from Mexico, so this rhymes with
"boss sat us" — and I hope you can make more sense
out of that than I can.
Los Lunas, N. Mex. What looks like a mascu-
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 105
line article with a feminine noun is explained by the
fact that reference is to "the Lunas"; i.e., Mr. and
Mrs. Luna and the little loons. It is usually pro-
nounced "lahss loon-us."
Los Molinos, Calif. (Named after the old flour
mills along the Sacramento River.) In Molinos^
keep the Spanish : both the o's long, and the accented
i like "ee." But "loss" has largely supplanted the
"los" that rhymed with "dose."
Los Olivos, Calif. Again the Spanish "ee," ac-
cented. But the "los" is commonly "loss."
Lostant, 111. (Named after the Countess of
L'Ostant, wife of a French minister to the United
States.) Just "/o5? ant" — if ants ever do get lost.
Louin, Miss. Rhymes with Bruin,
Louisburg, N. C. "Lewis" (pronounce the s) .
The same with Louisburg Square, in Boston.
Louisiana. All agree that "an" gets the prin-
cipal accent. But a battle rages over whether "loo"
or "ee" gets the secondary. The feeling Is that
"loozy Anna" expresses the local twist, as in the "Oh
Suzanna" song, while "loo ee' etc." goes best in Tin
Pan Alley lyrics.
Louisville. In Georgia and Nebraska, the s Is
pronounced ; but the better-known Louisville of Ken-
tucky is either "louie-vil" or "loo-a-vil" (the latter
unquestionably to be attributed to the Southern
drawl).
106 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Loup City, Nebr. Thinking, no doubt, of
"group" and "soup," with which it rhymes, my ob-
server remarked, "There's no way of mispronounc-
ing it that I know of." This illustrates perfectly the
reason many communities don't bother to publicize
their own pronunciation. But the fact is that
"Loup" might be "loo," on the "Sioux" analogy, or
it might follow the analogy of "loud" and "lout."
Lowrane, Mont. Rhymes with "no painy
Lowville, N. Y. But, just to be aggravating,
this first syllable rhymes with "cow."
Lucia, Calif. (Near San Jose.) The Itahans
sneeze at this point; but Calif ornians give this a
Spanish slant: "loo see' a."
Ludowici, Ga. (Connected, no doubt, with Lu-
dovico^ Italian for "Louis.") Rhymes with "You
go, sissy." Accent first and third.
Luebbering, Mo. "Luebber" rhymes with
"goober" (peanut). Accent "loo."
Luling, Tex. The accent is on the first syllable,
all right. But Webster makes it "liu" instead of
"loo," whereas in the neighboring state of New
Mexico he encourages us to pronounce Luna "loo'
na." The British have become resigned to "loo" in
words like "alluring" and "lunatic" — why shouldn't
we?
Lurich, Va. The most common rendering of this
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 107
is "loor' ick," paralleling the correct anglicization of
Zurich^ Switzerland.
Lycoming. In New York, says my observer, the
accented syllable is "ko," whereas Webster gives it
as ''kah" for Pennsylvania, almost as if it were, "I
feel a lie coming on."
Lyoth, Calif. Rhymes not badly with "pious" if
you lisp.
Lytle, Tex. Some of the Lytle family still live
in this suburb of San Antonio. It rhymes with
"title."
M
McCrea, La. As In "McLean," the ''ea" is
sounded long a. The name rhymes with "away."
McLeod, Minn., Tex. The Scotch "eo" is like
"ou." Say "Mc Loud."
Mabelle, Tex. Curiously enough, just what you
would expect: "may bellJ^
Machens, Mo. Rhymes with "blackens."
Machias, Maine, N. Y., Wash. Though widely
separated, these are in excellent agreement, that the
"ch" is sneezed, the whole rhyming with "^ bias,''^
Machipongo, Va. Rhymes with "scratchy Con-
go," reminding us of the time the missionaries sent
red-flannels to Africa.
Mackay, Tex. A first-syllable accent, on "Mack,"
is preferred; the rhyme is with lackey.
Mackinac. According to the authorities, this
Indian name may be spelled either "nac" or "naw,"
but must be pronounced "naw." However, a recent
visitor Informs me that on the Island the natives in-
sist on "nack." There is a Mekinock in North
Dakota which may be related. It rhymes with
^^ wreck a clock."
108
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 109
Macomb, III., Mich. "M' comb," as in "Hand
me m' comb,'' is now approved. The "coom" ver-
sion is still heard, especially in folks' names.
Madoc, Mont. Rhymes with "haddock."
Madrid, Iowa, Maine. Not content with accent-
ing Canton and Berlin on the first syllable, Ameri-
cans accent this on the "Mad," making it almost
''Mad rud." The Spanish resembles "ma-thrith'"
(voiced).
Maes, N. Mex. Forget your Spanish for the
moment. This town belonged to Mae somebody.
Mahanoy City, Pa. This is evolving from an
Irish "mah-hah-noy'" to an American version com-
pounded chiefly of long ^'s. But for the present it
is usually accented on the first syllable and rhymed
with ".f/?, a boy!"
Mahtomedi, Minn. Rhymes with "Otto, need
Mahtowa, Minn. Again the "aw" ending when
the accent is on the first syllable; rhymes with ''Bah,
no straw!"
Makemie, Va. Nothing defiant or seductive
about this. Indications are that it rhymes with "ya
lemme" as in "Won't ya lemme do it?" Accent in
the middle.
Makinen, Minn. Accent on "Mack." Rhymes
fairly well with ''backin' in" ("I was backin* in to
the garage"), only end with "en" rather than "in."
110 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Makoti, N. Dak. Rhymes with ''Dakotee," if
you pronounce "Dakota" that way. Don't.
Malad City, Idaho. Does not rhyme with a let-
tuce-and-tomato. Think of "Yo-ho, m'lad, yo-ho!"
Malaga, Ky., N. J., N. Mex. Tin Pan Alley
would probably rhyme this with "Gallagher"; any-
way, the accent is on the first syllable, giving us a
rhyme for "analogous," if you will knock the "an"
off the front and the s off the back.
Maiden, Mass., Mo. The "al" is "awl," as in
"Alden" and "Walden."
Malesus, Tenn. Accent on the "lee." Rhymes,
a bit raggedly, with "a thesis."
Malheur, Ore. ("Evil hour." And Calamity
Creek flows into the Malheur River.) Webster says
"ma loor'," the President of the Woman's Club
"mar your," and most people "maF hur." In all
seriousness, no county should be branded with a
name that is not only inauspicious but unpronounce-
able. My modest suggestion — and it's a very good
one — is that they change the name to Vale County,
Fale being the present county-seat, and there being
no other Vale County in the entire nation.
Malin, Oreg. Rhymes with "akin" and "cha-
grin."
Male, Wash. Rhymes with ''Stay low" C'Get
low and stay low!")
Malpais. This is the southwestern equivalent of
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 111
''Bad Lands," further north. There Is no postoffice
of that name (though there is a Malpie, N. Mex.)
but it is frequently used; for instance, the Malpais
Restaurant in Carrizozo. In ordinary speech it
rhymes with ''Al Price."
Malung, Minn. As in "M* lun^ is affected."
Mamaroneck, N. Y. This name does not derive
from the remark of a man whose mare had lost many
close races : "Give m' mare a neck as long as the rest
of them and she'd win." However, that is the ap-
proximate pronunciation. (Pronounce the accented
syllable "ma" as in mat if you must.)
Manasquan, N. J. Rhymes with ^^ban upon," as
in "a ban upon smoking."
Manawa, Wis. Rhymes with ^^plan a law";
sounds almost like "man o' war" in darky dialect.
Manchac, La. Just "w^« shack" — though there's
more to the place than that.
Manchester, Iowa. In New England, this is
more like "man'ch' st'r," "Chester" being slighted.
But in Iowa, think of "Be a man^ Chester."
Manes, Mo. Rhymes passably with ^^train us."
Manheim, Pa., W. Va. Still part German:
rhymes with ^^tan time" (i.e., summer).
Manistee, Mich. Like "Tennessee," accents the
last syllable.
Manistique, Mich. Rhymes, after a fashion,
with "fan a Greeks
112 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Manitowoc, Wis. Accent first and last; sounds
like "man at a walk." With the appropriate substi-
tution, Manitowish, Wis., is the same.
Mankato, Minn. An older dictionary gives
"kah" for the accented syllable, but the residents
rhyme ''kato" with "potato."
Manomet, Mass. This emphasizes the "man."
Manor, Pa. Almost like "manner." But in
Georgia it rhymes with "Gaynor."
Manteca, CaHf. ("Butter.") Has abandoned
the Spanish. Rhymes with "can peek a (while)."
Manti, Utah. As in the Indian's remark, ^^Man
tie, woman untie."
Mantua, Ohio. Rhymes with ^^Grant you a," as
in ^^Grant you a request," though doubtless "Man-
chaway" can be heard above the clank of skilfully
tossed horseshoes, down by the firehouse. (See
NASHUA.)
Manzanita, Oreg. (Also Manzanita Lake,
Cahf.) Just for a change, this is the Little Apple.
The Spanish accent on the "nee" has been kept, as in
the girl's name, "Anita," but the z is usually pro-
nounced "z" and not "s."
Maquoketa, Iowa. For one reason or another,
the accented syllable is usually "ko" rather than
"quo." The name rhymes with "a poke at a," as in
"Take a poke at a man."
Marais des Cygnes, Kans. ("Swan Swamp.")
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 113
Usually "Merrida Zeen," to rhyme with "spare a
machine" (the -ais being converted into an "uh" that
can be represented by almost any mute vowel).
Marana, Ariz. (From a Spanish word for shrub
or thicket.) Now usually "Ma ran a," as in "Ma
ran a mile."
Maria. Anna Maria, Fla., Maria Stein, Ohio,
{Stein rhymes with fine), and Marias River, Mont.,
all use the accented long i that is characteristically
American. Even Marial, Or eg., rhymes with "a
trial.''
Markesan, Wis. Accent "mark." Except for
the midwestern r, this resembles moccasin,
Mascoutah, 111. A Boston child with a scooter
would refer to it as "m' scoot-a." Accent the "koo."
Mashoes, N. C. "I done los' ma shoes V said
the darky.
Massaponax, Va. Accent pon. It seems the
slaves looked everywhere for the ax, until it was fi-
nally discovered that massa was sitting on it. Or
maybe this is just another way of spelling Nassa-
wadox,
Massillon, Ohio. First syllable gets the accent
in spite of the double /. Rhymes with ''castle on,"
unless life seems too short, in which case the name
can be shortened in various ways.
Matagorda, Tex. Over 200 miles from the bor-
der, this no longer starts with "mah." The name
114 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
rhymes with ''cat afford a," as in, "Can a cat afford
a look at a king?"
Matteawan (asylum, N. Y.) There are Mata-
wans in Minnesota and New Jersey, a Matewan in
West Virginia, and a Mattawan in Michigan. And
they all, like Matteawan^ rhyme with "sat upon.'*
How do you suppose that unhappy e got into Mat-
teawan ?
Mauch Chunk, Pa. "Mock chunk" represents
it, but the sound wavers between "mahk" and
"mawk."
Maumee, Ohio. Rhymes with "Aw gee 1"
Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea (Hawaii).
Far up on Mauna Loa
A dago foun a boa
All stained a *'brown-a gray-a"
With ash from Mauna Kea.
Mavie, Minn. Rhymes with "navy."
Maza, N. Dak. Rhymes with ''Gaze a (while)."
Mazama, Wash. Rhymes with "pajama" — if
you pronounce that correctly ("pa jah' ma").
Meagher (county, Mont.) Neither "meager"
(Mawson) nor "may-er" (Phyfe) nor "mah' her"
(Webster), though the last is warm. My Martins-
dale observer (name on request) writes me that
the county was "named for the gallant General
Meagher, New York society darling, Irish patriot
(and drunk), and is pronounced habitually 'mar,'
but there are certain boobs who want to seem in-
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 115
formed, who get a bit of breath between the ma and
the her.''
Medaryville, Ind. Accent on the "dairy."
Media, Pa. Rhymes with "speedy a" as in "How
speedy a machine is it?"
Medina, Tex. River, lake, county, and village
(near San Antonio) are usually "me dee' na." But
in Ohio and New York the i is as in the name
"Dinah."
Medomak, Maine. The accented syllable, "dom,"
rhymes with "Tom." The mute e and the mute a
are just about indistinguishable.
Megargel, Tex. Accent on the "gar." As the
child remarked, "Me gargle with Listerine" (advt.) .
Mehama, Oreg. The accented syllable of this is
"hay." I wish there could be a law requiring these
-ama places to get together. (See mazama.)
Meigs, Ga., Tenn. Also Fort Meigs, Ohio, and
Mount Meigs, Ala., — all rhyme with "legs."
Melbeta, Nebr. Rhymes with "Well, eat a
(peach, or something)."
Melones, CaHf. ("Melons." Gold found here
was in the shape of melon seeds. With character-
istic modesty, the promoters gave the place a name
which would imply that the nuggets were as big as
melons.) Present usage wavers somewhere between
the three-syllable "Maloney's" and the two-syllable
"Malone's."
116 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Memphremagog (lake, Vermont). "Mem-fre-
may'gog," rhyming with "empty gray dog."
Menands, N. Y. Rhymes with "the sands''
Menan, Idaho, also accents the last syllable.
Mendocino, Calif. Shows its Mexican heritage;
the accented "ci" is pronounced "see."
Meno, Okla. Rhymes with "Reno."
Menoken, N. Dak. Accent the "men." Sounds
like a perfect, though somewhat unconventional,
plural for "manikin."
Mercedes, Tex. (About five miles from the Rio
Grande.) Pretty Mexican. Accent "say." You'll
be understood if you rhyme it with "pervade us," but
a little more "air" in the first syllable and more of
a long a in the last would be less "gringo." Merced,
Cahf., accents "sed" and rhymes with "her bed''
Merepoint, Maine. (On the end of a long finger
sticking out into Casco Bay.) There's Trundy Point
and Pemaquid Point and Bay Point and Small Point
— and Merepoint. Why not "Mere Point," Uncle
Sam? Or should I say Uncle Jiml (See pena-
BLANCA.)
Merino, Mont. Accent "ree."
Mesaba, Minn. Rhymes with "We roh a
(bank)." (Don't emphasize the we.) The Mesabi
range, in the same state, rhymes with "the lobby."
Mescalero, N. Mex. (Indian reservation about
100 miles from the border.) "Mess ka la/ ro."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 117
However, in rapid speech, the ero commonly sounds
much like "arrow."
Meshoppen, Pa. As in "I haven't done m' shop-
pin' yet."
Mesita, Colo. Rhymes satisfactorily with
"Anita."
Mesquite, N. Mex. Two syllables; much like a
short form for "mosquito," "mes-keet^"
Metaline, Wash. Rhymes with ^''Get a shine."
Methow, Wash. The preferred pronunciation
is ^^Met how" as in this conversation: "We met yes-
terday." "M^fhow?"
Methuen, Mass. Best usage would rhyme this
with "Beth, you an' " ("Beth, you an' I go"). The
main thing is to put the accent in the middle — in this
country.
Metuchen, N. J. Accent on "tutch." Rhymes
with "the scutcheon."
Metzger, Oreg. "Metz' gur" (the "ger" as in
"tiger").
Mexia, Tex. This is considerable of a town.
Yet it has not only failed to throw off its allegiance
to Mexico (nearly 400 miles away) — it still pro-
nounces the X like an h — but it prides itself on accent-
ing the xi and calling it "hay" ! Which is not Mexican
or anything else. For the present, say "me hee'a."
Miami. The owner of a newspaper in the Flor-
ida city told me, "Only the very wealthy said 'mee
118 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
ah' mee,' and there aren't any of them any more.'*
The choice In rhymes is, then, between "Why dam-
mee !" (accent on the dam) and "My Gramma" (ac-
cent on the "gram"). And the feeling seems to be,
not only in Florida, Oklahoma, and Arizona, but
also in Miamishurg^ Ohio, that "mee" is correct but
that "muh" is more common. Somewhat as in Mis-
souri (q.v.), we outsiders usually end with "mee"
whereas the genuine Cracker gets a little tired, and
drawls "muh."
Micawber, Okla. Hoping against hope (see
mikado) that the local gentry had invented some
preposterous mispronunciation for this, I wrote and
asked. But they knew their Dickens too well for
that. It's "mick aw' bur." Its population (some-
what under 100) indicates that it is still rather wait-
ing for something to turn up.
Michigamme, Mich. Preferably "mish-i-gah'
me," rhyming with balmy. It also rhymes with
"Sammy," among the — shall I say? — "unwashed."
I'd better not. I wash occasionally, but I don't al-
ways remember to say "gah' me."
Midale, Mont. This is ''My dale." You can
have the other dale.
Mikado, Mich. Hold your breath. This is not
"mick ah' do" but "my kay' do," all the vowels long.
Mikkalo, Oreg. This rhymes with ''strike a
blow."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 119
Milaca, Minn. Rhymes with "will crack a
(safe)."
Millard, Utah, Va. Rhymes with "Willard"
(first-syllable accent).
Mina, S. Dak. Rhymes with "Dinah."
Mineola, Long Island, and Tex. "Minnie-o' la."
Minneiska, Minn. (Not the result of a collision
between Minnesota and Nebraska ; they are not ad-
joining states.) "Minnie iss' ka" is correct, by all
the rules of logic, but a good many — perhaps a ma-
jority— make that accented syllable "ess."
