US Place Names ~ Chelmsford, Massachusetts to Clockville, New York

Chelmsford; town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, named from the English town.

Chelsea; city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, named from the English town.

Chelsea; towns in Washtenaw County, Michigan, and Orange County, Vermont; indirectly named from the town in England.

Chemawa; village in Marion County, Oregon. An Indian word said to mean "our old home."

Chemehuevis; valley in Arizona, named from a tribe of Indians.

Chemung; river, county, and town in same county, in New York. An Indian word, meaning ''bighorn" or '*big horn in the water." The river was so named from the tradition of a huge fossil tusk, supposed to be of some prehistoric monster, having been found in the bank of the river.

Chenango; river, county, and town in Broome County, in New York. An Indian word meaning "bull thistles."

Chêne; bayou in Louisiana. A French word meaning "oak."

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

Cheney; city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, named for P. B. Cheney, stockholder of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad.

Cheney; town in Spokane County, Washington, named for Benjamin P. Cheney, of Boston, one of the originators of the Northern Pacific Railroad.

Chenoa; township and city in McLean County, Illinois. From the Indian word "chenowa," meaning "white dove."

Chepahet; river, and village in Providence County, in Rhode Island, and village in Herkimer County, New York. An Indian word meaning "where the stream divides," or "place of separation."

Chepultepec; town in Blount County, Alabama. An Aztec Indian word meaning "grasshopper mountain."

Cheputnaticook; lake in Maine. An Indian word meaning "great hill lake."

Cheraw; town in Chesterfield County, South Carolina, named from the Sara or Cheraw Indian tribe.

Cherokee; county, and town in Colbert County, in Alabama; township in Benton County, Arkansas; village in Butte County, California; county, and village in same county, in Georgia; county, and city in same county, in Iowa; nation in Indian Territory; county, and city in Crawford County, in Kansas; villages in Lawrence County, Kentucky, and Lowndes County, Mississippi; county, and village in Swain County, in North Carolina; post-office in Woods County, Oklahoma; county, and post-office in Spartanburg County, in South Carolina; village in Lauderdale County, Tennessee; county, and village in San Saba County, in Texas; and village in Marathon County, Wisconsin; named for an Indian tribe. The meaning is uncertain.

Cherry; county in Nebraska, named for Lieutenant Cherry, United States Army.

Cherry Creek; town and creek in Chautauqua County, New York, named by Joshua Bentley, jr., a surveyor who found the center of the town to be on a small island in a stream on which was a small cherry tree.

Cherryvale; city in Montgomery County, Kansas, in the valley of Cherry Creek. The name ''Cherry" occurs frequently with and without suffixes, generally referring to the presence of the tree.

Chesaning; village in Saginaw County, Michigan. An Indian word meaning "big rock," the name having been given because of a large rock near the place.

Chesapeake; bay in Maryland which gives name to several places in the country. An Indian name variously explained, but which seems to be a contraction of the Delaware name kitshishwapeaky "great salty bay."

Cheshire; towns in New Haven County, Connecticut, and Berkshire County, Massachusetts; township in Allegan County, Michigan; county in New Hampshire; and villages in Ontario County, New York, and Gallia County, Ohio, named from the county in England.

Chester; city in Randolph County, Illinois, and town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, named from the city in England.

Chester; county in Pennsylvania, named by George Pearson, a friend of William Penn, in honor of the native place of Penn.

Chester; county, and town in same county, in South Carolina, named from Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Chester; county in Tennessee, named for Robert I. Chester, an old settler.

Chesterfield; town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, and counties in South Carolina and Virginia, named for Philip Dormer Stanhope, fourth Earl of Chesterfield.

Chesterfield; county in North Carolina, named from the town in Derbyshire, England.

Chesterville; village in Albany County, New York, named for Rev. John Chester, of Albany.

Chestnut; twenty-seven post-offices and many natural features bear this name, indicating the presence of the tree.

Chesuncook; lake and town in Piscataquis County, Maine. An Indian word which, according to Judge Potter, means "goose place." Thoreau gives, "place where many streams empty." Haines says that it signifies "great goose place."

Chetimaches; lake in Louisiana, which is also known as Grand Lake, the name of an Indian tribe; the word is from the Choctaw language and means, "they possess cooking vessels."

