What's in a name? Area names explained.

By Martie Fuller

	Names.  Whether they're being given to people, counties, 
cities or rivers, they can be curious things.
	Now, most of us know the origins for Macomb and McDonough 
County.  Macomb was named for Gen. Alexander Macomb, Commander-in-
chief of the United States Army from 1828 to 1841.  He was also a 
hero of the War of 1812 and so was a popular choice for a name for a 
city in the county's Military Tract.
	McDonough is, of course, the name for Commodore Thomas 
McDonough, who was the victorious commander in the naval engagement 
on Lake Champlain, Sept. 11, 1814.
	Abingdon., in Knox county, is named for Abingdon, Md., the 
birthplace of one of is founder.  Knox county was named for Gen. 
Henry Know, founder of the Society of the Cincinnati, and Secretary 
of War, 1785-1794.
	Astoria, over in Fulton county, was named for the prominent 
Astor family of New York.  The town was apparently first called 
Vienna, although I don't know the origins of that name.  Fulton 
County was named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the steamboat.
	Augusta, over in Hancock County, was named for the birthplace
of one of its early founders, Augusta, Ga.  Augusta, Ga. Was 
apparently named for Princess Augusta who lived under father and 
ruler George Ii.
	Avon, in Fulton County, was named for a village in New York.
That village had been named for the river Avon in England.  Canton, 
on the other hand, it is named for the China city.
	Closer to home, Bardolph was named for one of its founders, 
William H. Bardolph.  A quick check of the McDonough county telephone 
book, however, does not show any of his descendants living there, at 
least no bearing the name of Bardolph.
	Blandinsville was also named for one of its first settlers, 
Joseph L. Blandin, who also owned the tract of land the town was 
eventually built on.  The only Blandin listing in the phone book is 
for the Blandin House Museum.
	Not-so-close to home, Bloomington was named from Blooming 
Grove because so many flowers grew there.  With the bustling economy 
that city enjoys today, it might consider changing its name to 
Enterprise City -- lick ducks.
	Bowen, in Hancock County, got its name from founder Peter C. 
Bowen.  Hancock county is named for John Hancock, the man behind the 
bold signature on our county's Declarations of Independence.
	Camp Point in Adams County is named because the areas was at 
one time an Indian camping ground.  Adams County is named for 
President John Quincy Adams..
	Colchester was originally named Chester, but it was changed 
to Colchester to distinguish it form Chester in Randolph County.  
Tradition has it the prefix reflected the city's coal production.
	Hamilton in Hancock County might have been named for 
Secretary of the treasury Alexander Hamilton, but it wasn't.  It was 
named for Artois Hamilton, and early settler.
	Henderson County got its name from Col. Richard Henderson, a 
Kentucky pioneer.
	Now, Kewanee, in Henry County, got its name from the Indian 
word kewanee, meaning a return track.  Lewistown, in Fulton county, 
is named for the founder's first son, Lewis Ross.
	Nauvoo, of course, in Hancock County was laid out by Joseph 
and Hiram Smith and other Mormon followers.  The name is supposedly 
Hebrew for "The Beautiful City."  Oquawka, on the other hand, is from 
and Indian word meaning yellow earth, which is a typical color for 
the soil there.
	Quincy is named for John Quincy Adams; Raritan is named for 
a tribe of Delaware Indians who lived in New Jersey during the 
nation's early history.    Their name apparently meant "the stream 
which overflows so."
	Schuyler County is named for Maj. Gen. Philip Schuyler, who 
organized an attack on Canada in 1775.  Sciota is named for a river 
in Ohio.  That river is said to have derived its name from an Indian 
word meaning greats legs.
	It was applied to the river because of its many branches.  
Another source says the word was actually the Indian name for deer.
	In Illinois, the spoon River was given its name by a Dr. 
Davidson because of the spoon shape of one of its bayous in Fulton 
County.
	Warren county is named for a Maj. Gen. Joseph Warren, of 
Massachusetts, who was slain at the battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 
1775.  Warsaw, in Hancock County, is named for the capital city of 
Poland.



reprinted with permission of Martie Fuller and the Macomb Journal

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