Minonk, 111. Either "min onk'" or "min unk',"
following the analogy of either "conk" or "monk."
The first is preferred.
Miramar, Calif. ("View the sea.") Rhymes
with ^^steer a car."
Miramonte, Cahf. (A surname; but means
"View a mountain.") Accent the "mon"; rhymes
with "beer upon tray."
Misenheimer, N. C. The German ei. The name
rhymes with "wisenheimer."
Mishawaka, Ind. Rhymes with "fish-a talk-^,,^^
as the Italian remarked when the whale spouted.
Missoula, Mont. The double s gets the z sound,
as in "Missouri" : "m' zoo' la."
Missouri. The consensus among my observers
is: college-bred people tend to rhyme it with jury^
especially in St. Louis, where the "uh" ending is con-
120 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
sidered "careless"; even the hissing sound may be
heard along with the "jury" ending, from the kind
of people who use the "eye" sound in "either" and
"neither" ; but these hissers are likely to be "Yankees
from outside." Most of the natives, in both Mis-
souri and Kansas, say "mi zoor' a."
Mobile, Ala. About equal accents on the two
syllables (depending on the rhythm of the sentence) .
Rhymes with "low heel."
Moclips, Wash. Rhymes with "wo hips."
Modena, Mo., Pa., Wis. All rhyme with "Oh
Lena!" (accent the "ee"). I understand that the
Pennsylvania town wants its name changed to "Pa-
perville," which would of course be more musical and
distinctive.
Mohave (desert). This used to be spelled with
a ;, but evidently got tired of being called "mo-jave,"
to rhyme with "no shave." The Mexican version
rhymes with a Bostonian's question to a druggist,
"No salve^ eh?" but the unaccented last syllable is
rapidly becoming "vee."
Moiese, Mont. At present this is called "mo
eez'."
Moira, N. Y. Rhymes with "Go hire a," as in
the old sneer, addressed to some long-winded com-
plainer, "Go hire a hall."
Molina, Colo. (Named for an old grist mill.)
The Spanish-speaking founders of the place doubt-
less called it "mo lee'na." Then came a layer of to-
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 121
bacco-chewing pioneers who liked to rhyme it with
"Dinah." Now, thanks to the Woman's Club and to
higher education, the pendulum is swinging back to
"Lena."
Moline, 111. The "ine" as in "machine" or "ma-
rme : mo leen .
Molino, Mo. This rhymes with "no Reno."
Mollenauer, Pa. Usually pronounced "ww// in
our," as in "You can't mull in our garden." People
who mull in gardens are a positive menace.
Molokai, Hawaii. Rhymes satisfactorily with
"oh so high," accents on first and third.
Moneta, Calif. Here again (see loup), "There
seems to be no way in which this name can be mis-
pronounced." Yet an educated Mexican would in-
stantly call the accented syllable "nay"; and the
fact that the town is well south, near Los Angeles,
would make the average outsider lean towards the
Mexican version. However, "mo nee' ta" is correct.
Monie, Md. Rhymes with "Oh try !"
Monocacy, Md., Pa. Except for the first syl-
lable, a perfect rhyme for "democracy." In other
words, emphasize the "nock."
Monongahela, Pa. Main accent on the "hee."
Secondary on "nong."
Monson, Mass., Me. Sounds more like "Mun-
son" than a rhyme for "Bronson."
Montague, Tex. Most people and places of this
122 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
name make it three syllables, with the accent on the
"mon." But in Texas, accordiing to Bolton, the
"tague" is thought of as rhyming with "Sprague";
and is accented. Rhyme the name with "John
Monte Ne, Ark. ("Coin" Harvey, the founder,
figured this meant "mountain water." Anyway, Ne
is "water" in an Indian dialect.) Usually "Mon'tee
Nee" — though "nay" is fairly common.
Montesano, Wash. This rhymes with "On the
train^ oh."
Montevideo, Minn. South of the Rio Grande,
it's different. But here's a triplet in honor of Min-
nesota :
Up north in Montevideo
A guy called "Don the Giddy-o"
Married some old widdy-o.
Monthalia, Tex. Don't let the classical pronun-
ciation of "Thalia" upset you. The accented syllable
is a lisper's version of "say"; and the whole rhymes
with "(Did) Don fail Y^r
Monticello. The ItaHan is "chello," and that is
probably what Jefferson called it. But "sello" is
generally preferred now; for instance, at the Monti-
cello Hotel in Charlottesville.
Montier, Mo. Rhymes with "(Is) Don here?"
Originally, I suspect, it was more like "frontier," be-
fore Recessive Accent got in its deadly work.
Mook, Ky. Rhymes with "spook."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 123
Moraga, Calif. Though in the San Francisco
area, this keeps the accented "ah" of the Spanish.
Morales, Tex. Complaining that he didn't get
to see his girl-friend Alice enough, the boy said that
he wanted "more Alice^
Moriches, Long Island. Sounds like "more
riches^'' — which can be represented another way.
Morstein, Pa. Like an ungrammatical request
for another stein of beer. Emphasize "mor."
Moscow, Idaho. Only easterners pronounce the
"cow" dairy-fashion. The name may start with
either "mah" or "maw," but the last syllable must
rhyme with "slow."
Motorun, Va. Both o's are long. Pronounce it
as in "Make Mr. Moto run."
Moultrie (Ga., 111., S. C.) ''Mole tree" seems to
be generally preferred, though "moo" and "mool"
are still heard, especially in the Charleston area.
The family name was not originally equipped with
an /.
Mount Croghan, S. C. Rhymes pretty well with
"floggin-."
Mount Desert, Me. Accented on the last sylla-
ble, like the verb "desert" rather than the noun.
Moweaqua, 111. (Scene of a mine disaster.) If
you leave off the /, it rhymes with "no equals
Moxee City, Wash. At present the accent is on
the ee» But the insidious rhythm of the double
124 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
"Moxee City" will play hob with the accent, and
eventually, I think, bring forth a rhyme with "foxy."
Muenster, Tex. My observer says it ranges
from "minster" (the best) to "monster" I It will
probably settle down to "munster."
Mukilteo, Wash. Rhymes with "Buckle Leo.''
Muleshoe, Tex. Unlike "Ravenshoe" ("raven's
hoe"), this is just what it appears to be: "mule
shoe."
Mundelein, 111. Rhymes with the Boston pro-
nunciation of "underline." Accent the "mun."
Munising, Mich. The "mew" is emphatic as in
cats. Imagine a girl named "Muna" (there is such
a name), and then "Let Muna sing."
Murtaugh, Idaho. "Murt' aw."
Muscatine, Iowa. Accent on the last syllable.
Rhymes with "Gus, marine."
Muskegon, Mich. Accent the "kee."
Muskogee, Okla. (Also Muscogee, Fla., Ga.)
Hard g as in "geese" — rhymes with "us go see."
My observer writes, "I am told the Indians once ac-
cented the last syllable, and pronounced it *jee.' "
N
Naches, Wash. Accent on the "cheese" ; rhymes
with "a hreezey But Port Neches^ Tex., rhymes
with "wretches." (See NATCHEZ.)
Nacogdoches, Tex. Silence the g. Rhymes with
"pack o' roaches."
Nahant, Mass. The first a is obscure, the second
gets the accent. OHver Wendell Holmes works it
in thus:
The shining horses foam and pant,
And now the smells begin
Of fishy Swampscot, salt Nahant,
And leather-scented Lynn.
Nanafalia, Ala. Accents on "nan" and "lie."
Rhymes with "Manna, Maria!" as the man from
the deep Bible Belt exclaimed when he first saw snow.
Nandua, Va. Rhymes with "and you a," as in
"He called me a , and you a ."
Nantahala (mountains. North Carolina). Means
"land of noon-day sun." Accent the "hay." (Yes,
the mountaineers rhyme it with "gaily," but we don't
have to follow suit. The last a should be mute.)
Napa, Calif. (Famous for glove-leather.) Pro-
nounce it as in "iV^p a while."
125
126 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Napavine, Wash. Rhymes with ^''snap a line."
Naponee, Nebr. (And Nappanee, Ind.) First
and third syllables accented about equally; rhymes
with "tap a tree."
Nara Visa, N. Mex. If you say "paradise-a"
(hanging an obscure a on the end) , you have a satis-
factory rhyme for "Nara Visa."
Naselle, Wash. Rhymes with "Mabelle"; i.e.,
with "pray telV^ ; hiss the s,
Nashua, N. H. Somewhat as in lowa^ when the
natives have their store-clothes on they mute the final
a\ but at other times the homespun long a still seems
altogether desirable; perhaps there is in it somehow
the music of a distant cowbell or the evening song
from the frog-pond. The contrasting rhymes are
with ^''cash you a" and '''cash away," as in the follow-
ing fantastic conversation: "May I cash you a
check?" "C^5/iaway."
Nassawadox, Va. Another illustration of the
accented a pronounced "aw." Rhymes with "Massa
saw box."
Natalbany, La. (By derivation, probably had
something to do with barbecued bear meat.) The
local pronunciation is said to be "Talbany" (just t
plus Albany, N. Y.) and to have been in use for over
a hundred years. However, you will not be the guest
of honor at a lynching party if you put a "Nat" in
front.
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 127
Natalia, Tex. Accent on aL But for the final
w, it would rhyme with "battalion."
Natchez, Miss.
There was a young belle of old Natchez
Who tore all her garments to patches.
When comment arose
On the state of her clothes,
She drawled, ''When Ah itches, Ah scratches."
— Ogden Nash, in Saturday R. of L.
Natchitoches, La. The natives like "nackitosh,"
same vowels as "mackintosh."
Nathalie, Va. Commonly sounds like "nattily,"
but the h may be heard in the best circles.
Nathrop, Colo. Long a^ as in the common sur-
name, Lathrop,
Natick, Mass. Rhymes with '^may tick." ("It
may tick, and then again it may not," said the man
as he picked his watch up off the floor.)
Naturita, Colo. Accent on the "ee." Preferably
rhymes with "Catcher, eat a (piece of pie)," but
commonly with "Batter, eat a (etc.)." This varia-
tion is in line with the rustic "natterally" for "natur-
ally."
Naugatuck, Conn. Rhymes with ^^saw a truck"
— and I don't mean ^^sore a truck."
Naughright, N. J. "Naw' rite" ; rhymes with
''jaw bite."
Nauvoo, 111., Ohio. Take your choice on the ac-
128 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
cent: "naw-voo." But recessive accent will probably
bring them into agreement, someday, on the first
syllable.
Navarino, Wis. Accent on "ree." Rhymes with
''Have a Beanoy
Navasota, Tex. Rhymes with "Have a quota^
Navesink Hills, N. J. "Navy sink" and "Never
sink" are not to be taken too seriously; the pre-
ferred rhyme is with ^^Have a drink."
Necedah, Wis. Accent on "see." Rhymes,
about, with "Miss Freda."
Neches, Tex. See naches.
Nehalem, Oreg. Rhymes with "we nail 'em."
Neihart, Mont. Keeps the German. Rhymes
with "m)' heart."
Neligh, Nebr. Rhymes with "freely."
Nemadjee, Minn. Rhymes with "them hadgey^^
as in "Goering likes them hadgey^'' (referring to uni-
forms with lots of decorations).
Neodesha, Kans., Okla. Uncle Noah will be in-
terested to learn that natives of both these places
repudiate the "shah" ending given in the dictionary.
The primary accent is on "shay," the secondary on
"oh." Rhymes with "We know the play^
Neopit, Wis. Rhymes with "We hope it."
Nescopeck, Pa. Made the headlines in an em-
bezzlement case, and got itself pronounced all sorts
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 129
of ways over the radio. Rhymes with ^^Bess, go
neck" (accenting the first).
Nespelem, Wash. Rhymes with *'Le's deal 'em."
Netawaka, Kans. "Netta walk a," as in "Make
Netta walk a while."
Neubert, Tenn. The German would have an
"oi" in it. But this rhymes with "Hubert."
Nevada. The accented a is usually flat, as In
Alabama^ though "nevahda" Is also authorized. The
town In Iowa, I regret to say, rhymes with "a blade
o' (grass)."
Newagen, Maine. This, I am told. Is "new-
wagon," Implying that the "wag" gets the emphasis.
New Almelo, Kans. The principal accent Is on
the "ahl," in Holland, and the same in New Almelo,
except that the Kansas Al is a bit flatter.
Newark. Both New Jersey and Ohio admit that
the two syllables are pretty well squeezed into one.
Ohio prefers "noo" to "niu" ; and on that point not
even the WOR announcers are In agreement.
New Athens. See Athens.
New Baden. See baden.
New Braunfels, Tex. Keep the German \^au] :
rhymes with ''''town smells," as in "The town smells
just wonderful."
New Bremen. See Bremen.
Newfoundland, N. J., Pa. Up north, where It
all started, the "land" Is accented. But the dog,
130 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
wandering far from its place of origin, came to be
accented on "found"; and the same with the New
Jersey and Pennsylvania towns.
New Orleans, La. Accent on the "leenz" is
definitely wrong, being heard chiefly in Tin Pan Al-
ley. "N'Yawlins" represents pretty well what you
hear in the Deep South. Just a concise form of "niu
or' lee-unz."
New York. Easterners dislike the Western r in
''York," on the ground that it makes "York" sound
like a yodel from a large frog; a fair representa-
tion of the Manhattan rendering is "N'Yawk" (not
"yoik" — the 33rd Street "oi" is a massacre of er^
not of or) . Meticulous people, like certain radio an-
nouncers, say "niu."
Nezperce, Idaho. The old-fashioned pronuncia-
tion, which approximated the Indian, was something
like "nip Percy." But now it usually rhymes with
"i^z worse," as in "My little brother sez worse
things than yours does."
Nicut, Okla. Rhymes with ''My cut."
Niobe, N. Y. (Originally Brokenstraw.) The
residents agree with the specialists in classic mytho-
logy, that this rhymes with ''My oh me !"
Niobrara, Nebr. ( "Running Water." ) Maybe
the Indians said "nee," but the long i is now estab-
hshed. A rhyme for it : "Guy O'Hara."
Nipinnawasee, Calif. ("Home of the deer.")
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 131
Accent the "waw.". Rhymes with "Flip in a saucy
(remark.)"
Nisqually, Wash. Rhymes with ''Miss Crawley.''''
Nisula, Mich. (Finnish name.) Rhymes with
^^miss you lah," as in "I'm going to miss you lots."
Nocona, Tex. Rhymes with "Go phone a (po-
liceman)."
Nogales, Ariz. People out there rhyme it with
"no palace."
Nopeming, Minn. Accent on "pem." Rhymes
with "Joe Fleming."
Norfolk, Mass., Nebr., Va. Few favor pro-
nouncing "folk" like "folk." Most favor an unac-
cented u or o. But in Nebraska the proximity of
the "North Fork" river leads to a widespread ren-
dering of "Norfolk" as "Norfork."
Northome, Minn. Though it doubtless means
"North Home," go cockney on the second /?, and say
''North 'ome."
Notre Dame, Ind. Though Webster is not yet
fully convinced, this rhymes with "voter came."
"Only visitors now give the place its French pronun-
ciation," say the residents.
Nounan, Idaho. Accent "now." The "ou" is as
in "noun."
Novi, Mich. Rhymes with ''go by."
Novinger, Mo. The accented "nov" is as In
132 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
''novel," and the "inger" rhymes with "cringer,"
one who cringes.
Nowlin, S. Dak. Rhymes with "bowlin' " as in
"bowlin' alley."
Nuangola, Pa. ''Noo Ang go' la." The orig-
inal intention appears to have been New Angola.
Nueces (river, county, Texas). Much like "new
way^ sis," only squeeze the first two syllables to-
gether.
Nuevo, Calif. Again, make the "nue" as much
like one syllable as possible: "noo-wa/vo."
Nuriva, W. Va. Starts out with ''noo," and
rhymes with "you drive a," as in "You drive a hard
bargain."
Nyando, N. Y. (By derivation, neither Indian,
African, Italian, nor Greek. Give up ? N. Y. & O.
Ry. — New York & Ottawa.) Rhymes with "buy
land^ oh."
0
Oahe, S. Dak. (Sioux for "foundation.") This
four-letter word has three large and resounding syl-
lables: ''oh ^/^ hay."
Oahu, Hawaii. "Wah' hoo." Or spread it out
into three syllables, "o ah' hoo." Webster likes the
latter.
Oasis, Calif. Rhymes with "Go ^way^ sis." The
first-syllable accent allowed in the dictionaries is not
heard in any places of that name in this country.
Oberon, N. Dak. Rhymes with ^'over on (the
table) ." Or may be shortened to "Oh' brun."
Ocala, Fla. Sounds like the beginning of "O*
Callahan." Accent caL
Occoquan, Va. (Narrowly escaped being on
U.S. One.) Accent in the middle. Rhymes with
"(Does) Pa ^«ow, John?"
Oceana (county, Mich.) Don't be misled by
what the dictionaries say about Harrington's Utopia
of that name (accent either "see" or long "a"!)
When in Michigan say "Oh, she Anna^
Ochelata, Okla. Sneeze the ch, and rhyme the
whole thing with "Oh, we hate a (quitter, or what-
ever we do hate)."
133
134 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Ochoa, N. Mex. I am told that the ch is sneezed
and the a is silent, making the name rhyme with
''No, Joe."
Oconomowoc, Wis. Rhymes with "Go yon^ a
slow walk."
Octave, Ariz. (Mining camp.) Rhymes with
''Sock Dave."
Odanah, Wis. This is "Oh DanaV Accent in
the middle, on the long a,
Odebolt, la. Rhymes with "Throw the colt."