Chetopa; city in Labette County, Kansas. An Indian word meaning "four houses," the town having been built on the site of four houses occupied by the wives of an Osage chief.

Chewaukan; marsh in Oregon. An Indian word meaning "water potato."

Cheyenne; county and mountain in Colorado, county in Kansas, county and river in Nebraska, city in Laramie County, Wyoming, and a number of other places, named for the Indian tribe. The Cheyennes call themselves Dzitzistas. The popular name is a corruption of the name given them by the Sioux, and said to signify "aliens."

Chicacomico; creek on the eastern shore of Maryland. An Indian word meaning "place where turkeys are plenty."

Chicago; city and river in Illinois. The Ojibwa Indian form, she-kag-ong, signifies "wild onion place," from a root form implying a "bad smell."

Chichester; town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, and village in Ulster County, New York, named from the city in England.

Chickahominy; river in Virginia, which according to De Vere is named from the Indian word, checahaminend, "land of much grain," so called because it flows through fertile lowlands. Heckewelder, with doubtful authority, says that it is corrupted from Tschikene-mahoni, "lick frequented by turkeys."

Chickies; creek and village in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The name is derived from the Indian, chikiswalungo, meaning "place of crabs." Heckewelder says the meaning is "place of crawfish," and Sener states it is a corruption of chickesalunga.

Chickisalunga; creek in Pennsylvania. An Indian word derived from chickiswalunga, "place of crawfish," or "place of crab fish."

Chickomuxen; creek in Maryland. An Indian word meaning "fishing place at a weir."

Chickwolnepy; creek in New Hampshire. An Indian word meaning "near great pond,"

Chico; township and city in Butte Coonty, California. A Spanish word meaning "little."

Chicomico; creek in Connecticut. An Indian derivation from she or che, "great," and kamuk, or comaco, "house," or "inclosed place."

Chicopee; river, falls, and city in Hampden County, in Massachusetts. An Indian word, meaning "cedar tree," or "birch-bark place."

Chicora; town in Berkeley County, South Carolina. From an Indian word, yuchi-kere, meaning "yuchi are there,' or "yuchi over there."

Chicot; county in Arkansas and creek in New York. A French word meaning "wood;" a term also applied to a stub or broken piece of wood.

Childress; county; and town in same county, in Texas, named for George C. Childress, author of the Texas declaration of independence.

Chillicothe; city in Peoria County, Illinois, towns in Wapello County, Iowa, and

Livingston County, Missouri, and city in Ross County, Ohio, named from a Shawnee subtribe. The correct Shawnee form signifies "man made perfect." (Gatschet.)

Chillisquaque; creek and village in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. A Delaware Indian word meaning "place of snowbirds."

Chilmark; town in Dukes County, Massachusetts, named from the town in England.

Chilson; lake and village in Essex County, New York, named for a family of early settlers.

Chilton; county, and village in Clarke County, in Alabama, named for William P. Chilton, of that State.

Chilton; city in Calumet County, Wisconsin, named Chillington, from the home of an early settler, Chillington Hall, England, but the county clerk in recording the name, omitted the second syllable, hence Chilton.

Chimney Rock; town in Rutherford County, North Carolina, named from nearby cliffs, which bear a likeness to colossal chimneys.

Chinook; village in Pacific County, Washington, named from a tribe of Indians.

Chinquapin; town in Duplin County, North Carolina. The name is the Indian name for "nut," or "small chestnut."

Chippewa; county and river in Michigan, and counties in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Chippewa Falls; city in Chippewa County, Wisconsin. Named from a noted Indian tribe. The proper Indian form is Ojibwa.

Chisago; county and lake in Minnesota, named by W. H. C. Folsom, from two Ojibwa Indian words, kichi, "large," and saga, "fair" or "lovely."

Chissesessick; rivers in Virginia and Georgia. An Indian word meaning "place of bluebirds."

Chittenango; creek and village in Madison County, New York. Morgan says it is an Indian word, meaning "where the sun shines out;" other authorities translate it "waters divide and run into."

Chittenden; county in Vermont, named for Thomas Chittenden, governor of the State in 1790-97.

Chittenden; peak in Yellowstone Park, named for George B. Chittenden.

