US Place Names ~ Carrollton, New York to Chelan, Washington

Carrollton; town in Cattaraugus County, New York, named for G. Carroll, an original proprietor.

Carrying Place; plantation in Somerset County, Maine, so named because the Indians had to carry their canoes from one waterway to another en route to Canada.

Carson; pass, lake, river, and valley in Nevada, and peak in Utah.

Carson City; city in Ormsby County, Nevada. Named for Christopher, or Kit Carson, the Rocky Mountain guide.

Carson; county in Texas, named for S. P. Carson, secretary of state under David G. Burnet.

Carter; county, and village in same county, in Kentucky, named for William G. Carter, a member of the State senate.

Carter; county in Missouri, named for Zimri Carter, an early settler.

Carter; county, and village in same county, in Tennessee, named for Gen. Landon Carter.

Carteret; county in North Carolina, named for Sir George Carteret, one of the proprietors.

Cartersville; city in Bartow County, Georgia, named for Col. F. Carter, of Milledgeville.

Carterville; city in Williamson County, Illinois, named for Laban Carter, the first settler and discoverer of coal in the vicinity.

Carthage; city in Jasper County, Missouri; village in Jefferson County, New York; and many other places; named from the ancient city in Africa.

Caruthersville; city in Pemiscot County, Missouri, named for Hon. Samuel Caruthers, of Madison County.

Carver; town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, named for John Carver, first governor of Plymouth colony.

Carver; county, and town in same county, in Minnesota, named for Capt. Jonathan Carver, who, in 1766-67, traveled from Boston to the Minnesota River, and wintered among the Sioux near the site of New Ulm, Minnesota.

Cary; village in Wake County, North Carolina, named for the temperance lecturer of Ohio.

Cary Station; village in McHenry County, Illinois, named for one of its founders.

Caryville; town in Genesee County, New York, named for Col. Alfred Cary, early settler.

Casa Blanca; villages in Riverside County, California, and Goliad County, Texas. A Spanish phrase meaning "white house."

Cascade; county in Montana, so named because it contains the great falls of the Missouri River.

Cascade; chain of mountains in Oregon and Washington, so called from the cascades in the Columbia River breaking through the range.

Cascade Locks; town in Wasco County, Oregon, situated at the locks built at the cascades in the Columbia River.

Casco; bay and town in Cumberland County, Maine. From an Indian word meaning, according to some authorities, "resting place," or "crane bay."

Casetas; village in Ventura County, California. A Spanish word meaning "cottages."

Casey; county in Kentucky;

Caseyville; town in Union County, Kentucky. Named for Col. William Casey, a pioneer of the State.

Caseyville; township and village in St. Clair County, Illinois, named for Lieutenant-Governor Badock Casey, member of Congress from Illinois in 1833.

Cash City; town in Clark County, Kansas, named for its founder. Cash Henderson.

Cashie; river in North Carolina, named for an Indian chief.

Cashion; town in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma, named for Roy Cashion, a Rough Rider in the Spanish- American war, and the only one of the Oklahoma contingent killed in the charge up San Juan hill.

Cass; counties in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa; county and river in Michigan; county and lake in Minnesota; county in Nebraska; and county and village in same county in Texas, named for Gen. Lewis Cass, governor of Michigan in 1820.

Cass; county in North Dakota, named for Gen. George W. Cass, director of the Northern Pacific Railroad.

Cassadaga; lake, creek, and village in Chautauqua County, New York. An Indian word, meaning "under the rocks."

Casselton; town in Cass County, North Dakota, named for Gen. George W. Cass, director of the Northern Pacific Railroad.

Cassia; county and creek in Idaho. A corrupted form of the name of an early French settler.

Cass Lake; village in Cass County, Minnesota;

Cassopolis; village in Cass County, Michigan;

Cassville; village in Grant County, Wisconsin. Named for Gen. Lewis Cass, governor of Michigan in 1820.

Castalia; town in Erie County, Ohio, named from the ancient fountain at the foot of Mount Parnassus in Phocis.

Castile; town in Wyoming County, New York, named from the ancient kingdom of Spain.

Castine; town in Hancock County, Maine, named for Baron de St. Castine, a French nobleman, by whom it was settled.

Castle; peak in the Sierra Nevada, California, so named from its conical shape.