Accent first and third.
Oelrichs, S. Dak. In best usage, rhymes with
"droll tricks." But "Ulricks" is common.
Oelwein, Iowa. Again the umlauted o has be-
come long o. Cut off the d from "old wine."
Oenaville, Tex. But here the o sound is entirely
lost:"ee'na."
Ogeechee, Ga. Rhymes with "Joe Beacheyy
The g is hard as in "geese."
Ogema, Minn. (Compare Ogemaw County,
Mich.) Another illustration of the final "aw" in a
three-syllable name accented on the first. This
rhymes roughly with "toga^ maw."
Ohio. A common mispronunciation is "Ohia."
Ojai, Calif. Just "O/^, high!"
Ojibwa, Wis. In Missouri this is spelled Ojih-
way. Another spelling is Chippewa^ for the same
Indian tribe — and that, too, is often topped off with
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 135
a 'Vay" sound. Yet Wisconsin's Ojibwa rhymes
with "Go ^Z^ a (little)."
Okabena, Minn. Rhymes with *'Soak arena !" —
imaginary order Issued before a bull-fight, the Idea
being to lay the dust.
Okanogan, Wash. Rhymes well with ''no to-
boggan."
Okaton, S. Dak. First syllable accent. Oka
rhymes with Coca (Cola),
Okemah, Okla. Rhymes with ''Go see^ Ma," as
the boy remarked to his famous Pioneer Mother.
Okemos, Mich. This, unfortunately, Is different.
It rhymes with ^^ smoky joss" (I.e., a burning joss-
stick). All right, you try to find a more appropri-
ate rhyme for the "ahss" sound — "silly ahss" barred.
Oketo, Kans. Same accent and vowel-sounds as
"Toledo."
Oklee, Minn. Rhymes with (if I may coin a
word) "brokely" — i.e., like one who is broke.
Okmulgee, Okla. Rhymes with "soak dull geese"
— If you can forget the "se." Same with Ocmulgee,
Ga. (See muskogee.)
Olathe, Kans. Rhymes with "no faith a," as In
"no faith a-tawl."
Olean, Mo., N. Y. (Derived from Latin oleum^
oil. ) Rhymes with "Holy Ann I"
Ree-a."
Oliverea, N. Y. Accent on "ree" : "Oliver
136 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Olmstead, Ky. (Also Olmsted, Minn.) Both
rhyme with ^^bomh dead." In line with our policy of
"The customer is always right" — even if you pro-
nounce "bomb" "bum," no harm is done, as the pro-
nunciation "um' sted" is also allowed.
Olney, III., Tex. This is "aWnee." But Olney-
ville, R. I., rhymes with Toneyville.
Olyphant, Pa. Take the "Oli" of "Oliver" and
paste it in front of the "phant" of "elephant."
Olyphic, N. C. Rhymes with "prohfic."
Omaha, Nebr. Accent the o, and wind up with
"haw," not "hah."
Omak, Wash. First syllable accent : ''Oh, Mac."
Omemee, N. Dak. ("Flying pigeon.") Rhymes
with "so dreamy,''^ and sounds like rehearsal time in
a Singing Academy.
Onalaska, Wash. Might be the name of a col-
lege song of the "On, Wisconsin" type: "On,
Alaska."
Onawa, Iowa. ("Wide Awake.") This is simi-
lar to "Ottawa" in vowel sounds and accent: first
syllable accent, and a concluding mute "a" (or even
"aw") . To quote my observer, "Even the most am-
bitious brakeman hasn't been able to destroy the mel-
ody of this Indian word." But Til bet he says
"On'away." That's the way they spell it in Michi-
gan.
Oneida. In spite of seize and neither ("nee-
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 137
ther" to most Americans), this name, found in nine
widely separated states, keeps the long "i." Ac-
cent it.
Onekema, Mich. Still unsettled; rhymes with
*'Go neck a Ma" or 'Throw the key, Ma." Best of
all, accent the o and say the rest under your breath.
You'll have to spell it out in any case.
Oneonta, N. Y. Rhymes with "Row me on a
(while)." But the brakeman often converts ''ta"
into "tee." And in Alabama, both ow's are flat.
Onondaga, Mich., N. Y. The first three vowel
sounds are usually about the same, the fourth being
obscure. The accented "dah" is, however, often pro-
nounced "daw."
Ontonagon, Mich. I have heard the accented
na pronounced "naw" all my life (the ancestral lum-
ber company owned timber there).
Oolite, Ky. Not three syllables, the way it
should be, in references to rock that resembles petri-
fied fish-eggs. The Blue Grassers rhyme it with
''You might."
Oostburg, Wis. The Dutch touch, long o, has
been lost. The "oost" now rhymes with "roost."
Opelika, Ala. Usually rhymes with "Papa
strike a (match)."
Opelousas, La. Accent first and third, making it
rhyme, roughly, with "Papa Whozis."
Ophiem, 111. There's an Opheim in Montana,
138 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
pronounced in the German way, to rhyme with ^^Stop
crime." In Illinois, the original was doubtless Op-
heim too, but some ignorant people pronounced the
ei "ee," perhaps, so the spelling was changed. And
now everybody there calls it "OA feem" !
Opolis, Kans. When it grows up it's going to be
"metropolis." But the accent is on the "op" already.
Oraibi, Ariz. Rhymes with "no ivy^ But surely
you didn't expect ivy in Arizona.
Oriskany, N. Y. Rhymes with "so brisk a knee."
Oriva, Wyo. Rhymes beautifully with Lady
Godiva (preferably long t as in "Go dive a while").
Orofino, Idaho. The Spanish has been kept;
rhymes with "Morrow-Reno."
Orono, Maine. (University of Maine.) As in
the sentence "Let Ora know."
Oronoque, Conn. Rhymes with "Pour a Coke."
Indications are that the accent is receding from the
third syllable to the first.
Orosi, Calif. It means "Gold? Yes!" and
rhymes with "Oh wo, Lee," or, popularly and more
commonly, with "Oh «o, suh" (compare Cincinnati,
Miami^ Missouri) . The s is hissed.
Orsino, Fla. Accent the "see," as in "Casino."
Osage. The accent here depends to some extent
on the following word; if it is a monosyllable or is ac-
cented on the first syllable, Osage is likely to have
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 139
the first-syllable accent too. In fact, the first-syllable
accent is gaining all along the line.
Osaka, Va. The literati here know that It should
be ''Oh' sock-a." But hoi polloi like "Oh say ka"
(almost as in "Oh say can you see?") better than the
Japanese version.
Osakis, Minn. Sounds like "Oh say^ kiss!"
Osawatomie, Kans. (John Brown's home
town.) Some authorities call for "ah-sa," but the
local citizens give the accepted pronunciation as
rhyming with "gross anatomy."
Osceola. In Nebraska and Florida and Pennsyl-
vania, it rhymes with "Flossy-Lola"; in Iowa and
Louisiana, the first o is often long. But everywhere
the accent is on the second o.
Ossian, Iowa. The "sh" has been lost some-
where. Just "oss'n" as in "Ossining."
Osteen, Fla. "Oh steen," with about equal ac-
cents.
Ostrander, Minn., Ohio. Long o. Rhymes
with ^^snow sander."
Oswayo, Pa. ("Many Waters.") Starts with
"ah" and emphasizes the "sway."
Oswego, N. Y. "Ah swee' go."
Otero, Colo. Rhymes with "no Karo^ Purists
make the "tay" quite long.
Otowi, N. Mex. The Indians appear to accent
this on the first o; the rhyme, ^^photo free."
140 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Otsego, N. Y. Rhymes with "got me go," as in
"Now you've got me going."
Otselic, N. Y. Rhymes with "shot Felic" (i.e.,
the singular of "Felix").
Ottumwa, Iowa. The "tum" is emphasized
(fashion note) . Start with "ah" and end with "uh."
Ouachita, Ark. Hold your breath. This sounds
like ^Wash it all" — if you can forget the two Vs.
Ouray, Colo., Utah. The native calmly says
"you-ray," in spite of Webster's quite logical "oo-
ra/."
Outagamie (county. Wis.) Accent on "gam";
rhymes with "Clout a mammy." A Lawrence pro-
fessor (whom Webster should have consulted before
recommending "oot") writes me that "the citizens
are almost unanimous. . . ."
Ovid, Mich., N. Y. Rhymes with "TVo bid." A
boy in the New York town told Mr. Bolton that
"only highbrows say 'ah' vid.' " Nevertheless, "ah'
vid" is correct in references to the Roman poet.
Oviedo, Fla. The Spanish color has faded. This
rhymes, now, with "Go see^ Joe."
Owaneco, 111. Accent on "wah." Rhymes with
"Throw Bonny o" as in "Throw Bonny over."
Owasippe, Mich. Though a "wah" accent is
sometimes heard, the usual arrangement is as in
"Mississippi." Rhymes with "know a Skippy^
p
Pachuta, Miss. Accent "chew." The name
rhymes with "a Jew ta" as in ''How do you expect a
Jewtk like Hitler?"
Paden, Miss., Okla. (Also Paden City, W. Va.)
All rhyme with "laden." (See baden.)
Padena, Ga. Rhymes with "Galena"; i.e., two
mute d's with a "dee" between them.
Padroni, Colo. Properly, should rhyme with
"bad crony^'^'' but there is a tendency, among the na-
tives, to change the "ee" sound to a mute ^, as in
Orosi or Miami. The fact is, according to my ob-
server, that the founder's name was actually Pad-
rona.
Paducah. Kentucky is careful to call it "diu" (al-
most "joo"). "Doo" is used in Texas. In both
states the middle syllable is accented.
Pagopago. The native pronunciation is "pango-
pango," and that spelling should therefore be pre-
ferred. But surely when it is spelled "Pago" you
may pronounce it "pah' go." A parallel case is
JehoL You don't have to pronounce it "Ra-ho" un-
less it's spelled "Raho."
141
142 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
• Paisano (peak near Marfa, Tex.) The blonde
waitress in the hotel of that name, in Marfa,
couldn't pronounce it at all, but the brunette (part
Mexican, perhaps) gave it, correctly, as "py sah'no,"
rhyming with "My Ma no" as in "My Ma knows
best,*' expression constantly heard on the lips of chil-
dren, bless their little hearts. Incidentally, paisano
means both "peasant" and "pheasant," and yet the
two English words are not etymologically related.
Palls, Va. No London influence here. Just
"Paul's." Something vaguely depressing about it,
though.
Palo Alto. Though I heard an announcer, on
Election Night in 1932, speak of a certain gentleman
in "Pay-low Alto," two cards from California insist
that "Palo" rhymes with "sallow"; true also of
Pennsylvania and Texas, but not of Virginia, where
it is "Pay'low." This long a is likewise correct in
Palo, Iowa and Michigan.
Palo Duro (state park, Texas Panhandle) . The
Walgreen cashier in Amarillo agreed that the "pal"
was flat as in Palo Alto (q.v.) In conversation the
general effect is "palla-doo'ro," with the o of "Palo"
breaking down into a mute a,
Palomar, CaHf. ("Pigeon-house.") Accent on
"pal." Rhymes with ''shallow bar."
Palo Pinto, Tex. Webster recommends "pay."
But Bolton joins me in the conviction that the "pal"
is practically always flat, in Texas.
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 143
Palouse, Wash. Rhymes with "a moosey
Pamlico, N. C. Rhymes with ''Family go!" as
the youth exclaimed when told that he and his bride
were to be accompanied, on their honeymoon, by the
entire family.
Pamunkey (river, Virginia) . This is almost too
easy: hang a /? on the front of "a monkey."
Pana, 111. "Pay'na," rhyming with "Dana."
Pantego, N. C. Emphasize "tee."
Paola, Fla. Accent in the middle. Rhymes with
"Say Lola!"
Paoli, Ind., Pa. No trace of ItaHan left here,
either. This rhymes with "stay holy^
Parlett, Ohio. The heroine of Gone with the
Wind had two ^'s but usually a first-syllable accent.
This Ohio town has the more logical accent, on the
"lett."
Parowan, Utah. (Piute for "water.") "Pah'
ro-an," a good deal like ^^Borrow^ Ann."
Pascagoula, Miss. Rhymes with 'Xask o*
Boola,'^ which, as is well known, is the New Haven
word for "whisky."
Pasche, Tex. Pronounced as in: "Some pashy
love-letters were introduced as evidence."
Paso Robles, Calif. Authorities and residents
differ, varying from "pa-so' ro-blus" to a rhyme for
"Mass, oh nobles." Though Webster gives "pah'so
144 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
ro'bless," I prophesy that the flat a of El Paso and
the analogy with "nobles" will prevail.
Passapatanzy, Va. This rhymes with "Glass up
a pansy^^ — which means, obviously, to transplant a
pansy into a greenhouse. The "glass" referred to,
incidentally, rhymes with "gas."
Pass Christian, Miss. Nobody down there says
"Christian" in the normal way. Make it three syl-
lables, with the accent on the an. French influence.
Patchogue, Long Island. Rhymes with "catch
hog" (accents about equal). There is a difference
of opinion, just as in "hog," as to whether it is "ahg"
or "awg"; but Webster's long o is definitely wrong.
There is a Pachaug in Connecticut, pronounced much
the same.
Paton, Iowa. Rhymes with "Dayton."
Patzau, Wis. My Patzau correspondent makes
it "pat' zoo." It seems unlikely to me, as an observer
of trends, that this will prevail over "pat' zaw" — if
only because the latter bears less resemblance to a
sneeze.
PauUina, Iowa. Evidently a slightly warped
spelling of Paulina^ and a relative of Pauline, It is
pronounced "paw Lena^
Pavia, Pa. Stress the "pay." Rhymes with Ba-
tavia.
Paxinos, Pa. Rhymes with "Jack's sinus," as in
"Jack's sinus is troubling him again."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 145
Pecos, Tex. Close enough to the Mexican bor-
der to rhyme with ''stay close" (hissing s). Among
the natives, the trend is toward "peck" rather than
"peek."
Peedee (river, S. C.) Like the initials "P. D."
In North Carolina the same river Is called the Yad-
kin. For a self-respecting river, there would seem to
be little choice.
Pegram, Idaho. Rhymes with ''we scram."
Don't swallow the ^, the way some folks do In "pro-
gr'm" and "telegr'm." Or do they?
Pejepscot, Maine. Rhymes with "the pep\ hot."
Pekin, 111. As with Canton and Berlin, Amer-
ica has transferred the accent to the first syllable:
"peek' in."
Pemaquid, Maine. Rhymes with "Emma did."
Pembine, Wis. Rhymes with "them whine"
("I'll make them whine!"). However, Pembina
County, N. Dak., follows the accented "pem" with
a short "bin," and even, according to Webster, may
top It off with an "aw," as do Omaha and W aukesha.
Penablanca, N. Mex. (This Is the postoffice
spelling for this town near Santa Fe — why not "San-
tafe," Mr. Farley? — but my observer writes it Pena
Blanca.) Correctly, "pain'ya," as in "What am I
pain-ysi for?" But commonly "peen'ya." And will
eventually, I expect, be "penna" or "peena."
Penalosa, Kans. (Originally, "Peiia Losa," a
146 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
sort of flagstone.) Rhymes with "Senna? No,
suh," as the colored druggist replied when asked if
he would recommend senna for a toothache.
Pen Argyl, Pa. Argyl rhymes with a cockney
pronunciation of Vergil: "var' jill."
Fend Oreille (county, Washington, bordering on
Canada). Still French in general effect: "pon-da-
ray," rhyming with "on the way^
Penelope, 111. and Tex. The better-informed
residents accent the "nell," as if the name rhymed
with "Then shell a pea." But a common rendering
in Illinois is "penny-lope." Need I say that this is
frowned on by the Woman's Club ?
Pengilly, Minn. Hard g. Rhymes with "when
sillyr
Peniel, Tex. (Biblical, but not the Biblical pro-
nunciation.) Rhymes with "w^w smile."
Peosta, Iowa. Rhymes with "we ahst'a," as in
this Boston conversation: "How old is she?" "We
ahst'a, but she wouldn't tell."
Pepin (lake, Minnesota, and county, Wiscon-
sin). Webster says "peppin," but the residents like
"pippin."
Pepperell, Mass. In spite of the double /, the
emphasis is on the "pep" ; and the middle e is almost
silent: "pep'rel."
Pequaming, Mich. The accented a is "aw" as
in "Chicago." "Pequaming" rhymes with "she
chawming," as in "Isn't she chawmingV^
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 147
Perdido, Ala. The residents say "pur deed'o,"
while Webster rhymes the river with "Fido." It
means "lost."
Perkasie, Pa. Hissing s. Rhymes, but not very
smoothly, with "jerkily."
Perote, Ala. Rhymes with "(Look what) he
wrote!"
Perrine, Fla. Rhymes with "^ir line."
Peruque, Mo. (This spelling is cock-eyed. The
English word is "peruke," the French perruque.)
Like "peruke," this rhymes fairly well with "a
spook.''
Pescadero, Calif. Rhymes with Mescalero
(q.v.). My observer, refreshingly non-purist, rec-
ommends that the "der" rhyme with "care," remark-
ing that "day'ro" is "probably the best usage, only
nobody does it."
Pewamo, Mich. This is usually "pe waw'mo"
—the a of "Chicago."
Pfeifer, Kans. Don't use the p. Say "fifer,"
rhyming with "lifer."
Pflugerville, Tex. Again the German p is spur-
los versenkt: "flooger-ville."
