What counties are there outside Texas whose names consist of the first and last name of a person? Texas examples fitting this description include Jeff Davis County and Jim Wells County, but non-Texas examples have got to be vanishingly rare--Tom Mix County in South Dakota is the only one that comes to mind.
Quote from: J N Winkler on November 19, 2010, 09:34:30 AM
What counties are there outside Texas whose names consist of the first and last name of a person? Texas examples fitting this description include Jeff Davis County and Jim Wells County, but non-Texas examples have got to be vanishingly rare--Tom Mix County in South Dakota is the only one that comes to mind.
There's a Jo Daviess County in Illinois, Ben Hill and Jeff Davis counties in Georgia, and I was thinking there was another Jeff Davis County elsewhere. Of course, more could be gleaned going through the lists of counties for each state.
There's a Jefferson Davis Parish in Louisiana.
For a twist on this, there's the city of Clinton in DeWitt County, Illinois. It's the county seat.
Kit Carson county, CO
Roger Mills county, OK
Charles Mix county, SD (not Tom Mix)
these are iffy
Black Hawk county, IA (Black Hawk is definitely a person, but whether his name is really in Firstname Lastname form is debatable)
Anne Arundel county, MD (don't know if Arundel is a last name or some other signifier)
Judith Basin county, MT (I suspect this is a basin named Judith and not a person named Judith Basin, but you never know)
San Luis Obispo county, CA (I don't really think of Obispo as his last name, but maybe)
Quote from: Coelacanth on November 19, 2010, 02:21:46 PM
Anne Arundel county, MD (don't know if Arundel is a last name or some other signifier)
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Arundel
Arundel was her maiden name. (She didn't have it long, she got married at 13!)
Quote from: Coelacanth on November 19, 2010, 02:21:46 PM
San Luis Obispo county, CA (I don't really think of Obispo as his last name, but maybe)
it's not - it means Saint Louis the Bishop, just like San Juan Batista is Saint John the Baptist.
Louis, in this case, is the same guy that they named the Missouri city after.
Though two separate counties, Florida has two named after the same person: Hernando and DeSoto Counties...
there's also Breward and Broward counties, which are named after Magnus van Broeward, the famed explorer, naturalist, and insurance salesman.
Broward County was named after tugboat captain Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, Governor of Florida 1905-1909.
Quote from: AARoads on November 19, 2010, 07:05:47 PM
Though two separate counties, Florida has two named after the same person: Hernando and DeSoto Counties...
In that sense, Patrick and Henry counties, VA are right next to each other, and were created after the former Patrick Henry county was divided.
Alaska doesn't have counties as such, but the Wade Hampton census area is bigger than Maryland in size.
edit: isn't there a Jim Hogg county, TX? <--haha I read quite well, no?
Quote from: AARoads on November 19, 2010, 07:05:47 PM
Though two separate counties, Florida has two named after the same person: Hernando and DeSoto Counties...
Mississippi's similar: Hernando is the county seat of DeSoto County.
Be well,
Bryant
Quoteand I was thinking there was another Jeff Davis County elsewhere.
Mississippi, though they spell out Jefferson fully.
Doesn't strictly count, but last time I was in Oregon, I remember them having a lot of counties that I assumed were named after presidents (Washington, Lincoln Counties) and other important Civil War-era figures (Douglass County).
Deaf Smith County --- using his nickname (and his hearing status) and not his real first name, Erastus.
Quote from: AARoads on November 19, 2010, 07:05:47 PM
Though two separate counties, Florida has two named after the same person: Hernando and DeSoto Counties...
In that vein, Illinois has both a DeWitt County and a Clinton County, both named after DeWitt Clinton (see above for the county seat oddity of DeWitt County).
Quote from: Quillz on November 20, 2010, 02:08:02 PM
Doesn't strictly count, but last time I was in Oregon, I remember them having a lot of counties that I assumed were named after presidents (Washington, Lincoln Counties) and other important Civil War-era figures (Douglass County).
This doesn't count, either, but Liberty County, GA named for involvement in American Revolution.
Well if it doesn't count, then why are we cluttering up the thread? New York has had Kings, Queens, Dukes (now Massachusetts) and Dutchess Counties.
Sorry for diversion off-topic. Back to outside of Texas theme, it is interesting to note that Roger Mills County, OK is named after a Texan, Roger Q. Mills.
Off topic, but slightly. how about counties named after other states, Like Delaware County PA. Which is rather close to the state of Delaware
Quote from: SteveG1988 on November 22, 2010, 09:29:17 PM
Off topic, but slightly. how about counties named after other states, Like Delaware County PA. Which is rather close to the state of Delaware
Isn't it much more likely that the county is named for the river which it borders? Even then, the Delaware were a Native American tribe, so a number of places were named for them (the state being just one of them). Just sayin'.
Texas County, OK was definitely named for Texas, which it borders. Texas County, MO is also named after Texas because it is the largest county in Missouri. Its county seat is Houston.
Quote from: AlpsROADS on November 22, 2010, 07:10:08 PM
Well if it doesn't count, then why are we cluttering up the thread? New York has had Kings, Queens, Dukes (now Massachusetts) and Dutchess Counties.
Royals are a dime a dozen. But Hawaii has a county named for an island which in turn was named for a god (the demigod Maui). Try topping that!