Chivington; village in Kiowa County, Colorado, near the battle ground where Colonel Chivington massacred the Cheyenne Indians in 1864.

Chocorua; peak in the White Mountains, New Hampshire, said to be named for a prophet-chief of the Socoki Indians, who, being pursued to this lofty peak by a white hunter, leaped over the precipice and met his death.

Choctawhatchee; bay and river in Florida. An Indian word meaning "river of the Choctaws."

Chohwajica; lake in Minnesota. An Indian word meaning "willow."

Chokin; lake in Minnesota. An Indian word meaning "place of roasting," the lake probably having been so named because the Dakota Indians roasted the teepwinna root, which they used for food, on the shore of the lake.

Chokio; village in Stevens County, Minnesota. An Indian word meaning "middle."

Chokoloskee; town in Lee County, Florida. The name is derived from the Indian word, chokoliska, meaning "red houses."

Choteau; county, and township in Teton County, in Montana, and county in South Dakota, named for the Chouteau family, two brothers of which, Auguste and Pierre, founded St. Louis.

Chouptyatanka; lake in Minnesota. An Indian word meaning "big dry wood."

Chowan; river and county in North Carolina, named from the Chowanoke Indian tribe. The word is a variant of the Algonquian sorwán, "south." One authority derives the word from sowan-ohke, "south country."

Christian; county in Kentucky, named for Col. William Christian, an officer of the Revolution.

Christian; counties in Illinois and Missouri, named from the county in Kentucky.

Christiana; creek, and village in Newcastle County, in Delaware, and borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, named for the King and Queen of Sweden, Christian and Christiana.

Christiansburg; town in Montgomery County, Virginia, named for a first settler.

Christman; city in Edgar County, Illinois, named for Mathias Christman, its founder.

Chromite; village in Shasta County, California, named from the chrome iron mines.

Chuctanunda; stream in Montgomery County, New York. An Indian word meaning "twin sisters."

Chula; village in Livingston County, Missouri;

Chulafinnee; town in Cleburne County, Alabama;

Chulahoma; town in Marshall County, Mississippi. From a Choctaw Indian word meaning "red fox."

Chuluota; town in Orange County, Florida. An Indian word meaning "beautiful view."

Churchill; county in Nevada, which takes its name from Fort Churchill, named for an officer of the United States Army.

Churchville; village in Monroe County, New York, named for Samuel Church, a pioneer settler.

Cibolo; river and village in Guadalupe County, Texas. A Spanish word meaning "buffalo."

Cicero; town in Onondaga County, New York, named by the State land board for the celebrated Roman.

Cienega; station in Los Angeles County, California, and mining locality in Yavapai

County, Arizona. A Spanish word meaning "marsh."

Cimarron; river in Oklahoma and Indian Territory, city in Gray County, Kansas, and village in Colfax County, New Mexico. A Spanish word meaning "wild," "unruly."

Cincinnati; city in Hamilton County, Ohio, laid out and named by Col. Israel Ludlow, from an organization of officers formed after the Revolutionary war and named in honor of Cincinnatus, the Roman patriot.

Cicinnatus; town in Cortland County, New York, named by the State land board, for the celebrated Roman patriot.

Cinnabar; village in Trinity County, California, named from the quicksilver mines.

Cinnabar; mountain just north of Yellowstone Park, named from its rocks, which are colored red by iron, which was mistaken for cinnabar.

Cinnaminson; town in Burlington County, New Jersey. The name is derived from the cinna, or sinne, "stone," and mona, or minna. "island," hence "stone island place."

Circleville; village in Pickaway County, Ohio, so named from the circular Indian mounds in the neighborhood.

Cisco; town in Eastland County, Texas, named for John J. Cisco, a prominent resident.

Cisco; many places in the United States hear this name. An Indian word meaning a kind of trout of an oily nature.

Cissna Park; village in Iroquois County, Illinois, named for William Cissna, one of its founders.

Citra; town in Marion County, Florida;

Citrona; village in Yolo County, California;

Citrus; town in Inyo County, California, and county in Florida. From citrus a small genus of trees of the orange family; so named because of the abundance of orange groves in these regions.

Clackamas; county, village in same county, and river in Oregon, named from an Indian tribe.