Pharr, Tex. Though practically on the banks of
the Rio Grande, this is "far," as it would be any-
where else.
Phelan, Calif. Named for Senator Phelan, but
there is no Irish left. Just "feeFan."
148 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Philippi, W. Va. In spite of the long i of the
common Biblical pronunciation, and in spite of Web-
ster's emphasis on "lip" (based, no doubt, on the
double p) — my information is that this rhymes with
^^Grill a pea." As if a boy named "Philip" should be
feeling "Philip-y." In Tennessee, "Phillippy" does
the same thing.
Piasa, 111. Another example of a first-syllable
accent with an "aw" ending (see WAUKESHA).
Rhymes with ^^Buy a straw."
Picabo, Idaho. Bolton says this is "peek' a-boo."
Anyway, the accent is on the "peek."
Picacho, N. Mex. Close to the Mexican: "pee
kah'tcho."
Pierre, S. Dak. "Peer." Only non-residents at-
tempt to preserve the French pronunciation. The
same with San Pierre^ Ind.
Pillager, Minn. Soft ^. Same as "one who pil-
lages."
Pima, Ariz. The i as in "poHce" : "pee' ma."
Pineda, N. C. Not like "Mineola" or even "pi-
anola" : "pine-ola," the "pine" rhyming with "fine."
Piniele, Mont. "Pie neel'," rhyming with "my
heei:'
Pinon, N. Mex. There should be a whozis over
the first w, but Uncle Jim Farley doesn't allow that
any more than he does an apostrophe in things like
Dobbs Ferry. However, the pronunciation is still
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 149
very hot tamale : ^'pln yone,''^ rhyming with "intone."
Piqua, Kans., Ohio. The fastidious (and Web-
ster) say "PickVah," the ordinary, "PickVay," and
the brakemen, "Pickaway." To help prove it,
there's a Pickaway^ W. Va., and a Pickaway County
in Ohio.
Piscataway, Md. Rhymes with "(Don't) hiss
^/^^^a-way." I suspect a relationship with the Pis-
cataqua river, in New Hampshire, and Piscataquis
County, in Maine — both accented on the "cat."
Placer (Calif.) Also Placerville, Calif, and
Colo. All derive from placer mining, and rhyme the
word with "passer" (Bostonians please note that I
refer to a flat a) . One of these Placervilles used to
be known as Hangtown, because of vigilante activi-
ties.
Plaistow, N. H. "Plas'to," rhyming with "Glas-
gow."
Planada, Calif. Not Spanish. Nothing to do
with Canada. Its name used to be Geneva, but there
were fifteen others, not counting Geneva-on-the-
Lake, Ohio, so they changed it to a made-up name,
"to be different from any other in the United
States." The middle a is flat and accented ("add"),
the other two ^'s are nondescript.
Plaquemine, La. ("Persimmon.") Webster's
Frenchy version ("plack-meen"') is not confirmed by
W. A. Read, who indicates that the local pronuncia-
150 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
tion is usually "plack'a-mun," rhyming with ^Hack
a gun."
Plattsmouth, Nebr. You're outside New Eng-
land now, so don't skimp : "mouth," not "muth."
Plymouth. In spite of the American tendency to
pronounce as spelled, this still follows its historical
shortcut: "plim' muth."
Poinsett (county, Arkansas). I made a detour
through here when U. S. 70 and U. S. 64 were both
under six feet of Mississippi flood-waters. It rhymes
with ^''coin yet," as in "I have a coin yet."
Pokegama, Minn. Rhymes with "No leg^ aha I"
as the detective cried when he found the torso in the
trunk. My observer says that Long-Distance gen-
erally gets the accent wrong. (See MEHAMA.)
Pompano, Fla. Accent on the "pomp," the a be-
ing mute. Named after a rare and expensive fish,
which tastes much like other fish.
Pompeii, Mich. A lady who heard a broadcast
of mine wrote me that the natives say "pompey-eye."
Most outsiders would rhyme it with "Bombay" (sec-
ond syllable accent) .
Ponce de Leon, Mo. Almost as many versions
as there are residents. The Spanish has a "th" in
there, while the Mexican ce is "say"; the ^'s are
sometimes long ^, sometimes "ee," and sometimes
(the first one) silent; the o's are either long or short.
Best usage, I understand, in Missouri involves the
Mexican ''say," and a rhyme for ^'Bone^ eh? Kay
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 151
may groan.'*'* But Webster's angllcizatlon of the ex-
plorer's name, rhyming Ponce with nonce and Leon
with peon^ seems logical enough.
Ponchatoula, La. ( May signify "hanging hair,"
probably in reference to the Spanish moss — ^which
was originally nicknamed, by the French, "Spanish
beard.") The "ch" is sneezed, and the rhyme is
"Don a hula (skirt)."
Poneto, Ind. No Spanish here : "po nee'to."
Pontchartrain (lake near New Orleans). For-
get the French. "Pontchar" rhymes with "rahnt-
cher," as the Bostonian pronounced it on arriving at
a dude ranch. Oliver Wendell Holmes celebrated
the lake thus:
Where summer's falling roses stain
The tepid waves of Pontchartrain
Portales, N. Mex. This rhymes with "bore
malicey (See nogales.)
Port Angeles, Wash. Very like the usual pro-
nunciation of "Angelus" ("j" sound). But see LOS
ANGELES.
Portola, Calif. To quote Nellie Van De Grift
Sanchez — and if she isn't at least tri-lingual there's
nothing in a name — "Many original signatures of
this famous explorer (discoverer of San Francisco
Bay) are extant, showing conclusively that the ac-
cent was on the last syllable — 'Portola.' " The town
Is too far from Mexico (it's north-west of Reno,
Nevada) to keep this accent forever, but it's still
152 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
heard. For most of the residents, Victrola furnishes
a satisfactory analogy.
Potecasi, N. C. Accent on *'kah." Rhymes with
'*dotty posse."
Potosi, Mo. Rhymes neatly with Orosi (q.v.)
even to the extent of frequently drawling its "see"
out into a "suh," by analogy with Missouri.
Poughkeepsie, N. Y. This has been drastically
shortened, the "keep" to "kip," and the "pough" to
a bare closing of the lips : "puh kip'see."
Poulan, Ga. Sounds like "Poland" without the
d. Evidently the long o sound of "canteloupe."
Poulsbo, Wash. As Weary Willie, seeing some
small lakes in the distance, said to his fellow hobo,
''Pools, bo."
Poway, Calif. (Indian.) Three guesses. . . .
Rhymes with ''Now try."
Powcan, Va. Evidently the Indians liked the
sound of "Pow!" as in Krazy Kat cartoons. This
rhymes with "cow ran."
Powhatan. Everywhere the pow rhymes with
how. And in most places the accent is on the first
and third; but in Ohio an accented hat is, according
to my observer, more common.
Pownal, Vt. Though this is British, not Indian,
the pow is the same as in the preceding. The trouble
here is with the accent. A surprising number of tour-
ists get it wrong. Even with his double /, Governor
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 153
Pownall of the colony of Massachusetts accented the
pow, just as we do today.
Prague, Okla. One syllable; long a. Rhymes
with Sprague, plague. The Hague.
Prairie du Chien, Wis. The word for "dog" is
pronounced "sheen" here; the name rhymes with
"married a queen." An old pronunciation of "prai-
rie" (something like "pe-rair-a") that was ridiculed
by Dickens in American Notes is pretty well out.
Prairie du Rocher, 111. Though the elite, I un-
derstand, approximate the French, the younger
element rhyme the whole thing with "married a
poacher."
Preble ( County, Ohio) . Rhymes with "pebble."
Presho, S. Dak. Starts out like "pressure."
Then think of "Presto."
Presque Isle. ("Almost an island.") French
influence is still strong in northeastern Michigan,
where this rhymes with "desk meaV^ (i.e., the tradi-
tional business-man's lunch). In Maine, however,
the "isle" rhymes with "mile."
Prevost, Wash. (On Stuart Island, near Friday
Harbor.) Rhymes with ^^free toast."
Primes, Pa. Just "Prime us."
Protivin, Iowa. (A Czech name.) Accent on
the "pro" (properly "praw"). Rhymes with
^^bought a pin."
Pueblo, Colo. A common mistake is to start
154 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
out with "Pew!" The first syllable is "poo-eb,"
pushed very close together.
Puente, Calif, Rhymes pretty accurately with
"twenty." It means "bridge."
Puget Sound (Washington). Here we have an
emphatic "Pew!" "Puget" rhymes with the English
pronunciation of tempus fugit — like the first two syl-
lables of "fugitive."
Pulaski. In Indiana, Michigan, New York, and
Webster, long i is indicated. But in several other
states, and in Polish, the rhyme appears to be with
"few ask me" or "do ask me" — the flatness of the
a depending on the speaker's pretensions to cultchaw.
Punxsutawney, Pa. "Punk-soo-taw' ney." Af-
rectionately known as "Punksey."
Puposky, Minn. Apparently to steer clear of
"pup," this starts with "pew": "pew pah' skee."
Purmela, Tex. Rhymes with "her squeal a," as
in, "When I stepped on her foot, I made her squeal
a bit."
Puyallup, Wash. (Siwash for "Snow River.")
Not "poo-yal" but "pew-aF." Rhymes with "few
gallop."
Pyrites, N. Y. The approved rhyme for the
"mineral which strikes fire" is with "my nightiesy
And my information is that most people in the New
York town do it that way, though some rhyme the
first syllable with heer.
Q
Quaitso (Indian tribe, Washington). Sounds
like the ultra-British way of saying "Quite so"; i.e.,
rhymes with ^^ great show."
Quanah, Tex. Rhymes with the last two syllables
of "Madonna."
Quasqueton, Iowa. "Kwas' kwe-ton," rhyming
with "G«5 anon."
Quay (county, New Mexico). Unlike the word
meaning "wharf," this "kway" rhymes with "hay."
Quietus, Mont. (Webster: "that which quiets,
calms, or extinguishes life or activity.") No camou-
flage here ; it is pronounced just like Webster's word :
rhymes with "Why cheat us?"
Quilcene, Wash. "Quill seen," as in "Where
was my quill seen last?"
Quincy. The colonial pronunciation, "quinzy,"
has been retained in Massachusetts, but nowhere
else. From Florida to California, from Illinois to
Washington, all other Quincys report the logical
hissing s.
Quitaque, Tex. "Kit' a-kway," rhyming with
''Git away!"
155
156 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Qulin, Mo. "C^/^, Lynn!" to rhyme with
*'puHn' " (considered to be the favorite indoor sport
of infants).
Quogue, Long Island. Rhymes with neighbor-
ing Patchogue. Just "kwawg."
R
Racine, Wis. Properly, rhymes with "machine,"
but the brakeman says ^^Ray seen," as in "Has Ray
seen my new book?"
Rahway, N. J. "Raw' way," not "rah."
Rainier. (The old dispute as to the name of the
mountain has been settled by making it Mount
Tacoma in Rainier National Park.) A poll of one
hundred Tacoma students as to the accent in Rainier
(on which authorities disagree) revealed that a
small majority favored the last syllable : "ray-neer'."
Raleigh. As in Rahway, the "aw" pronunciation
is preferred to the "ah," in North Carolina and
neighboring states, though the British tend to say,
quite flatly, "rally" — as those who saw the play,
"Journey's End," may remember. It rhymes, there-
fore, with "Crawley," except in North Dakota,
where "Polly" gets the call.
Ramah, Colo. (Biblical, "a high place." Near
Pike's Peak.) Rhymes with ''hlame a" ("I wouldn't
hlame a fellow.")
Ramon, N. Mex. See raton.
Randado, Tex. (In Jim Hogg County, about
157
158 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES .
thirty miles from the Mexican border.) Keeps the
Mexican "dah" : "ran dah' do."
Raphine, Va. (Derived, believe it or not, from
the needle of a sewing machine.) The a is long,
illustrating the same trend as in Racine, It's "ray
feen'," rhyming with "stay c/^^w."
Rasar, Tenn. "Razor" represents it.
Raton, N. Mex. ("Mouse.") Like Ramon,
rhymes with alone. Similarly Boca Raton, Fla.,
which means "mouth of a mouse," rhymes with
"Poke a Malone."
Raub, Ind. German influence gone. Rhymes
with "daub" ("aw").
Rauchtown, Pa. (This German-English combi-
nation implies that the town is smoky.) The gut-
tural "ch" is gone and the German \_au\ (as in
"out" ) is going. People call it "Rock-town." Maybe
they would do well to change it to that ; there aren't
any others.
Ravalli, Mont. Rhymes, properly, with "a
rally, ^^ but there is an unfortunate trend, among the
inhabitants, toward "Ray Valley."
Ravenna, Nebr., Ohio. Short e, accented, as is
to be expected from the double consonant. Rhymes
with "a henna''' ("a henna shade would be nice").
In contrast, Ravena, N. Y., rhymes with "Galena."
Rea, Pa. The pronunciation is "Ray," according
to the superintendent of schools, Mr. Ray Beam.
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 159
And that's enlightenment for you ! The same "ray"
in Rea^ Mo., Rhea^ Ark. and Okla., and Rhea
County, Tenn.
Reading, Pa. By analogy with "heading" and
"spreading," the common pronunciation of Reading
as "red-ding" can be justified. Only Michigan thinks
of It as "ree-ding."
Readlyn, Iowa. Rhymes with ''^feed bin."
Realitos, Tex. Every postoffice but two (Freer
and Seven Sisters) in this county has a Spanish name.
Yet the Spanish influence is breaking down, as seen
in the present rhyme for Realitos : "Leah, treat us."
Redan, Ga. First-syllable accent. Rhymes with
"w^ can."
Redig, S. Dak. Hold your nose and say "Red-
ding." (No, Your Honor, no reflections whatever
on your fragrant village.)
Redoak, Va. "Red'oak." See lakenan.
Reger, Mo. Rhymes with "meager."
Regina (in four states). Everywhere, soft g;
and a rhyme for "See Dinah."
Regnier, Okla. At present, a French-English
hash: "(Is) Ray near?"
Rehoboth, Del, Mass., N. Mex. All accent the
ho. But the last o may be either mute or long. The
BibHcal name means "room" (i.e., room for every-
body to prosper) . There's a Rehoheth in Maryland
which reports that It accents the "ree."
160 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Reiff, Calif. German is out. This is "reef."
Reinbeck, Iowa. Unlike Holstein (q.v.), this
keeps the German ei. Rhymes with '''fine neck."
Reinersville, Ohio. Why can't we make up our
minds? This "rein" rhymes with "clean" — and
means "clean," by the way.
Reinerton, Pa. And here's a "reiner" that
rhymes with "finer." Ach du lieberl
Reisterstown, Md. Here's a German ei. The
"reis" is "rice."
Renan, W. Va. The cultured prefer the second-
syllable accent as in French; but almost everybody
says "ree' nan."
Renick, Mo. Quandary here. The only honest
rhyme I know for "rennick" is scenic — and "sen-
nick" is not the pronunciation approved by Mr.
Webster. So with (or without) your kind permis-
sion:
A caterer fed "chicken" salad
To the Y. M. H. A. out in Renick,
Till one of them hollered "It's pork!"
And they all rushed for home in a pennick.
Rensselaer, N. Y. Hard to spell — and pronun-
ciation disputed. The R. P. I. cheers call for an
accented "leer," but the dictionaries are unanimously
in favor of a rhyme for penciler (one who pencils).
Represa, Calif. ("Retention or stoppage"; i.e.,
"dam.") The Spanish ^'s have been lost; this is now
^''repress a," as in "repress a sigh."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 161
Reseda, Calif. Here again the Spanish has lost
out. Rhyme this with "We feed a (lot of people) .'*
Rheims, N. Y. Don't get Gallic and try to rhyme
this with pants or France, It's "reemz."
Rhodhiss, N. C. ''Road hiss"; i.e., the special
hiss used habitually by the garter snake when cross-
ing the road.
Rico, Colo. "Ree' ko," as in Puerto Rico,
Riedel, Mont. German ie gives us a rhyme for
needle, though the long i is heard, out there, among
those whose Kultur is defective. Hitler should do
something about this.
Riegelsville, N. J. Again, the German ie. The
first two syllables are truly "regal."
Rienzi, Miss. Though the dictionaries recom-
mend "ree" for the first syllable of this Roman
statesman's name, the local folk rhyme it with "high
frenzy."
Riesel, Tex. Though some favor the long i, the
growing popularity of the Diesel engine is more and
more attracting Riesel into willing rhyme with it.
But I confess it will also rhyme with weasel,
Rieth, Oreg. Our percentage of German ie^s
(pronounced "ee") continues gratifyingly high.
This is "wreath."
Riffe, Wash. Pronounced "rife" (long i). Can
it have been a pathetic attempt to spell the German
name, Reif (q.v.) ?
162 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Rillito, Ariz. Only about eighty miles from the
border, and still very chili-con-carne : "ree eet' o.*'
Rinard, Iowa. Rhymes with ^^wine card," an in-
dication that it is closer to the German Reinhardt
than to the French Renard.
Rio. Though Webster records no Rio with a
long i, I find one in Illinois and another in Missis-
sippi that regularly rhyme with "Ohio." Also a Rio
Creeks Wis., that rhymes with "Ohio trick."
Rio Dell, Calif. Usually "ree' o."
Rio Frio, Tex. Both appear frequently in various
combinations in the southwest, and usually rhyme
with each other: "ree'o free'o."
Rio Grande (river). Say "ree-o" down there.
And you will hear "grand," though a rhyme for
candy brings you closer to the Mexican without
sounding affected, and is therefore preferable.