Castle; peak in Elk Mountains, Colorado, named from its castellated summit

Castle; island in the Hudson River, New York, so called from a stockade built by the Dutch as a protection from the Indians.

Castle Rock; towns in Douglas County, Colorado, and Grant County, Wisconsin, named from the Castle Rocks.

Castle Bock; town in Summit County, Utah, so called from a vast rock which bears a resemblance to a ruined castle.

Castleton; village in Stark County, Illinois, named for Dr. Alfred Castle, who was instrumental in introducing a railroad into the settlement.

Castleton; village in Rensselaer County, New York, named from an ancient Indian castle on the adjacent hills.

Castleton; town in Rutland County, Vermont, named for one of the original proprietors.

Castor; bayou in Louisiana, and river in Missouri, so named because of the prevalence of beavers. From the Greek, kastor, meaning "beaver."

Castro; county in Texas;

Castroville; town in Medina County, Texas. Named for Henri Castro, who settled 600 immigrants in Texas under Government contract between 1842 and 1845.

Caswell; county in North Carolina, named for Richard Caswell, governor of the State in 1777-1779.

Catahoula; lake and parish in Louisiana, named for an extinct Indian tribe.

Cataract; village in Owen County, Indiana, so named on account of the falls in the river near.

Cataraque; river in New York. An Indian word meaning "fort in the water," the early name of Lake Ontario.

Catasauqua; creek and borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. A Delaware Indian word, a corruption of gottoshacki, "the earth thirsts for rain," or "parched land."

Catawba; river in North Carolina and South Carolina; county, and town in same county, in North Carolina; village in Clark County, Ohio; town in Roanoke County, Virginia; town in Marion County, West Virginia; island in Lake Erie; and several other places; named from the Indian tribe. The word may be from the Choctaw, katapa, meaning "cut off," "separated."

Catawissa; branch of the Susquehanna River, and borough and township in Columbia County, Pennsylvania. A corruption of the Indian word gattawisi, "growing fat," though some authorities say the name signifies "clear water."

Cathaneu; river of Maine. An Indian word meaning "bent," or "crooked."

Catharine; town in Schuyler County, New York, named for Catharine Montour, the wife of an Indian sachem.

Cathedral; peak in the Sierra Nevada, in Mariposa County, California, so named from its resemblance to a spire.

Catheys; creek in Humboldt County, California, named for an old settler.

Cathlamet; point and town in Wahkiakum County, Washington, named from the Indian tribe, Kathlamet.

Cathlapootle; river in Washington, named for the Cathlapotle Indian tribe.

Catlettsburg; city in Boyd County, Kentucky, named for Horatio Catlett, one of the first settlers.

Catlin; township and village in Vermilion County, Illinois, named for J. M. Catlin, a railroad official.

Cato; town in Cayuga County, New York, named by the State land board in honor of the distinguished Roman.

Catoctin; stream in Virginia tributary to the Potomac River. An Indian word meaning "great village."

Catskill; creek, mountains, and town in Greene County, New York. The mountains were called katsbergs by the Dutch, from the number of wild-cats found in them, and the creek, which flows from the mountains, was called Katerskilly "tomcats' creek."

Cattaraugrus; county, village in same county, and creek in New York. An Indian word meaning "bad smelling shore."

Caucomgomoc; lake in Maine. A corruption of an Indian word, meaning "big gull lake."

Caugwaga; creek in Erie County, New York. A corruption of the Indian gag-waga, "creek of the Cat nation."

Causton; bluff in Georgia, named for Thomas Causton.

Cavalier; county, and town in Pembina County, in North Dakota, named for Charles Cavalier, one of the old settlers in the Lower Red River Valley.

Cave in Kock; village in Hardin County, Illinois, named from a cave in a rocky bluff on the Ohio River.

Cawanesque; branch of the Chemung River, in New York. An Indian word meaning "at the long island."

Cawanshanock; creek in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. An Indian word derived from gawunschhanne, "green briar stream."

Cawker; city in Mitchell County, Kansas, named for E. H. Cawker.

Cayadutta; creek in Fulton County, New York; stated by Beauchamp to mean "stone standing out of the water." The origin is thought by Baylies to be purely conjectural. The most noticeable feature to which the name could apply was a large rock in midstream below some beautiful falls.

Cayncos; town in San Luis Obispo County, California. A Spanish word meaning "small fishing boats."