Claiborne; parish in Louisiana and counties in Mississippi and Tennessee, named for William C. C. Claiborne, governor of Mississippi Territory and of Louisiana as a Territory and a State.

Clallam; county in Washington, named from an Indian tribe.

Clancey; creek, and town in Jefferson County, in Montana, named for judge Clancey, a prospector and mining promoter of an early day.

Clanton; town in Chilton County, Alabama, named for General Clanton, a Confederate general.

Clapper; town in Monroe County, Missouri, named for Henry Clapper, who was instrumental in bringing a railroad into the place.

Clare; county, and city in same county, in Michigan. The origin of the name is in doubt, but the Michigan Historical Society says that it is probably named from County Clare in Ireland.

Claremont; town in Los Angeles County, California, named from the town in New Hampshire.

Claremont; town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, named from the country seat of Lord Clive, an English general.

Clarence; city in Shelby County, Missouri, named for a son of John Duff, an early settler.

Clarendon; county, and town in same county, in South Carolina, named for Edward, Earl of Clarendon.

Clarinda; city in Page County, Iowa, named for Clarinda Buck, a niece of the founder.

Clarion; river in Pennsylvania. A French term, meaning "clear." The name may have been suggested by the noise made by the river, sounding like the distant note of the clarion. Said by some to have been called gowunsch, "briar stream."

Clarion; county, and borough in same county in Pennsylvania, named from the river.

Clark; county in Arkansas, named for Governor William Clark.

Clark; peak in California, named for Fred Clark, a topographer.

Clark; counties in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, named for Gen. George Rogers Clark, who captured Vincennes.

Clark; county in Kansas, named for Capt. Charles F. Clarke, United States Voltmeters, who died at Memphis December 10, 1862.

Clark; county in Missouri, named for Capt. William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Clark; creek in Nebraska, named for Dr. M. H. Clark, first member of the Territorial council from Dodge County.

Clark; county in South Dakota, named for Newton Clark, legislator in 1873.

Clark; county in Wisconsin, named for A. W. Clark, early settler.

Clarke; county in Alabama, named for Governor John Clarke of Georgia.

Clarke; county in Georgia, named for Gen. Elijah Clarke, officer of the Revolution.

Clarke; county in Iowa, named for James Clarke, governor of the State in 1846.

Clarke; county in Mississippi, named for Joshua G. Clarke, first chancellor of the State.

Clarke; county in Virginia, named for Gen. George Rogers Clarke.

Clarke; county in Washington, and river in Montana, named for Capt. William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Clarke City; village in Kankakee County, Illinois, named for the man who opened the first coal mine in the vicinity.

Clarkfork; town in Kootenai County, Idaho, named for Capt. William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Clarkia; village in Kootenai County, Idaho, named for Capt. William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Clarks; village in Merrick County, Nebraska, named for S. H. H. Clark, superintendent of the Union Pacific Railroad.

Clarksburg; town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, named for three brothers who were among the first settlers.

Clarksburg; town in Harrison County, West Virginia. Some authorities claim that it was named for Capt. William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, while others maintain that it was named for a pioneer.

Clarksdale; town in Coahoma County, Mississippi, named for Captain Clark, brother-in-law of Governor Alcorn.

Clarkson; town in Monroe County, New York, named for General Clarkson, a large landowner.

Clarkston; village in Asotin County, Washington;

Clarksville; city in Pike County, Missouri. Named for Capt. William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Clarksville; town in Habersham County, Georgia, named for Gen. John Clarke, governor of Georgia.

Clarksville; town in Hamilton County, Indiana, and city in Montgomery County, Tennessee, named for Gen. George Rogers Clark, who captured Vincennes.

Clarksville; town in Coos County, New Hampshire, named for Benjamin Clark.

Clarkton; town in Dunklin County, Missouri, named for Henry E. Clark, an early contractor.

Clatskanie; town in Columbia County, Oregon, named from the Indian tribe, Tlatskanai.

Clatsop; county in Oregon, named for an Indian tribe.

Claverack; town in Columbia County, New York, from the Dutch, klover-akker, "clover field," said by some to have been so called from the immense fields of clover which abounded there at the time of its settlement. Another opinion is that it is of Dutch origin, the first part of the word meaning "opening" or "side gorge," the latter part being a division of the river which the Dutch skippers referred to; the Hudson was divided into 13 "racks' or "reaches."