Rio Hondo, Tex. Yes, "ree'o."
Rio Linda, Calif. Pretty far north (Sacramento
County) but still "ree'o."
Rionido, Calif. North of San Francisco — but
"ree'o need'o."
Rio Oso, Calif. Farthest north yet — and still
"ree'o." But "strangers, unless Spanish," do use the
long i, occasioning mild distress in Rio Oso.
Rio Vista, Calif. Still hundreds of miles from
Mexico — but it's "ree'o." (This begins to sound
like a pep-talk for a certain automobile.)
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 163
Riplinger, Wis. First-syllable accent, "Ripling"
rhyming with "Kipling."
Ripon, Cal., Wis. As in England, it rhymes with
a slovenly pronunciation of "pippin"; same vowel
sounds as in Lip ton.
Riva, Md. As in Italy, rhymes with "Eva."
Rives, Mo. Rhymes neither with "gives" nor
with "dives" — ^but with "leaves." Rivesville, W.
Va., the same.
Riviera, Fla. and Tex. Unlike its multi-syllabled
ancestor overseas, this is just "revere a," as in "I can
revere a man like that."
Robesonia, Pa. Strangers say "ro," but most
natives, associating the name with Robinson perhaps
(just as Robeson^ N. C, is related to Robinson)^
make it sound like an order to steal something from
a girl named Sonia : "Rob a Sonia." Accent so.
Rochdale, Mass. Begins with "rotch," just as its
ancestor in England does. It parallels Rochester,
Roche Harbor, Wash. (Named for an ex-
plorer.) Rhymes with "coach."
Rochert, Minn. Accent the "rotch" as in "Roch-
ester."
Rochester, Ohio. Bolton says that the villagers
make that first syllable "roach." But wait till a
schoolmarm from outside gets after them. One
P. T. A. meeting might turn the trick. In New
York, of course, the accented syllable is "rotch."
164 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Rochford, S. Dak. Again, ''rotch."
Rociada, N. Mex. Though locked away in the
hills north-east of Santa Fe, which is 350 miles from
the border, this stays Mexican in sound: "ro see
ah'da."
Rodeo, N. Mex. Accent the first syllable. By
analogy perhaps with "radio."
Ronceverte, W. Va. Rhymes with "Dow's a
flirt," except that you should hiss the s sound.
Roosevelt. Most communities of this name know
that "rose" is right; but "rooze" is still very com-
mon. Two of my observers, representing presumably
the literati, seemed to pride themselves on saying
"rooze" while confessing that most of the natives
made it "rose." One town took particular pains to
mention that it was named after T. R., not F. D. R.
Roseau, Minn. First-syllable accent. Rhymes
with "bozo."
Rosenhayn, N. J. Rhymes with ^^ frozen lane."
Roseto, Pa. While strangers tend, jocularly or
not, to say "rosy toe," and Webster mentions "ro
zeet' o," the natives appear to prefer "ro sett' o."
Rosholt, S. Dak., Wis. If your name were "Ross
Holt," and you emphasized the Ross^ you would feel
at home in either place ; but a common variation in
Wisconsin is "rosh'olt," first short, second long.
Rosiere, N. Y. (Named after a French village.)
"Rose-ear" (accents about equal).
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 165
Roubaix, S. Dak. Still faithful to its French de-
scent; rhymes with "You may^^ and "toupee."
Roubidoux, Mo. Pretty Parisian still. It con-
stitutes an ungrammatical answer to the question,
"Which one of you girls does laundry?" ^^Ruby
do I"
Rousseau, Ky., Mich. "Trousseau" is now usu-
ally accented on the first syllable, and so is this.
Both rhyme with "Crusoe."
Routon, Tenn. This has an "out." Rhymes
roughly with "shoutin'."
Rowena, S. Dak. Rhymes with "Oh LenaV^ as
in Ivanhoe,
Ruidosa, Tex. ( "Noisy woman." The only mis-
print I have found in the 1937 Postal Guide made
it mean "noisy man." ) Right on the river. Rhymes
with "Louie? No, suh."
Russia, Ohio. I understand that these kindly
folk call it "Roo'sha." It is not recommended for
outsiders.
Rutherford, N. J. Rhymes with ''Mother
heard."
Ruthven, Iowa. Rhymes with "(Tell the) truths
s
Sabinal, N. Mex. Has a Mexican ring to it;
rhymes with "grabbin' Al.'^
Sabine (La. and Tex.) Rhymes with "machine."
Sabot, Va. Could be made to rhyme with "rab-
bit" ; at least, that's the general idea.
Sabula, Iowa. The middle syllable, accented,
rhymes either with "few" or "too"; about evenly
divided.
Sacandaga, N. Y. Accented syllable is "daw"
as in Onondaga: "sack and daw' ga."
Sacaton, Ariz. (Pretty well off the beaten track,
up in the Sacaton Mountains near Phoenix.)
Rhymes with ^^Crack a bone."
Saco, Maine. The traditional Down East pro-
nunciation is "saw' CO." Out in Montana, however,
it's "say' CO."
Sacul, Tex. Rhymes with "cackle."
Saffaras, Ind. The accent is on the "saff" (flat
a). Rhymes with "/?«// fer us" ("Half fer you and
half itr us'').
Sagaponack, N. Y. ("Where the ground nuts
166
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 167
grow big.") As in Massaponax, accent the "pon."
Rhymes with "Gag anon, Mac."
Sagerton, Tex. Rhymes with "Dagger-ton."
Saint Augustine, Fla. The British accent on the
"gus" has not taken hold in Florida ; accent the "aw"
and, secondarily, the "teen." There's a San Augus-
tine in Texas that follows suit.
Saint Bernard. Accent difficulties here. I have
cards from Ohio and Alabama stating that the last
syllable is accented. Webster, referring again to
Ohio and to Louisiana, puts the accent on the Ber,
Evidently usage varies among the residents, prob-
ably because the Christian name Bernard, alone, is
usually given the Ber accent.
Saint Cloud, Minn. Anglicize, to rhyme with
"loud."
Saint Croix, Ind., Maine, Wis. Partially angli-
cized, to rhyme with "boy."
Saint Donatus, Iowa. Say it in English; accent
"nay."
Saint Hilaire, Minn. Outsiders like to make it
rhyme with "pillory." But "hill air'" suits the home
folks.
Saint Libory, 111. Rhymes with "the story."
Saint Louis, Mo. Though the name is spelled
in the French fashion, the English pronunciation, as
if it were "Lewis," is greatly preferred at home. It
is usually outsiders who rhyme it with "Fooie."
168 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Saint Maries, Idaho. As if it were Mary^s. In-
cidentally, Webster has discovered that Americans
no longer use a long a in Mary or vary or wary,
Salado, Tex. This is three hundred miles nearly-
due north of the Mexican border — and shows it.
Not content with substituting "lay" for the Spanish
"lah" in the accented syllable, these people even start
with "Say!"
Salida, Colo. (Over 7,000 feet high.) The
Spanish "lee" is gone, but both «'s are still mute.
A fair rhyme is "applied a," as in "We applied a
beef-steak to her eye."
Salina, Kans., Okla. Rhymes with "a Dinah."
Salinas, C ah f. ("Salt marshes.") Mexican in-
fluence distinguishes this from the above. Hiss the
5 of "arenas" and you have a rhyme for "Salinas."
Saline (in a number of midwestern states) . Like
Sabine and Racine, this rhymes correctly with ma-
chine. But brakemen in full cry cannot be trusted
with that mute a. (See racine.)
Salineville, Ohio. For the accented syllable,
"leen" is preferred, but "line" (long i) is very com-
mon.
Salkum, Wash. Neither "talcum" nor "walk"
furnishes the analogy here. The sound appears to
be ''Sol come," as in "When will Sol come?"
Saluda (river, S. C.) The accented syllable is
"loo." (This is strictly for the information of those
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 169
announcers who, following Webster, still say "al-
yoorlng" and "sal-yoot'.")
Salvisa, Ky. Long i, accented. Rhymes with
"Gal, slice a (piece of baloney, or whatever)."
Samos, Mo., Va. Much like its Greek ancestor,
this rhymes pretty well with "famous."
San Antonio, Tex. and N. Mex. Affectionately
known as "San An-tone'." And as is the case with
most nicknames, residents seem a little puzzled and
a little hurt when some airy stranger takes liberties
with it.
San Dieguito, Calif. ("Saint Little-James," or
call it "Jimmy.") The first two syllables are the
initials "D.A." run close together. Then the rest
of it, ^uitOy rhymes with mosquito : "D.A. Gee'to"
(hard^).
Sandusky, Ohio. Accent the "dusk." Rhymes
with "Is the man husky?"
San Fidel, N. Mex. Rhymes with "We teir
(proud motto of the Casanova Society) .
San Francisco, Calif. Two things you must not
do in San Francisco : say "Frisco," or mention the —
I mean, it was a Fire. In the words of an infuriated
native, to make use of the famous nickname is "a
crude, vulgar, and unwarranted familiarity." In
other words, they don't care for it.
San Jacinto, Calif., Tex. The ; Is "j," the c is
"s." Rhymes with "Dan's a pinto." But Nevada
170 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
reports Mexican Influence — "h" for j (see LA JOLLA,
which is less than seventy-five miles south of Cali-
fornia's San Jacinto).
San Joaquin, Calif. Some puzzle fans went
astray when Joaquin Miller appeared in the Old
Gold contest, as they were not aware that ''wah-
keenV' an approximation of the Spanish, was stand-
ard.
San Jose, Calif. The guttural j of the Spanish
is not used in the Western Hemisphere ; just h. "Ho-
say'," with a hiss, is preferred to the hard z sound.
San Luis Obispo, CaHf. As spelled: "Lewis
0-biss' po."
San Marcos, Tex. Not the possessive, "Mar-
co's." The s is hissed. Almost "Marcus."
San Mateo, Calif., N. Mex. Rhymes with "a
tray^ Joel".
San Miguel, Calif., Colo. As In Introducing a
lady: "(Meet) me ^^/" ("my girl," to you).
Sano, Ky. The report Is that this Is just that
invaluable advice to girls, "Say No.^^ But I wouldn't
write any life-insurance on that second-syllable ac-
cent. Recessive Accent Is at work, and any day now
the slogan may become ^^Say no." Which is vastly
inferior from an ethical point of view.
San Pedro, Calif. "Pee" Is now preferred to
the Mexican "pay."
San Pierre, Ind. See pierre.
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 171
Sanpoil (river, Washington). Rhymes with
^^tan oil," as in sun-bathing.
San Rafael, Calif. Rhymes with "a helV
San Ramon, Calif. Rhymes with "alone."
Sans Souci, Mich. Emphasize the "see" ; rhymes
with "Nan's too freey
Santa Glaus, Ind. (Once one word.) They pro-
nounce it "Santy Claws," as we all do — except when
addressing the Culture Club, of a Friday afternoon.
Santa Cruz, Ariz., Calif. The rhyme is "booze."
Santa Elena, Tex. Mexican influence has kept
it rhyming with "Tell Dana^
Santa Fe. (No accent mark over the ^, in the
U. S.) Trainmen usually say "San'ta Fee" (rhym-
ing, in "Casey Jones," with "What could they be ?" ) ,
and this version is approved by the Ohio and Ten-
nessee towns. But the better element out in New
Mexico hang grimly on to "fay."
Santa Monica, Calif. Accent "mah," as in the
tail end of "harmonica." Monico^ Wis., stays in
line, with "mah," but by some strange accident
Monica^ 111., rhymes with Topeka.
Santaquin, Utah. (An old Indian chief.) Like
"Santa Claus," only it's "Santa Quinn." You know,
the Irishman.
San Ygnacio, Tex. (The only town, for fifty-one
miles, between Zapata and Laredo, along the river.)
Naturally quite Mexican: "eeg nah' see-o." The
172 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
name (that of Loyola) seems to have been popular
with the pioneers. My highway map shows two
(spelled /^-) in New Mexico, one near Santa Rosa,
the other near Albuquerque.
San Ysidro, Calif. (Saint Isidore, farmer, used
to get two angels to do his ploughing for him so that
he could spend more time in prayer.) Also spelled
"Isidro"; pronounced "ee seed'row," to rhyme with
"We need snow."
Sapeloe, Ga. (The island north of Darien is
spelled without the concluding e.) Webster accents
the ''pee," for the island, while my observer would
rhyme the town with ''slap a /o^." Maybe they'll
compromise on the sap. In the meantime, take your
choice, because usage varies.
Sapulpa, Okla. Rhymes with "a gulp o' (wa-
ter)."
Saticoy, Calif. As in "There sat a coy young
lady."
Satus, Wash. Suggested epitaph : —
We were a young couple from Satus
Who entered the marital status.
We'd spent a whole week
On Klickitat Peak
When up came a grizzly and ate us.
Saugerties, N. Y. (Dutch for "a sawyer's."
There is still a "Saw Creek" in the vicinity.) Ac-
cent on the "saw"; rhymes with "logger sees."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 173
Saugus, Mass. Also Sauk Center, Minn., and
Sauk County, Wisconsin. All "aw."
Sault Sainte Marie, Mich. The railroad name,
"The Soo Line," derives of course from "Sault," and
illustrates the actual pronunciation. Sainte is just
"Saint" and Marie just "Marie," the girl's name
("ma-ree'").
Saunemin, 111. Rhymes with ^^pawn 'em in (a
pawn shop)."
Sausalito, Calif. Rhymes quite decently with
"raw mosquito." (I swallowed one, accidentally of
course.)
Savedge, Va. Like "Savage," "sav" rhyming
with "have," for which, according to Webster, there
is no rhyme.
Sawatch (mountains, Colorado). Rhymes with
"a match." May be spelled Saguache but still pro-
nounced as above, as if the g were a w.
Schaberg, Ark. The accented first syllable Is like
the one-hoss "shay."
Schaghticoke, N. Y. There's one for your spell-
down. "Skatty-coke," rhyming with ^'catty joke."
Schenectady, N. Y. Most radio fans have al-
ready heard this powerful station, WGY, and know
that the "sch" is as In "school," and that the name
rhymes with "Ben wrecked a bee."
Schenevus, N. Y. Still In the Dutch sphere of
174 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
influence, so "sk." The name rhymes with "a griev-
ous" ("a grievous error").
Schenley, Pa. German, not Dutch: "shen' lee."
Schleswig, Iowa. AngHcize to "sless' wig."
Schley, Ga., Minn., Va. According to Webster,
the rear-admiral for whom these towns were named
called himself "Sly" whereas Georgia makes it
"Shly." And so does my observer, a school-teacher,
in Minnesota, but he goes on to say that "sly" is the
more common. Virginia insists on "sly." Anyway,
all rhyme with fly.
Schodack Landing, N. Y. Any town in New
York state that begins with sch is pronounced "sk."
(See SCHULENBURG.) This rhymes with Kodak
(advt.)
Schoeneck, Pa. Back to the German area. This
is "shen'nick," rhyming with "pennick" (see RE-
nick).
Schoharie, N. Y. Dutch country again; so "sk."
Rhymes with "Go marry I"
SchoUe, N. Mex. As if you were to say that
the old lady in the bonnet and shawl was very "bon-
nety and shawly,^^
Schroeder. As usual, the umlaut causes trouble.
In Texas this is "shray'der," rhyming with "trader" ;
in Minnesota it is still "sh," but it rhymes with
"loader."
Schroon Lake, N. Y. Of course, "sk" (see
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 175
SCHODACK landing) ; and rhymes with the hilari-
ous, if not hysterical, bird.
Schulenburg, Tex. Many Germans have settled
in Texas (see hochheim). So this Sch is "sh,"
as in "Schubert."
Looking at this Sch problem nationally, I am go-
ing out on a limb: outside of New York state (see
SCHODACK landing) all places beginning Sch are
pronounced "sh" except Schofield^ the School com-
binations, the Schuylers^ and Schuylkill. Yet, turn-
ing away from names for the moment, "schedule"
is the only thoroughly English word that starts out
with "sh," ever (the British do it) .
Schulter, Okla. ( German word for "shoulder." )
Start out with "shool," a rhyme for "pool."
Schumm, Ohio. Rev. Moeller writes that it is
neither "shum" nor "scum," but "shoom" — short
"oo" as in foot or the colloquial form of room and
broom. There is evidence, however, that "shum" is
gaining.
SchuylerviUe, N. Y. Holland Dutch. "Sk/ler"
rhymes with "Tyler."
Schuylkill (Pa.) Simply ''school kill," as the
little Indians say in the spring.
Schwertner, Tex. No trace left of the German
except the "sh" : "shwurt'nur," rhyming with "hurt-
nur" as in "Will it hurt^ nurse?"
Scio, Oreg. "Sy-o," to rhyme with "Ohio."
176 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Scioto (county, Ohio). Also Sciotoville^ Ohio,
Scioto Mills, 111., and Sciota, Pa. In all of these, the
c is silent and the i long; start with a "sigh." All
rhyme about equally well with "my photo (graph)."
Bear in mind that the second o of Scioto is not unlike
a mute a — which is exactly the case in photograph.
Scipio, Okla. (Also Scipio Center, N. Y.) The
c Is silent as in "science" and "scissors." (In fact, as
C. A. Lloyd points out in Speak English I, in English
c is almost always silent after s.) Accent the "sip" :
"sippy-o."
Scircleville, Ind. Forget that first 5, though
"Scircle" was, they say, the name of the first settler.
Just "Circleville."
Scituate, Mass. Blot out the c, as If It were
situate. Long a^ as in the verb.