Cayuga; county, village in same county, and lake in New York. An Indian word, the derivation of which is in dispute. The generally accepted theory, is that it means "long lake," having been originally applied to the lake, which is 38 miles long and from 1 to 3 miles wide. Morgan derives it from gweugweh, "the mucky land," while others say that it signifies "canoes pulled out of the water." One of Iroquois tribes was so called. Six small places in the country bear this name.

Cayuse; village in Umatilla County, Oregon, named from an Indian tribe.

Cazadero; village in Sonoma County, California. A Spanish term meaning "place for pursuing game."

Cazenovia; township in Woodford County, Illinois, and villages in Pipestone County, Minnesota, and Richland County, Wisconsin, named for the town in New York.

Cazenovia; lake and town in Madison County, New York, named by its founder, Col. John Linklaen, for Theophilus Cazenove, general agent of the Holland Land Company.

Cecil; county in Maryland;

Cecilton; town in Cecil County, Maryland, named for Cecil Calvert, second Lord Baltimore.

Cedar; this word, with various suffixes, forms the name of numerous features throughout the country. Counties in Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska, 153 post-offices, with or without suffixes, and numerous rivers, creeks, etc., bear the name, referring to the presence of the tree in the vicinity.

Cedar Keys; town in Levy County, Florida, named from a group of islands in the harbor.

Celeron; island near Detroit, Michigan, named for Sieur Celeron, commandant at Detroit in early days.

Celina; village in Mercer County, Ohio, named from Salina in New York; the orthography was changed to avoid confusion.

Center; town in Sharp County, Arkansas, and county in Pennsylvania, so named because of their geographical situation. One hundred and fifty places in the country bear this name, alone of with various prefixes.

Center Harbor; town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, named for one of the first settlers, Col. Joseph Senter.

Central; town in Pickens County, South Carolina, so named because of its geographical situation. Twenty-eight other places, with and without suffixes, are so called.

Central City; town in Gilpin County, Colorado, so named because it was originally the center of several mining camps.

Central City; town in Huntington County, West Virginia, so named because it is nearly halfway between Guyandotte and Catlettsburg.

Centralia; township and city in Marion County, Illinois, so named by the Illinois Central Railroad from its location at the junction of the main line and the Chicago line.

Central Lake; village in Antrim County, Michigan, situated on a lake which is in the center of a chain of lakes and rivers in the county.

Ceredo; village in Wayne County, West Virginia, so named by its founder because of the bountiful harvest of corn upon its site. The name is derived from Ceres, the goddess of com and harvests.

Cerrillos; town in Santa Fe County, New Mexico. A Spanish word meaning "little eminences," or "little hills."

Cerritos; village in Los Angeles County, California. A Spanish word meaning "little hills."

Cerro Colorado; a conical hill of reddish color in Colorado. The name was given by the Mexicans, and means "red hill."

Cerro Gordo; village in Piatt County, Illinois, county in Iowa, and village in Columbus County, North Carolina, named from the Mexican battlefield. The words mean "large (around) hill."

Ceylon; village in Erie County, Ohio, and five other places, named from the island off the coast of India.

Chadbourn; town in Columbus County, North Carolina, named for a prominent business man of Wilmington, North Carolina.

Chadds Ford; village in Chester County, Pennsylvania, named for the proprietor, Francis Chadsey.

Chadron; city in Dawes County, Nebraska, named for an old French squawman.

Chadwick; village in Carroll County, Illinois, named for an engineer who was connected with the building of the first railroad through that section.

Chaffee; county in Colorado, named for Jerome B. Chaffee, United States Senator.

Chaffin; bluff in Virginia, named for the family who owned it.

Chagrin; river in Ohio. Two different theories obtain in regard to this name, one being that a party of surveyors under Harvey Rice, so named it because of their disappointment at finding that they were not following the course of the Cuyahoga River. Howe says that it is named from the Indian word shagrin which is said to mean "clear."

Chagrin Falls; village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, named from the river. Chamberlain; lake in Maine, named for an old settler.

Chamberlain; city in Brule County, South Dakota, named for Selah Chamberlain, a director of the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul Railroad.

Chambers; county in Alabama, named for Senator Henry C. Chambers of that State.

Chambers; county in Texas, named for Thomas J. Chambers, major-general in the Texas revolution.

Chambersburg; township in Pike County, Illinois, named for a family of first settlers.

