TOWN NAMES OF COLONIAL NEW ENGLAND IN THE WEST

Abstract

The names given to the towns of New England during the colonial period formed the largest group of place names drawn upon in the naming of places (counties, townships, and aggregated communities) in the western territories and states after the attainment of independence by the United States. The distribution of these names in the twentieth century provides a clue to the westward spread of cultural elements from the northeastern states into the interior of North America, supplementing evidence from speech habits and material elements of the cultural landscape. Because of ambiguities, especially of contamination by transfer of some identical names from the middle and southern colonies, the present distribution of the names in the states west of the original colonies must be examined in the light of evidence other than their position on the map. The full insight to be gained from the occurrence of the names may be achieved only by a more detailed examination, preferably by individual states, than the sample examined here permits.

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