ScoUay (square, in Boston). Usually called
"Scully."
Scriba, N. Y. Just '''scribe a," as in "Describe a
circle."
Seattle, Wash. Accent the "at." If you stress
the first syllable, it usually stamps you as a non-resi-
dent or foreigner. Incidentally, there is a Suiattle
river back in the Cascade Mountains, near 10,000-
foot Glacier Peak.
Sebago Lake, Maine. Rhymes with "the dago^
Seboeiss, Maine. Rhymes with "free Lois^
Seboyeta, N. Mex. {Cebolleta is Spanish for
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 177
"tender onion.") Still Mexican-like. Rhymes with
"Pray go get a (horse or something)."
Seco. ("Dry.") The long "ee" is seldom heard
In the southwest. But "secko" is more common than
the Spanish "say' co," on our side of the Big River.
(See PECOS.)
Sedan, Kans., Minn., Nebr., N. Mex. Though
brakemen and other outsiders sometimes accent the
first syllable, the natives prefer the last. Rhyme it
with "the man.''''
Seguin, Tex. This generally rhymes with
Keegan^ but the approved pronunciation rhymes with
"the queerC : "se-geen'." "The queen''' hasn't a
chance.
Seigler Springs, Calif. This Is unfortunate. The
name was originally, no doubt, Siegler or Ziegler^
and Is still pronounced "see." But when the ie was
changed to ei^ confusion became worse confounded.
Perhaps the only solution to the problem is to spell
the name, frankly, "Seegler."
Seitz, Ky. "Sites," rhyming with "fights."
Nearly the same as it would be pronounced In Ger-
many.
Sejita, Tex. Another in that very Mexican county
(see REALiTOs). This is "say eat'a," as in "Say,-
eat a mango some day."
Sekiu, Wash. Use the initials "C. Q.," accenting
the first. Reminiscent of the old "C. Q. D." ("Come
quick, danger").
178 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Selz, N. Dak. The German "tz" has been lost.
This is "sells," as in Sells-Floto.
Senath, Mo. In ordinary use, sounds much like
"zenith," only you hiss instead of buzz.
Senia, N. C. "Who was that lady I seen ya
with last night?"
Sequim, Wash. Practically a monosyllable:
"squim."
Serafina, N. Mex. "Sera" is "Sarah," and "fina"
rhymes with "Lena."
Sevier, Utah. (Also county in Arkansas and
Tennessee.) Just "severe."
Sewanee, Tenn. The traditional "Swanee"
(rhyming with "brawny") represents this fairly
well; the first e is barely heard.
Sewaren, N. J. Accent in the middle: "See
Warren.^^
Seymour, Conn., Ind., Iowa, Tex. ^^See more."
Shamokin, Pa. As Joe Penner put it, "Sha-
mokin' in bed is sometimes dangerous." It rhymes
with "awoken" (obsolete).
Shanghai, Va. First-syllable accent is wrong for
China, but right for Virginia: "shang^high," as in
"She ashed me to shing high, sho I shan^ high."
Shaniko, Oreg. Think of "calico," only start
with "shan" (as in shanty) instead of "cal."
Shawangunk (mountains, N. Y.) Believe it or
not, rhymes with ^''strong rum" : "shong'gum."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 179
Shawano, Wis. The Indians made three sylla-
bles of It, accenting the first, but two are plenty to-
day: "shaw' no." Pay no attention to Webster's
three syllables, with an accented 'Vaw" In the mid-
dle. I was born In the next county.
Shawomet, R. I. "Best usage, probably," rhymes
with ''Maw, go get."
Sheboygan, Wis. Though the story that a squaw
remarked "she hoy 'gain" on giving birth to a second
boy must be considered apocryphal. It aptly illus-
trates the pronunciation. I realize that the e is not
always as long as in "she," and that the "an" wavers
between "in" and "un." (See CHEBOYGAN.)
Shelbina, Mo. Rhymes with "tell Dinah''
Shiawassee (county, Michigan, and street in
Lansing). Accent on the "waw." Rhymes with
"Fry a saucy (person in oil)."
Shiocton, Wis. Accent on the "ock." Rhymes
with "Try Stockton."
Shipshewana, Ind. "Ship she wanna," as in this
uncouth remark, "That's the ship she wanna buy."
Accent "aw."
Shively, Calif. Rhymes with "lively."
Shoshone, Calif., Idaho. (Also Shoshoni, Wyo.)
"So bonyr
Shushuskin (canyon, Washington). Rhymes
with what Baby would like to say when some of his
180 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
equipment comes apart and pricks him: ''Boo hoo^
pin!"
Sidell, 111. Rhymes with "my helir
Sieper, La. German ie (see rieth). Rhymes
with "peeper."
Sigel, 111., Pa. (Probably from German Siegel^
though the Civil War general also spelled it Sigel.)
The general rhymed it with "legal," and so do the
Pennsylvanians ; but in Illinois it usually goes with
"wriggle."
Siletz, Oreg. Accent "letz." Rhymes with "Gil-
lette's."
Simi, Calif. As in "Come up and see me, some-
time," most of the time.
Singac, N. J. "Sin'gack," rhyming with ^^Grin,
Jack."
Sioux City, Iowa. "Sioux" and "Sault" both be-
come "Soo" in Americanese.
Sisseton, S. Dak. Hard to live this name down ;
it's "sissy-tun."
Skagit (county, Washington). Discounting
Webster's hard ^, Thorp, recording usage, would
rhyme this with gadget. Puget forms a sort of
analogy.
Skamania (county, Washington) . Just put "sk"
before "a mania."
Skamokawa, Wash. Accent "mock" and mute
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 181
all the ^'s — unless you want to rhyme It with "Rock-
away."
Skaneateles, N. Y. Rhymes with "Lanny sat
a bus" (the u sound very inconspicuous, of course —
see EDISTO). But, off the record, it's "skinny atlas."
Bolton reports that a druggist there uses "Scan the
atlas" as a slogan, thus emphasizing the fact that
there's "only one Skaneateles," perish the thought.
Searcy, Ark. Rhymes with "mercy."
Skanee, Mich. (Named for a section of
Sweden.) Most people americanize it to rhyme with
"Blaney."
Skowhegan, Maine. Rhymes with "Now Re-
ganV
Skykomish, Wash. As spelled, with the accent
on the "ko." This "-omish" motif was apparently
in almost constant use among the Indians of Wash-
ington. There's a Mount Skokomish^ across the
Sound from Snohomish and the Skykomish river.
Sleith, W. Va. Rhymes with "wreath" and
"Keith."
Slidell, La. Lowell evidently thought of this as
accented on the first syllable (see his Mason and
Slidell: A Yankee Idyl) . But the South certainly lays
some stress on that "dell." Rhyme it with "dry
weliy (See sidell.)
Sligo, Colo., La. Rhymes with 'Why go ?"
Smackover, Ark. Pronounce as spelled, empha-
182 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
sizing the smack. But it was originally Chemin
Convert ("covered road").
Snedekerville, Pa. "Snedeker" rhymes with
^^wed a cur," as in "I will never wed a cur" (the
emphasis in the sentence seems somehow to strike a
false, if not immoral, note, but at any rate it indi-
cates the correct accent).
Snohomish, Wash. (See skykomish.) Rhymes
with the way Greta Garbo used to feel: "go-ho-
mish." Accent on "ho."
Snoqualmie, Wash. Rhymes with an Indian
child's request: "Show doll me."
Sobieski, Wis. (Named after a king of Poland.)
In Wisconsin, "no whisky" is a good rhyme.
Socorro, N. Mex. (Rises stolidly out of a dusty
desert; site of an old mission.) The accented syl-
lable is "core," as in apple.
Solano (county, Calif.) Though this is in the
San Francisco area, it keeps the Mexican vowels:
"so lah' no." But, in Minnesota, Solana is "lay,"
even in the best circles.
Soledad, Calif. ("Lonesometown.") Starts out
like "solitude" (which it means) and ends with
"dad."
Soleduc (river, Washington). This, znd So Iduc
Hot Springs, at the northwest corner of Mount
Olympus park, are pronounced about alike, in two
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 183
syllables; as if Donald Duck had a Hebrew friend
named "Sol."
Somesbar, Calif. This bar (nature undisclosed)
was discovered, or operated, by an old gentleman
named "Somes" (rhyming with "homes").
Sonoita, Ariz. Only thirty-seven miles from
Nogales, on the border, this town has all the excuse
in the world for being "so no eet'a." Yet the reg-
ular pronunciation rhymes with "no hoy ta," as in
"No hoy ta-night."
Sonyea, N. Y. Looks like either an attempt to
spell the Russian name Sonia, or the exultant ex-
clamation of a brand-new father. The yea is as in
cheering, but the Son, accented, rhymes with Don.
When said slowly, it sounds as if it had three sylla-
bles, rhyming with "0« me way."
Soudan, Minn. As in "Then I'll sue DanV—
unless you say "siu," which I don't think you do.
Southington, Conn. (Means "south of Farm-
ington.") The first syllable is as in "southern."
Southold, N. Y. But this is just "Old South"
turned around. Emphasize the South,
Spadra, Ark., Calif. (This Is supposed to have
something to do with a broken sword — espada is
Spanish for "sword" — and a Spaniard who ran away
with an Indian maiden.) The "spad" (accented)
rhymes with both "sad" and "bad."
Speidel, Ohio. (Population: 50. Named for a
184 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
pillar of the Methodist Church.) Rhymes with
"Why /^//?"
Spivak, Colo. Usually rhymes with "(Is) she
back?"
Spokane, Wash. Rhymes with "no fany
Spurger, Tex. Hard g. Rhymes with "Burger."
Spuyten Duyvil (N. Y.) The "uy" of "buy."
Q.E.D., rhymes with "iightin' rival."
Squaxon (island, tribe, Washington). Webster
rhymes this with Klaxon^ but Thorp makes it
^^squawks an" as in "That parrot squawks an awful
lot." An honest difference of opinion, here, as to
majority usage, with the probabilities favoring the
flat "ax."
Stambaugh, Mich. Observer writes : "We pro-
nounce it 'stam-bo' while outsiders say 'Stam-
baugh.' " Which seems to cover all possible mis-
pronunciations.
Stanislaus (Calif.) Derives from the Spanish
name, Estanislao, of a river in the region. The ap-
proved pronunciation is still very close to that: "stan
iss lou'" (rhyming with "fan this brow''),
Staten Island (N. Y.) Rhymes with "Manhat-
tan." Probably does not derive from the immi-
grant's question, "Iss dat an island?" There's a
Staten in Georgia which, unfortunately, rhymes with
"Satan."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 185
Stauffer, Oreg. Rhymes with "cough-er" (one
who coughs ) .
Staunton. In Virginia, just like "Stanton" (flat
a). In Illinois and Indiana, "staunt" rhymes with
"daunt."
Stead, N. Mex. Rhymes with "bead."
Steger, 111. (Chicago Heights.) German in-
fluence still, in the vowel, though the "sh" has been
lost. Rhyme it with "vaguer" ("more vague") .
Stehekin, Wash. Accent in the middle. Rhymes
with "she peekin' ^
Steilacoom, Wash. "Still' a-kum," rhyming with
''Kill a bum."
Steinauer, Nebr. The "ee" sound of German ie
seems to be easier to keep than the long i sound of
German ei (see rieth). Anyway, "the correct
pronunciation, which is used by a few here," rhymes
with ''fine bower" — but the most common one is a
rhyme for "keener." Perhaps there is reflected here
the average American's enormous opposition to the
long i sound in "either" and "neither."
Steiner, Tex. To paraphrase, slightly, a qua-
train (if I may say so) sent in by my observer: —
We live in a village called Steiner.
We honestly wish it were finer.
At least, it could hardly be cleaner,
This place that is sometimes called ''Steener."
Obviously, the ei of German stein is preferred.
186 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Stephan, S. Dak. Supposed to be accented on
the second syllable, this is usually rhymed with
deafen. Don't be surprised if it comes to be pro-
nounced, or even spelled, "Steven."
Steuben, Ind., Maine, N. Y. For no perceptible
reason, all accent it like the first two syllables of
"stupendous." Its German ancestor is pronounced
"shtoy'ben." However, Steubenville, O., accents the
"stoo" (and not "stiu," please).
Stillaguamish (river, Washington, crossed by
the Pacific Highway north of Everett). Can be il-
lustrated by this conversation, following a mild at-
tack of seasickness: "Have you still a qualm or
two?" "Well, I'm still 3,-qualm-ishy Only change
the q sound to a ^.
Stirum, N. Dak. As in "That speech will stir
'um up."
Stonega, Va. Same vowels as "Topeka." Em-
phasize the "knee."
Stouchsburg, Pa. The mystery is easily ex-
plained: this was "Stauch's burg," completely Teu-
tonic, with the ou of ouch and the guttural ch. Now
it is usually "Stou's burg" (the first syllable rhyming
with cows) but a trend toward "Stouksburg" is evi-
dent. The brakeman cuts the Gordian knot with
"Starch-burg."
Stcnighton, Mass., Wis. Always "sto'tun."
Why doesn't this give as much trouble as Houghton}
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 187
Stratham, N. H. Rhymes with Chatham, N. Y.
(q.v.). Don't bring out the "ham." And don't
rhyme the first syllable with "bath," as I am told
radio announcers persist in doing.
Strauss, N. Mex., and Strausstown, Pa. Those
who know some German and those who know some
Spanish all rhyme these with "mouse"; and those
elements constitute a safe majority. Only "Anglos"
and brakemen occasionally get thrown for a rhyme
with "loss."
Strieby, N. C. Rhymes with "heeby" as well as
with "jeeby." (See RIETH.)
Stronach, Mich. Rhymes with ^^Draw back."
Suamico (Little and Big, Wisconsin). Starts
with "swaw." Rhymes with ^^Draw the bow." (The
context is supposed to inform you that this is "bo,"
not the "bough" of a ship. Isn't English more fun I )
Subiaco, Ark. (German-Catholic college there,
of that name, which means "I surrender.") Gaso-
line man said "sooby ack' o," with the "oo" short as
in tookj but the president of the college writes me
that the more careful speakers, not wishing to mix
their English vowel-sounds with Latin, rhyme subi
with hubby. I still don't know how I happened to
drive through there on my way from Fort Smith to
Little Rock, as I thought I was faithfully following
U.S. 64, which goes, not through Subiaco, but
through Van Buren; yet I certainly don't remember
188 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
seeing any of Bob Burn's amazing uncles, or even
Grandpa Snazzy.
Succasiinna, N. J. Accent on first and third:
"suck-a-sunna."
Suisun, Calif. (Spanish spelling of an Indian
village; originally had an accent mark on the sun.)
Webster would rhyme this with "Louie croorC*
(**You should hear Louie croon !") but my card says
that "soo soon'," rhyming with "blue moon,'''' is the
local pronunciation.
Sumerduck, Va. This is "summer duck," as
distinguished from "winter duck." The postmark
on my card from there spells it with a double m, too,
whereas the official Postal Guide prints it at least
three times with only one.
Sunol, Nebr. Taken from the word "sunola,"
this still accents the o. Rhymes with "unroll."
Svea, Minn. The upper crust likes "svee'a."
But the rest of the population, more completely
Swedish perhaps, call it "svay'a" as in this Jewish in-
vitation-to-dance: "Vill you svay a vile vith me, my
dear?"
Sybial, Va. This was named for the postmast-
er's daughter, Sybol; but the Department, in its in-
scrutable wisdom, changed the spelling to Sybial.
The obedient literati try to make three syllables of
it, but everybody else rhymes It with "nibble" just
the same.
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 189
Sylacauga, Ala. A common, though somewhat
lowbrow, version rhymes with "Kill a froggy." The
better element also accent the "caw," but end with
a mute a,
Sylvarena, Miss. "Syl" is "sill," and "varena"
rhymes with "arena."
Syracuse, N. Y. Rhymes with "sheer abuse,"
accent on the first syllable preferred. But the uni-
versity finds it cheers better on the last. Even "Will-
yums'" does this on occasion.
T
Tabernash, Golo. A merger between "taber-
nacle" and "haberdash."
Tabiona, Utah. As the lady exclaimed when she
found that her cat was out singing duets with the
same gentleman friend every night: "(Does) Tabby
own a (Tom-cat) ?"
Taconite, Minn. Rhymes with ^^Back a mite!"
Tahlequah, Okla. Though "Sally Squaw" would
rhyme with a pronunciation frequently heard, the ap-
proved version rhymes with ^^Holly^ Ma !"
Tahoe (lake, California). The melodious "tah'
ho" of the Indians (meaning, probably, "deep" and
"blue") has been largely kept, and should be.
Tahuya, Wash. Rhymes with " (I'll) canoe ya."
(Yes, it can be a transitive verb.)
Taiban, N. Mex. "Tie' ban," rhyming with
''My man."
Taliaferro ( Georgia ) . Still "Tolliver" or "Tul-
liver," but may succumb to our craze for pronounc-
ing as spelled — unless the radio saves it. Just as
190
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 191
WLW is protecting the "ee" on the end of Cin-
cinnati.
Talihina, Okla. Rhymes with "Sally Lena."
Talladega, Ala. As in Tallahassee, the "tal"
rhymes with "shall." The accent is on the "dee."
Tama (Indian reservation, Iowa). Long a, as
in ^'Tame a tiger."
Tamalpais (mountain, California). The Mexi-
can has been religiously kept; the "pais" is really two
rapid syllables, "pah'-ees."