Chambersburg; town in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, named for a Scotchman who founded it, Benjamin Chambers.

Champaign; county, and city in same county, in Illinois, named from the county in Ohio.

Champaign; county in Ohio, so named from the general character of the country. From the French, champ, meaning *' fields," and plains, "flat."

Champion; town in Jefferson County, New York, and township in Trumbull County, Ohio, named for Gen. Henry Champion, of Connecticut.

Champlain; lake, and town in Clinton County, in New York, named for the discoverer of the lake, Samuel de Champlain, a French naval officer, who explored that country in 1609.

Chancellorsville; village in Spottsylvania County, Virginia, named for a family in the neighborhood.

Chandeleur; bay and islands on the coast of Louisiana, so named because they were discovered on Candlemas or Chandeleur day.

Chandlersville; village in Muskingum County, Ohio, named for Samuel Chandler. Chandlerville; village in Cass County, Illinois, named for Dr. Charles Chandler, its founder.

Chaney; creek in Mississippi, named for Robert Chaney, an early settler in Perry County.

Chanhassan; river in Minnesota and North Dakota. An Indian word meaning "pale bark wood," or "sugar tree."

Chanhassen; village in Carver County, Minnesota. An Indian word meaning "firestone."

Chankie; creek in South Dakota. Coues says it is clipped from tschehkanakasahtapah, "breech clout." Haines gives chanka, "firestone," so named from a very hard rock of vitrified sandstone found near its mouth.

Chanlers; purchase in Coos County, New Hampshire, named for Jeremiah Chanler, an early owner.

Chanopa; lake in Minnesota. A Sioux Indian word meaning "two wood."

Chanshayapi; river in Minnesota. A Sioux Indian word meaning "red wood," or "post painted red."

Chanute; city in Neosho County, Kansas, named for O. Chanute, civil engineer with the Leavenworth, Lawrence and Galveston Railroad.

Chapa; river in Minnesota. An Indian word meaning "beaver."

Chapel Hill; town in Orange County, North Carolina, named from a colonial chapel of the Church of England, built on a hill.

Chapin; village in Morgan County, Illinois, named for its founders, Charles and Horace Chapin.

Chapin; town in Lexington County, South Carolina, named for a family of that name.

Chapman; borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, named for William Chapman, who owned slate quarries there.

Chappaqua; town in Westchester County, New York. An Indian word meaning edible root of some kind.

Chappaquiddick; island in Dukes County, Massachusetts. From an Indian word, cheppiaquidne, "separated island." So called because separated from Marthas Vineyard by a narrow strait.

Chapparal; village in Butte County, California. From the Spanish, meaning a "plantation of evergreen oaks."

Chardon; village in Geauga County, Ohio, named for a proprietor, Peter Chardon Brooks.

Chariton; township and city in Lucas County, Iowa, and county, river, and town in Putnam County, Missouri. The origin of the name is in doubt. The most generally accepted theory is that it was given by the early French, but that the original form of the word has been lost, hence the translation is impossible.

Some persons say that there was a French trader who had his agency near the mouth of the river, whose name was similar.

Charlemont; town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, named for the Earl of Charlemont.

Charles; county in Maryland, named in honor of Charles Calvert, son of Cecilius Calvert, second Lord Baltimore.

Charles; river in Massachusetts, and point in Northampton County, Virginia.

Charles City; county in Virginia. Named for Charles I of England.

Charles City; township and city in Floyd County, Iowa, named by Kelley St. Charles for his son.

Charles Mix; county in South Dakota, named for a pioneer citizen.

Charleston; township and city in Coles County, Illinois, named for Charles Morton, one of the founders.

Charleston; town in Penobscot County, Maine, named for an early settler, Charles Vaughan.

Charleston; town in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, named from Charleston, South Carolina.

Charleston; county, and city in same county, in South Carolina. The city was named first and was originally called Charles Town, in honor of Charles II of England.

Charleston; city in Kanawha County, West Virginia, named for Charles Clendman, father of George Clendman, the founder.

Charlestown; part of Boston, Massachusetts, named for Charles I of England.

Charlestown; town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, named for Sir Charles Knowles.

Charlestown; town in Washington County, Rhode Island, named either for King Charles II of England, or for Charles Edward, the pretender.

Charles Town; town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, named for the brother of George Washington, Charles Washington, who owned the land upon which the town was built.