Clay; counties in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, and Kansas; town in Webster County, Kentucky; counties in Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia; mount in New Hampshire; and many small places; named for Henry Clay. The county in Nebraska was doubtless named for him also.

Clay; county in Arkansas, named for John M. Clayton, State senator.

Clay; county in Iowa, named for Henry Clay, jr., who fell at the battle of Buena Vista.

Clay; county in Kentucky, named for Gen. Green Clay.

Clay City; village in Clay County, Illinois, and town in Clay County, Indiana, named for Henry Clay.

Claymont; village in Newcastle County, Delaware, named from the character of the soil.

Clayton; town in Contra Costa County, California, named from Clayton, Missouri.

Clayton; town in Kent County, Delaware, named for Thomas Clayton, or his son, Col. Joshua Clayton.

Clayton; county, and town in Rabun County, in Georgia, named for Augustin Smith Clayton.

Clayton; township and village in Adams County, Illinois, named for Henry Clay.

Clayton; village in St. Louis County, Missouri, named for Ralph Clayton.

Clayton; county in Iowa, town in Jefferson County, New York, and town in Johnston County, North Carolina, named for John M. Clayton, Senator from Delaware.

Claytonville; town in Brown County, Kansas, named for Powell Clayton, United States Senator from Arkansas.

Clear Creek; county in Colorado, so called because it is drained by Clear Creek, an affluent of the South Platte.

Clearfield; creek in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, named from the clearings along its banks.

Clearfield; county, and borough in same county, in Pennsylvania, named from the creek.

Clear Lake; village in Polk County, Wisconsin, situated on a lake of that name. A descriptive name.

Clearwater; descriptive name given to a river in Idaho and to many smaller streams in the country, which in turn have given names to twelve post-offices.

Clearwater; county and river in Minnesota. The name is a direct translation of the Ojibwa word, descriptive of the river.

Cleburne; counties in Alabama and Arkansas, and town in Johnson County, Texas, named for Gen. Patrick Cleburne.

Clermont; county in Ohio, name probably derived from Clermont, France.

Clermont; village in Columbia county, New York, named by Chancellor Livingston, a friend of Fulton, for the first American steamboat.

Cleveland; counties in Arkansas and Oklahoma, named for President Grover Cleveland.

Cleveland; village in Oswego County, New York, named for James Cleveland, an early settler.

Cleveland; county, and village in Rowan County, in North Carolina, named for Col. Benjamin Cleveland.

Cleveland; city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, named for Gen. Moses Cleveland, of the Connecticut Land Company, who surveyed it.

Cleveland; town in Bradley County, Tennessee, named for John Cleveland, who went there from North Carolina.

Clifford; village in Lapeer County, Michigan, named for Clifford Lyman, the first child born in the settlement.

Clifton; village in Iroquois County, Illinois, named from the Clifton Hotel in Chicago.

Clifton; village in Greene County, Ohio, named from the cliffs which bound the river at that point.

Clifton Springs; village in Ontario County, New York, so named because of the cliffs and springs in the neighborhood.

Climax; village in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, so called because when Daniel B. Eldred first visited the township he said, "This caps the climax."

Clinch; county in Georgia, and river in Virginia and Tennessee, named for Gen. Duncan L. Clinch.

Clingmans Dome; peak in Great Smoky Mountains, North Carolina, named for United States Senator Thomas L. Clingman, who determined its altitude.

Clinton; town in Jones County, Georgia; county, and city in Dewitt County, in Illinois; counties in Indiana, Iowa, and Kentucky; towns in Worcester County, Massachusetts, and Henry County, Missouri; county in Michigan; towns in Passaic County, New Jersey, and Rock County, Wisconsin; named for DeWitt Clinton, governor of New York and projector of the Erie Canal.

Clinton; county in Missouri; county, town in Dutchess County, and village in Oneida County, New York; and county in Ohio; named for George Clinton, governor of New York.

Clinton; town in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, named for the Clinton family of New York.

Clinton; county in Pennsylvania, supposed to have been named for Gen. Henry Clinton.

Clintonville; village in New Haven County, Connecticut, named for the family of Clinton.

Clockville; village in Madison County, New York, named for John Klock, the original grantee.

US Place Names

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