Tamaqua, Pa. According to Webster, this
rhymes surprisingly well with Chautauqua, But resi-
dents prefer an emphatic "mah." And the brakeman
"may sing out 'kway' as a final sonority."
Tamassee, S. C. Again we have an accented a
sounded "aw." Rhymes with "a saucy (girl)."
Tamo, Ark. Probably connected with the Tama
Indians. Anyway, the a is also long.
Tampico, 111. Unlike its Mexican relative, which
accents the "pee," this rhymes with "(To) camp
we go!"
Taneum (creek, Washington, emptying into the
Yakima). Though this looks as if it should be re-
lated in some way to Ahtanum and Umtanum and
Umatanu Ridge, Thorp says it rhymes with ^^ chain
'em."
Taney (Missouri). Named after a Chief Jus-
tice who pronounced it "tawny," this county has com-
192 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
pletely abandoned the "aw" for the logical long a
(rhyme with "brainy"). A letter from Forsyth^
while recognizing the probability that the former is
correct, insists that everybody now uses the long a,
Tangipahoa, La. (By derivation, may have had
something to do with corn-on-the-cob ; but the parish
is now the strawberry center of the South.) "Tan-
je-pa-ho'."
Taopi, Minn. Some practical jokers make this
two syllables, like "dopy"; another practical joker,
the brakeman, puts "pie" on the end. But the more
sober element rhyme it with "stay soapy y
Taos, N. Mex. Really two syllables ; but to all
intents and purposes rhymes with louse {house was
my first choice, but then I should have had to explain
that I meant the noun, not the verb).
Tarkio, Mo. Rhymes with "(Where did)
Parky go?" as in an Al Jolson broadcast.
Tatoosh, Wash. (Island off Cape Flattery; re-
puted to have the heaviest rainfall in the U. S.)
Tack an "sh" on "tattoo."
Taughannock Falls (215 foot cascade, near
Ithaca, N. Y.) "Taw gan' uk," rhyming with "raw
bannock," which, as everyone knows, is a Scotch
pancake. It is believed by competent authorities to
be the same Indian word represented by Taconic
and, previously, by Taghkanic.
Taunton, Mass. It is hopeless for any but Down
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 193
Easters to render Bath or Harvard or Taunton the
way the natives do. Taunton nearly rhymes with
Staunton^ Va. It is nearer "tahn" than "tawn."
Tavares, Fla. Rhymes quite adequately with
"the berries."
Tazewell, Va. (Also county in Illinois.) Tra-
ditionally, rhymes with Caswell ("as" as in as).
But "traditionally" doesn't mean "forever" in spell-
ing-conscious America.
Tchoupitoulas, La. (Also street in New Or-
leans.) "Chop a toolas," rhyming with "Stop a
shoe-less (person)." Professor Read delicately dis-
misses the "chap" pronunciation by saying that that
is heard only in a section of New Orleans known as
the "Irish Channel."
Teanaway (river, near Cle Elum, Washington).
Rhymes with "she ran away."
Tehachapi, Calif. Rhymes with "the /^o^cha
tree," though I never heard of one.
Tehama, Calif. Emphasize the "hay." (See
TEKAMAH.)
Tehuacana, Tex. Accent on "wock." Rhymes
with "We rock on a (rocking-chair)." The Mexi-
can-sounding "tay" advocated by Webster is losing
out, chiefly because Mexico is so far away. Mexia
(q.v.) is, however, Tehuacana's next-door neighbor.
Teigen, Mont. Rhymes with "pagan."
194 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Tekamah, Nebr. Rhymes with "Be gay, Mai"
(See MEHAMA.)
Tellico, N. C.
A young fellow once went to Tellico
And claimed to be Admiral Jellicoe.
A chop-suey cook
Cashed checks for this crook.
Now Ching wants to know where the hell-he-go.
Telogia, Fla. Rhymes with "he show' ja," as in
"He showed ja how to pronounce it, didn't he?"
Temecula, Calif. Rhymes with "the neck you
luh," as in "the neck you love to touch."
Tenaha, Tex. (Another spelling, Teneha, ap-
pears as a street name.) Say "Ten! Aha!" The
third-syllable accent is recommended, but the first is
gaining, in line with the nation-wide tendency.
Tenino, Wash. Pronounce the figures "10-9-0"
(the last like "oh"). Accent the "9."
Tensed, Idaho. "T^w said," as in "Two men on
the jury said 'Innocent,' but ten said 'Guilty.' "
Teresita, Okla. "Little Theresa" is far from
Mexico, here. I regret to report that this generally
rhymes with "Sarah light a," as in "Will Sarah light
a (cigarette) ?"
Terre Haute, Ind., 111. Don't venture on "Terry
Hut," even if residents assure you that it well repre-
sents the local version. Rhyme it with "wear a
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 195
coat." An almost parallel situation is found in
"Skinny atlas" for Skaneateles.
Thames (river, Conn.) In Connecticut, pro-
nounce the "th" and rhyme the thing with JameSj un-
less you want to be high-hat and join the British in
"temz."
Thealka, Ky. (Card from Paintsville.) Starts
out like "Theodore," and rhymes with "free Jlka
(Seltzer)." Free advt.
The Dalles, Oreg. (From a French word mean-
ing gutter or trough.) Rhymes with "pals." Wis-
consin spells it "dells" and pronounces it that way.
Theilman, Minn. Here we have sturdy Teu-
tons; the h is silent, making the first syllable "tile,"
rhyming with "file."
Theresa, Wis. Authorities on the pronunciation
of personal names call for "te-ree' sa" or "te-ree'
za"; but Wisconsinites, and many others, rhyme it
with "address a" as in "address a letter." The h
is silent.
Thibodaux, La. Still quite French, even to the
accent, which is slightly greater on the last syllable :
"tib-o-do'," rhyming with "Fib? Oh noV
Thida, Ark. Stress the "thigh." Think of
"Ida."
Thiensville, Wis. German /V, but sound the h
as in "thief." Thien sounds just like "scene" if you
lisp.
196 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Thonotosassa, Fla. The ''th" is as in "thorn'';
and the rhyme is "No hoe^ no massa^^^ explanation
given by former slave for his unwillingness to work.
Thoreau, N. Mex. The French accent both syl-
lables about the same. But when an American tries
to do that he almost invariably stresses one or the
other. In New Mexico it's always the last. Almost
like "Thaw roeV^ as the fish merchant exclaimed
when he found the fish eggs had frozen solid.
Tiburon, Cahf. ("Shark.") Across the bay
from San Francisco, but still approximately Spanish.
Rhymes with "cribber knowny
Tidioute, Pa. ("Fair view" or "far outlook.")
With pardonable pride, my observer writes: "So far
as we know there is no other place in the world with
this name. ... It invariably brings a smile to the
faces of those who hear it the first time, so it must
be somewhat unique." Anyway, it rhymes with
"Didhej^oo/?"
Tieton (dam, near Mount Rainier and the Rat-
tlesnake Preserve, Washington. And why preserve
rattlesnakes?) Strike a happy medium between
^^tie it on" and Titan.
Tioga (County, N. Y., Pa.) Rhymes with "my
Toga^ Bolton reports that Tioga, Tex., starts
with "tee" ; I take that with a grain of salt, inasmuch
as the little town is 470 miles from Mexico.
Tippecanoe (river, Indiana). This became
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 197
famous in the Harrison campaign — "Tippecanoe and
Tyler too." It's just "tippy canoe."
Tivis, Va. Rhymes, not quite, with ^^Give
us. . . . "
Tivoli, Tex. Near the University of Chicago
there was a movie palace called this, and it rhymed
with "privily." But Texas rhymes it with "the foli-"
as in "the foliage."
Toadlena, N. Mex. ("Flowing water," in Na-
vajo.) "To-adda-leen," rhyming with "so sad a
scene." But tourists say "toad-Lena," and why not?
Toano, Va. First-syllable accent. Rhymes with
"Roanoke" if you lop off the "ke."
Tobique, Minn. Do you rhyme "oblique" with
"no peek^^? Then you have a perfect rhyme, spell-
ing and everything, for Tobique.
Tohopekaliga (lake, Florida). Preferably, the
vowel sounds and accents of "No soapy saliva."
Webster's second choice ends in "lee'ga," as in
"Lee'ga Nations."
Tolstoy, S. Dak. Rhymes with ''MolVs boy."
Tomales, Calif. (Spanish corruption of an In-
dian word for "bay"; i.e., San Francisco bay.) In
pronunciation it still resembles the Spanish: "to mah'
liss," rhyming with "no solaced Webster has, I
might say in this connection, given up the unaccented
long a (as in "chaotic") that he used to recommend
for the last syllable of solace^ palace^ furnace.
198 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Tomato, Ark. In the words of Tin Pan Alley —
'Tou say 'to may'to' and I say 'to mah'to.' " But
Arkansas calls the whole thing off by saying "mat"
(flat «).
Tonasket, Wash. Sounds like this ungracious
answer to the question : "May I ask a favor of you?'*
"Tonasket."
Tonawanda, N. Y. For an accurate rhyme, put
a mute a on the end of "Don a blond V^
Tooele, Utah. "To Ella,'' which might be the
name of a poem. Toole County, Montana, is just
"tool."
Topinabee, Mich. Science speaks: "The top,
in a bee, is not so dangerous as the bottom."
Toreva, Ariz. Rhymes with "show Eva.''
Tornillo, Tex. About a mile from the Big River
— so rhymes with "for Leo,"
Touisset, Mass. Rhymes with "You miss it," as
in the "Hit-the-nigger-baby-and-you-get-a-five-cent-
cigar" racket.
Toulon, 111. Rhymes with ^^rule on," as in
"What is the rule on this point?"
Toutle, Wash.
A girl there is learning to tootle
A trumpet, but really it's futile.
She blows out her cheeks
And wails, or just squeaks.
Honest, it's perfectly brutal.
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 199
Towaco, N. J. Rhymes with "A socko 1" The
first o has collapsed Into a mute a.
Towaoc, Colo. Missionary Russell writes that
this is Indian for "very good," and Indicates that Its
three syllables, equally emphatic, rhyme with "Go
slay hawk."
Traer, Iowa. Rhymes with "chair."
Trego, Kans., Md., Mont., Wis. All rhyme
with 'We go."
Treichlers, Pa. German ei, but not the guttural.
Rhymes with ''Strike^ sirs!"
Tremont. Accent disputed, but chiefly In Boston.
In the country at large, Webster finds the second syl-
lable accent, but Tremont Temple In Boston starts
out, usually, like tremble.
Trenary, Mich. Pretty nearly rhymes with "can-
ary." Anyway, the accent is In the middle.
Tres Piedras, N. Mex. ("Three stones.")
Though the village is 400 miles from the border, the
pronunciation has not drifted far from the Mexican.
It rhymes, after a fashion, with "Guess we weighed
Russ." The "Pie" in the middle is sounded like the
initials "P.A."
Tres Pinos, Calif. Again, the Spanish is pretty
well kept; rhymes with "Race Three, close" (hissing
s).
Trevorton, Pa. "Trevor" rhymes with "never."
200 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Unfortunately, Trevor^ Wis., commonly lines up
with "beaver."
Trezevant, Tenn. Accent on ''trezz." Rhymes
with "hesitant," and (almost) with "president" —
the mute a and the mute e being very similar.
Tridell, Utah. Rhymes with "Slidell" (q.v.)
That is, with "I yelir
Trier (New Trier high school, Wilmette, 111.)
It rhymes with "pier" and "beer."
Tualatin, Oreg. "TwaF e-tin" represents satis-
factorily the present-day pronunciation.
Tucapau, S. C. Might have been spelled "Tuck-
apaw." Accent "tuck."
Tucson, Ariz. Rhymes with "Shoe DonV as
the blacksmith said when he was asked to shoe a
ferocious horse named Don. Pronunciation of the c
is a sign either of ignorance or humor. The accent,
like scores of others, is receding to the first syllable.
Tucumcari, N. Mex. "Two come carry."
Tukwila, Wash. "Tuck IVilla (into bed) ." Be
sure it^s Willa and not some other girl.
Tulalip, Wash. Rhymes with "shoe may slip."
Twlia, Tex. Rhymes with "Julia."
Tunica, Miss. It seems to come fairly natural
for folks in the Deep South to say "tiu"; so this
rhymes with "Punic a," as in "Was Punic a synonym
for CarthaginianT^
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 201
Tuolumne, Calif. (By derivation, probably
something to do with "stone houses.") "Twahrum-
nee," rhyming with ^^folluh me."
Turin, Iowa. Much like "tourin'." Rhymes
with "Van Buren."
Tuskegee, Ala. Hard g as in "geese." Rhymes
with "Gus Greeley."
Tutwiler, Miss. Looks like a relative of the
Indian name, Tukwila. But Tutwiler rhymes with
^^nut piler," which makes it sound German.
Twodot, Mont. Yes, "two-dot." Grace Stone
Coates writes me that, the morning after a disastrous
fire there had wiped out half the buildings along
Main Street, the "Milwaukee" brakeman sang out,
"One dot I"
Tygh Valley, Oreg.
There once was a fellow from Tygh
Who was most infernally slygh.
He marched off to war
But found it a bore,
So got himself shot as a spygh.
Tyrone, Ga. and Pa. In the old country (Ire-
land) It rhymed with "We're knownV \ but at least
two of Its namesakes over here rhyme It with "my
bone" (accents about equal).
u
Uinta (Utah, Wyo.) Pronounced ''you In'ta,"
as In "It gets you inta trouble."
Umapine, Oreg. (Card from Walla Walla.)
The city slicker bids the farmer's daughter farewell :
^^You m' pine, but I shall not."
Umatilla, Oreg. Stress the "till." It's the same
as "You, Matilda," with the trifling exchange of a (i
for an /.
Umtanum, Wash. (Is separated from Ahtanum
by Umatanu Ridge.) Rhymes with "Come fan
'em I"
Unaka, N. C. Rhymes with "You hake a
(cake)."
Uncompahgre Peak (Colorado). A good exam-
ple of phonetic spelling. Accent the "pah." The
last two syllables rhyme with the ordinary pronun-
ciation of "padre" (a common nickname for an army
chaplain).
Upsala, Minn. (Swedish province.) Rhymes
with "cups Al a," as in "The doctor comes in and
202
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 203
cups Al a while" (the reference is to blood-letting,
which I understand is not entirely obsolete) .
Urbana, 111. (Home of the university.) Rhymes
with "burnana." I know it's terrible; but note that
it exactly parallels the corruption of "nuts" into
Utah. In spite of the ah^ this is properly *'You'
taw."
Uvalde, Tex. (Home town of "Cactus Jack.")
"You val' dee," to rhyme with the classical pronun-
ciation of neuralgia: "nooraljee."
Uwchland, Pa. Happily, this Welsh name is so
incredibly unpronounceable that nobody even tries it
without getting a little coaching first. The first syl-
lable is "uke," rhyming with an unpleasant word not
unconnected with seasickness. Associate "uke-land"
with Hawaii.
V
Vade Mecum, N. C. My observer seems to be
willing to have us use the Latin version, "Wah'day
Ma/ cum," as he writes, "I understand it is a Latin
word; you should understand the pronunciation."
However, the fellers a-settin' on the curbstone in
front of the general store rhyme it with "Wade I
Seek 'um," like the Indian's advice to the trout fisher-
man.
Valatie, N. Y. Look out for this one. Rhymes
with "palatial," with the second / knocked off.
Vallejo, Calif. Not "Valley Joe." Say either
"val lay'ho" or "val lay'o." One with strong Mexi-
can leanings would put a "y" in place of the double /,
while a Spaniard would get guttural on the ;.
Valois, N. Y. (Named for a Frenchman, whose
castle here burned down a few years ago.) Rhymes
with "a choice^ Evidently the French influence has
vanished too.
Valparaiso, Ind. This rhymes with "Gal ablaze,
oh!" as the small boy exclaimed when he set his sis-
ter's dress on fire. South of the Rio Grande, the
"raiso" rhymes with ^Why so?"
204
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 205
Valrico, Fla. (From the Spanish for *'rich val-
ley.") If this started with a G instead of a F, it
would sound like an Italian's concise translation of
Life Buoy advertisements: "Gal reek-oy
Van Houten, N. Mex. (About 6,000 feet high.)
Though there were at least two more Dutchmen
hereabouts, as shown by Van Bremer creek and Van
Diest peak, the racial affiliations of the settlers of
this section clearly varied : we find Koehler and Swas-
tika, Raton and Meloche, Yankee, Brilliant, and
Heck Canyon. The out of Houten is "out" — I
mean It's in — I mean it's right, In New Mexico.
Varina, Iowa. This rhymes with "a Dinahs I
wish, though, the Varinlans would get together with
their North Carolina cousins, who rhyme it with
"arena" — why, I don't know, in "Carolina."
Varnado, La. Accent the last syllable, says my
observer. Can this be French influence on a Spanish
name? Anyway, what with radio and new concrete
highways, ten years Is the outside limit, In my estima-
tion, before that last-syllable accent gets wiped out
by tornado. The town Is off the beaten track, north
of Bogalusa.
Vashon, Wash. Only a few miles from either
Seattle or Tacoma; so I prophesy that the rather
fancy accent on the "shawn" will not long persist.
However, for the present, it rhymes with "a dawn.^^
Veblen, S. Dak. Rhymes with ^^deb when," as in
"she was a deb when I knew her."
206 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Verdigris (river, Kans., Okla. — flows right by
Nowata). Curiously enough, the actual pronuncia-
tion appears to be the same as that advocated by
Webster for the green drug: "vur' de grease."
Vergennes, Vt. (Named by Ethan Allen.)