Charlevoix; county, and village in same county, in Michigan, named for Pere Francis X. Charlevoix, a missionary and historian.

Charley Apopka; creek in Florida. A corruption of the Indian word, tsalopopko-hatchee, "catfish eating creek."

Charloe; village in Paulding County, Ohio, named for an Ottawa Indian chief.

Charlotte; county in Virginia, and village in Monroe County, New York, named for Charlotte Augusta, Princess of Wales.

Charlotte; city in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, named for the wife of George III of England.

Charlottesville; city in Albemarle County, Virginia, named for Charlotte Augusta, Princess of Wales.

Charlton; county, and village in same county, in Georgia, named for Robert M. Charlton, poet, and United States Senator in 1852.

Charlton; town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, named for Sir Francis Charlton, gentleman of the privy chamber in 1755.

Chartiers; two creeks, and townships in Allegheny and Washington counties, Pennsylvania, named for Peter Chartiers, a noted half-breed spy and Indian hunter.

Chase; county in Kansas, named for Salmon P. Chase, secretary of the treasury under President Lincoln.

Chase; county in Nebraska named for a former mayor of Omaha.

Chaska; city in Carver County, Minnesota. A Sioux Indian name for a first-born son.

Chateaugay; river, lake, and village in Franklin County, New York, named from the town in France. The name was applied to a seigniory created in 1673, and was applied to the river which traversed it, and the appellation naturally followed the stream to its source.

Chatham; county in Georgia, towns in Barnstable County Massachusetts, and Carroll County, New Hampshire; borough in Morris County, New Jersey; village in Columbia County, New York, county in North Carolina, and many other places, named for William Pitt, Earl of Chatham.

Chatsworth; township and town in Livingston County, Illinois, named from the country home of the Duke of Devonshire, England.

Chattahoochee; river, county, and village in Fulton County, Georgia, and town in Gadsden County, Florida; a Creek Indian word meaning "painted stone."

Chaumont; village in Jefferson County, New York, named for Le Ray de Cahumont, an early proprietor.

Chautauqua; county in Kansas; county, lake, and town in same county, in New York. An Indian word which has been the subject of much controversy. Webster says it is a corruption of a word which means "foggy place." Another derivation gives the meaning as "bag tied in the middle," referring to the shape of the lake. It is also said to mean "place where a child was washed away." Dr. Peter Wilson, an educated Seneca, says it is literally "where the fish was taken out." Other meanings given are "place of easy death," and "place where one was lost."

Chaves; county in New Mexico, named for Mariano Chaves, governor in 1836.

Cheanill; chain of hills in Oregon. An Indian word meaning "bald hills."

Cheat; river in West Virginia, so called because of the variableness of the volume of water.

Cheatham; county in Tennessee, name for Benjamin Cheatham, a Confederate general.

Chebanse; town in Iroquois County, Illinois, named for an Indian chief. The word means "little duck."

Chebeague Island; village in Cumberland County, Maine. The name is probably derived from chebeeg, "great waters," or "wide expanse of water."

Cheboygan; river, country, and city in same county, in Michigan. An Indian word variously interpreted. Haines says it is composed of two words, che, "great," and poygan, "pipe." Another derivation gives the meaning, "the river that comes out of the ground." The Michigan Historical Society gives chahwegan, a place of ore."

Checaque; river in Iowa. An Indian word meaning "skunk."

Chectemunda; creek in Montgomery County, New York. An Indian word meaning "twin sister."

Cheektowaga; town in Erie County, New York. Derived from the Indian words juk do waah geh, "place of the crab apple tree."

Cheesechankamuck; eastern branch of Farmington River, Connecticut. An Indian word meaning "great fishing place at the weir."

Cheetiery Sopochnie; chain of volcanic mountains in the Aleutian Islands. Indian words meaning "four mountains."

Chefuncte; river in Louisiana. An Indian word meaning "chinkapin."

Chehalis; river, county, and city in Lewis County, in Washington, named from an Indian tribe. The word means "sand" or "inlanders."

Chehtanbeh; river in Minnesota. An Indian word meaning "sparrow hawk's nest"

Chelan; county and lake in Washington. An Indian word meaning "deep water" or "big water."

US Place Names

Source: The Origin of Certain Place Names the United States, Second Edition, Henry Gannett, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1906.