"Vur-jenz'j" rhyming with "her hens.^^
Versailles, Ohio. Just as the British do with the
French original, we rhyme this with "her pails y
Veyo, Utah. Rhymes with Mayo\ i.e. with the
initials, "A.O.," accenting the first.
Vienna, Ga. and 111. The accent remains on the
"en"; but, sad to relate, these people rhyme their
town with "dye henna."
Vincennes, Ind. As with Versailles, anglicize.
Rhyme "vin-senz" with "in tensy
Voth, Tex. Rhymes with "both."
Vredenburgh, Ala. "Vreden" rhymes with "red-
den," and "burgh" is plain "burg."
JV
Waban, Mass. Like Wauhun^ Minn., this is
^ Vaw' bun."
Wabasha (county, Minnesota). Like Wauke-
sha^ this accents the first syllable and ends with
"shaw" : "waw' ba-shaw."
Wabasso, Minn. Starts out much like Wabash ;
the basso is like that of basso profundo^ i.e., rhyming
with lasso (I hate to tell you this because practically
everybody, including myself, mispronounces lasso as
"lass-oo"').
Wabbaseka, Ark. *'Waw-ba-seek' a."
Wabeno, Wis. Though the early Indians prob-
ably accented the "waw," this now rhymes with "saw
Renor ;
Waco, Tex. Everybody agrees that the Texas
city rhymes with dago. But aviators have a weak-
ness for "Wah' co" in references to the well-known
cabin plane.
Wacousta, Mich. Rhymes pretty well with
"canoe sta," as in "Is my canoe stuck?"
Wagram, N. C. (Near Southern Pines.) This
is "way" (long a),
207
208 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Wahkiakum (county, Washington, at the mouth
of the Columbia. Farther up the river there is a
JVahkiacus,) Webster gives a choice, and Thorp
chooses the second, a rhyme for "Ma, try a drum."
Wahkon, Minn. "Walk onr
Wahpeton, N. Dak. As in Utah, the "ah" is
"aw." Rhymes with ^^Claw the mon I" as the Scotch
caretaker said to his pet lion when the burglar
entered.
Wakarusa, Ind. Accent on the "roo"; rhymes
with "Ha, canoe, suhl" Affectionately shortened to
"wah-ka-roos'."
Wakita, Okla. "Wah kee' ta," rhyming with
"Juanita" (q.v.).
Wakpala, S. Dak. ("Beautiful creek.") The
best rhyme for it appears to be "Sock MollaV^
Walla Walla, Wash. Not necessarily accented
heavily on the first "waw." Emphasize equally both
halves of the famous "Echo City." Note also that
Wallula and Wallowa are nearby, indicating that
those particular Indians were great fellows for say-
ing "Waw!"
Waltham, Mass. Britishers think of this and
of Grantham as Walt Ham and Grant Ham, But
Americans say "Wall'thumb" (remembering, per-
haps, the lazy hitchhiker who painted a large thumb
on the wall behind him) ; or — ^particularly in Massa-
chusetts— a clear "tham," rhyming with "Sam."
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 209
Wamego, Kans. Usually rhymes with ^'Aw, we
go," though the "aw" may be shortened to "ah."
Wamesit, Mass. The rhyme is with ^^Thaw the
Flit!"
Wamic, Oreg. Rhymes with "comic." But I
think Nasty Peak, Clackamas Meadows, Pinhead
Butte, and Bakeoven Creek are funnier.
Wantagh, N. Y. As in "I want all," with the /'s
knocked off.
Wapakoneta, Ohio. The approved pronuncia-
tion ends in "etta," as if there were two ^'s. Rhymes
with "Papa go ^et a (hair-brush, or other weapon) ."
Wapato, Wash. Accent on the "wah." Rhymes
with ''Chop a toe."
Wappingers Falls, N. Y. Stress the "wop."
The ^ is soft as in "passengers."
Wareham, Mass. Most of us suppose this is as
in "Does she wear 'em?" But the fact is that locally
the "ham" is important. (See waltham.)
Warwick. "Warrick" is heard in New York,
Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Virginia, but is fight-
ing a losing battle. In most of the other states and
even in Canada, where one might expect the
squashed form favored by the British, a full "War-
wick" is regular.
Wasatch, Utah. Not a bad rhyme for ''cross
patch." First-syllable accent is preferred.
210 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Waseca, Minn. (According to H. R. Hamilton,
"Watseca" was the name traditionally given to "the
most accomplished maiden of the tribe.") There's
music in this name, and yearning too : "waw seek' a."
Washoe, Mont. Nothing to do with footwear.
This is "waw' sho."
Washougal, Wash. Accent on the "oo" ; rhymes
with "Ah, frugal."
Washtenaw (county, Michigan). Have you
heard the expression, "bathed in awe?" Well, this
is ^''washed in awe."
Washtucna, Wash. (All these "washes" remind
me of my "Waw" theory — see walla walla.) Ac-
cent the "tuck."
Wataga, 111. Rhymes with "agog a," as in "I
was all agog a while." A similar name, found in
North CaroHna and Tennessee, is Watauga^ with
an accented "taw" in the middle.
Watervliet, N. Y. The Dutch word vliet^ mean-
ing "creek," rhymes with "fleet."
Waubun, Minn. (Chippewa word for "that
light which is just before the rising of the sun.")
This is "Waw'bun," whereas Waupun^ Wis., rhymes
with "Maw wonV
Waukegan, 111. Unlike the following name, this
accents the "kee"; rhymes with "saw Regan."
Waukesha, Wis. I have heard this mispro-
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 211
nounced twice within fifteen minutes, by newscasters.
You can't get any help from Waukegan or Kenosha;
this ends in "shaw," the whole thing rhyming with
^^Hawk a saw."
Wausau, Wis. Rhymes with ^^Maw saw."
Wawina, Minn. Rhymes with ''Ah, LenaV
Waxahachie, Tex. Though hundreds of miles
above Spanish influence, these people start out with
"wah" (from association with cowboys?) rather
than "wax." The whole thing is a pretty close rhyme
for "box o' scratchy (matches)."
Wayzata, Minn. "Wise Etta" is said to be
generally accepted, but as "there is some argument
concerning this," we wonder if it does not rhyme just
as commonly with "Gaze at a (person)." In any
case, accept our word for it that the dispute has not
yet been settled.
Weaubleau, Mo. Still half French; rhymes with
a tennis cry, "Lob low !" (equal accents) .
Weber, Utah. The authorities say "Wee' ber."
Wedowee, Ala. ("Falling Waters.") Accent
in the middle. Rhymes with "see Howie" (short
for "Howard").
Weehawken, N. J. (May mean "end of Pali-
sades" or "Maize Land.") Probably better to ac-
cent the "haw."
Weimar, Tex. Bolton says this Is "wee'mer,"
rhyming with "steamer."
212 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Weippe, Idaho. Accepting Bolton again: this
rhymes with "free tripe^
Weir. In Kansas, Texas, and West Virginia
{Weirton)^ think of "weird"; i.e., rhymes with
"here." But in Mississippi the rhyme is "their."
Wellesley, Mass. Only two syllables: 'Well's
lee."
Wellpinit, Wash. Rhymes with ''help in it," as
In "My arithmetic's too hard — I need help in it."
Wenasoga, Miss. My observer says this starts
with "Winnie"; but discreet outsiders will stick
closer to the spelling, and rhyme the name with
"henna toga."
Wenatchee, Wash. Rhymes with "the scratchy
(pen)."
Wequetonsing, Mich. "Weak tonsils" Is heard,
but is, I believe, erroneous. Make "we-que" two syl-
lables, and rhyme the whole thing with "meekly
dahncing''^ (for the Information of those who do not
understand the quaint Boston dialect, this is their
word for what I have humorously nicknamed "trip-
ping the light fantastic").
Weslaco, Tex. Not Spanish, though it's only a
rifle shot from Mexico. Rhymes with the fine Chris-
tian maxim, "Bless a foe."
Westmoreland, N. H. As In Newfoundland^
the accent possibilities here are almost too numerous
to mention. Bolton says that New Hampshire
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 213
stresses "west" and "land"; Webster emphasizes
"more" in Pennsylvania, "west" In Virginia.
Weyauwega, Wis. Accent on the next-to-the-
last syllable ("wee"). The name rhymes with "I
saw Leega" as In "I saw League o' Nations, but
that's all the good It did," In the words of the old
Ethiopian-Chinese proverb.
Weyerhauser, Wis. (Lumber family.) Rhymes
with "hire browser," shrewd advice to Ye Booke
Shoppe Proppe when business Is slow.
Weymouth, Mass. As In Plymouth^ the "mouth"
gets slightly stepped on. Rhyme this with Amos^ If
you lisp.
Whalley. (Avenue In New Haven.) This "Reg-
icide Judge" rhymed his name with daily. It still
does. (See goffe.)
Wibaux, Mont. "Wee' bo" around home ; "Wy'
box" by strangers.
Wichita (Kansas and Texas). "Witch' it-aw"
— the "aw" drawled out as in "Omaha."
Wicomico (Maryland). "Wy-comico," as in
"comical," except for the final long o. "Non-East-
ern-Shoremen," writes my observer, "have great
trouble with it." Yet they hang the name around
the neck of a hotel In Salisbury, and put up a huge
billboard about it on U.S. 13.
Wiconisco, Pa. Accent on "niss"; same vowel
sounds as "Chlpso Crisco" (advt.).
214 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Widener, Ark. (Apparently named after the
philanthropist, whose name was, in the original Ger-
man, Weidner.) Rhymes with ''Hide^ sir."
Wilawana, Pa. (Observer says this is supposed
to be Indian for ''riley water.") Pronounced as if
little Willa were hungry: "Willa wannd. piece of
cake!"
Wilhelmina, Mo. Rhymes with "Bill, tell
Lenay However, Willamina^ Oreg., rhymes, some-
what more ferociously, with "Kill a Dinah."
Willamette (river, Oregon). Seeing a body of
water in the distance, Meriwether Lewis, of the well-
known exploring firm, Lewis & Clark, said to Wil-
liam Clark, "Will, am it a river?" Made-to-order
or not, it's an excellent way to remember that the ac-
cent is on the am. Unfortunately the obscure a called
for by the story is not authorized. Just "Will, am
it River."
Willapa, Wash. Pronounced as in ^Will a pa
continue to support his son after graduation?"
Winder, Ga. Nothing to do with windows.
Rhymes with "binder" and "grinder."
Winegar, Wis. "Wy' nig-er," as if vinegar were
spelled with a w and pronounced with a long i. But
there is no connection with vinegar. The source of
the name was almost certainly German Weininger
(related to that of the well-loved trouper, Winnin-
ger).
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 215
Winnebago (lake, Wisconsin). Rhymes with
"Skin a dago,'' highly reprehensible motto of an an-
cient Ethiopian tribe.
Winnepesaukee (lake, New Hampshire). Has
also been spelled Winipisiogee. The accents are on
"win" and "sauk." Rhymes with "Pin up a squawky
(infant)."
Winona, Minn. Whether or not the brakeman
rhymes It with "my crony," it is one of the most mu-
sical names in America — when rhymed with "twin
own a," as in "Does your twin own a car?"
Withe. See hickory withe.
Woburn, Mass. The old "woo," still correct in
England according to the BBC booklet, may be
heard also in New England. But "woo" is being
largely succeeded by "woe."
Wollaston, Mass. Starts out with "Wallace,"
now, but fifty years ago it was "wool'stun," which
represents fairly well the present-day pronunciation
of a "Wollaston" in Canada.
Worcester, Mass., and Wooster, Ohio. Pro-
nounced about the same: two syllables, the first
rhyming with "puss" rather than with "loose."
Wyandotte, Kans., Mich. (Also Wyandot
County, Ohio.) May be thought of as three sylla-
bles, but usually just rhymes with "^w^ spot."
Wykagyl (golf course, near New York City).
Charles E. Funk rhymes this with ''Strike a pill."
216 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
(The g is hard.) Another wildly-named golf course
is Wyantenuck^ in the southern Berkshires. It
rhymes, roughly, with "I ran amuck."
W5niona, Okla. Unlike Winona^ this accents the
first syllable, rhyming it with "my."
Wyoming. Various authorities allow a first-syl-
lable accent, but it's not heard out in the Rockies.
Nor is it approved in Pennsylvania.
When you're tired of roaming
Settle in Wyoming
(advt.)
X
Xenia, Ohio. "Zee' neea," rhyming with the last
few syllables of "gardenia."
Y
Yachats, Or eg. This sounds like "yachts'* in two
syllables; **yah' hots."
Yacolt, Wash. Accent the *'Yack" — about the
way a Swede would say ^^Jack Holt."
Yakima, Wash. Rhymes with ^^back o' ma," as
in "I landed on the back o' ma head."
Yalaha, Fla. Accent in the middle. Rhymes
with "a rah rah."
Yallo Bally (mountains, California). Kroeber
says that this name comes from Indian words mean-
ing "spirit of the snow." Sounds more like "the
spirit of cowardice" to me, but don't pay any atten-
tion to that.
Yalobusha (county, Mississippi). "Yalo''
rhymes with "shallow," and the accented "bush" is,
in short, "bush."
Yaquina, Oreg. (A Sititz Indian name.) Don't
confuse this with Yakima, The Oregon town ac-
cents the "Quinn." The two ^'s are not particularly
distinguished.
217
218 AMERICAN PLACE NAMES
Yavapai (county, Arizona). Rhymes with
^^Have a pie!" There's a Yavapai Point at the
Grand Canyon, close to the Fred Harvey hotel.
Yazoo (river, Mississippi). The accent is not
where you expect it; the name rhymes with 'V^zz
you."
Ydalpom, Calif. This is "wy dal' pom," rhyming
with "my Malcolm."
Yerba Buena (island, California, also known as
Goat Island.) Still pronounced along manana mu-
chacha lines: "yair'ba bway'na," rhyming with
"Where's a Dana ?" (i.e., someone of that name) .
Yoakum, Tex. Rhymes with "hokum."
Yonges Island, S. C. (Near Charleston.) Pro-
nounced exactly like "Young's."
Yosemite (Cahf.) Rhymes equally well with
"Oh Lem^ agree!" and "No memory." The unac-
cented i is, in ordinary speech, almost indistinguish-
able from the a of "agree" and the o of "memory."
Youghiogeny (river, W. Va., Md., Pa.) The
"gheny" is the same as in "Allegheny." The whole
thing rhymes with "Doc O'Blaney" 1
Ypsilanti, Mich. Accent on the "lant"; would
rhyme with "It's a panty" if so singular an expres-
sion could be allowed.
Yreka, Calif. (This is the place where, it is said,
an ingenious sign reads "y-r-e-k-a-B-a-k-e-r-y.") The
AMERICAN PLACE NAMES 219
y Is pronounced just as in the alphabet, and the
"reek" emphasized: "wy reek' a."
Ysleta, Tex. Like Isleta^ N. Mex., this rhymes
with "Miss Etta" ; accent the "let." (My authority
is the editor of an El Paso daily. He told me, by the
way, that Indians of the same tribe founded both set-
tlements, having been driven, in fact, from one loca-
tion to the other. )
z
Zapata (county, Texas) . Spread right along the
Rio Grande; so, "sa pah' ta."
Zavalla, Tex. Surrounded by such Castilian
names as Lufkin, Broaddus, Jasper, Diboll, and Ap-
ple Springs, this Mexican creation has stayed pretty
faithful. ''Sa vah' la" is about where it stands at the
moment. Far to the southwest, there is a Zavala
(one /) County, pronounced the same.
Zeigler, 111. As this may have been "Ziegler"
originally (there's a Zieglerville in Pennsylvania),
the "eye" people and the "ee" people have compro-
mised by starting with "zig" as in "zig-zag."
Ziebach, S. Dak. According to Webster, the
German "ee" has been kept, but the guttural "ch"
sunk completely: "zee' bah."
220
—BIBLIOGRAPHY—
Barnes, Will C: Arizona Place Names', Tucson,
1935.
Bolton, C. K. : Current Pronunciation of Names of
People and Places (in manuscript)
Century Dictionary and Encyclopedia, 1911.
Hamilton, H. R. : The Epic of Chicago; Chicago,
1932.
James, A. L. : Broadcast English (BBC) ; London,
1936.
Kroeber, A. L. : Handbook of American Indians.
Lewis, Harriet Jane and Francis A.: Stories of
Placer County — Tahoe; Sacramento, 1932.
Lippincott's Gazetteer of the World, 1922.
Lloyd, C. A.: We Who Speak English (in manu-
script).
Mackey, M. S. and M. G. : The Pronunciation of
10,000 Proper Names; New York, 1922.
Mawson, C. O. S. : International Book of Names;
New York, 1933.
Missouri Historical Review; July, 1932, and July,
1935.
221
222 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mott, Frank Luther, in Iowa Journal of History and
Politics^ July, 1925, and in The Palimpsest,
May, 1926.
Phyfe, W. H. P.: 18,000 Words Often Mispro-
nounced; New York, 1926.
Read, Allen Walker, in American Speech, February,
1933, and December, 1933.
Read, William A. : Louisiana Place-Names of Indian
Origin-, Baton Rouge, 1927.
Sanchez, Nellie Van de Grift: Spanish and Indian
Place Names of California; San Francisco, 1930.
United States Official Postal Guide; July, 1937.
Vizetelly, F. H. : Desk Book of 25,000 Words Fre-
quently Mispronounced; New York, 1929.
Webster's New International Dictionary; Spring-
field, 1934.
University of
Connecticut
Libraries
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