From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of U.S. counties which are named after women . Items may be listed in more than one category.
Locals and settlers
Ada County, Idaho , named for
Ada Riggs , the first pioneer child born in the area and the daughter of
Boise, Idaho cofounder
H.C. Riggs .
[1]
Dare County, North Carolina , named for
Virginia Dare , the first English child born in the New World who disappeared with the
Lost Colony .
[2]
East Feliciana Parish and
West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana , allegedly named for
Marie Félicité St. Maxent , the wife of
Bernardo de Gálvez , a
Spanish governor of the
Louisiana Territory .
[3]
Florence County, South Carolina , named for
Florence Harllee , a daughter of
W. W. Harllee , a president of the
Wilmington and Manchester Railroad .
[4]
Grainger County, Tennessee , named for
Mary Grainger Blount , the wife of
William Blount , the only governor of the
Southwest Territory (modern
Tennessee ).
[5]
Hart County, Georgia , named for
Nancy Hart , a sharpshooter and patriot in the
American Revolutionary War .
[6]
Josephine County, Oregon , named for
Virginia "Josephine" Rollins , the first European-American woman to settle in southern
Oregon .
Marshall County, Oklahoma , named for the mother of
George A. Henshaw , a delegate to the state constitutional convention, Marshall having been her maiden name.
[7]
Merrick County, Nebraska , named for
Elvira Merrick , wife of
Henry W. DePuy , a territorial legislator.
[8]
Wake County, North Carolina , named for
Margaret Wake , a
London heiress and the wife of
William Tryon , a colonial governor of
North Carolina .
[9]
Native Americans
Angelina County, Texas , named for a
Hasinai
Native American woman who assisted early Spanish missionaries and was named Angelina by them.
[10]
Marinette County, Wisconsin , named for
Marinette , a 19th-century trader who was the daughter of a
French-Canadian trapper and a
Menominee woman.
[11]
Pocahontas County, West Virginia (formerly Pocahontas County, Virginia) and
Pocahontas County, Iowa : named for
Pocahontas , the famous
Native American who played a leading role in the history of the first permanent English settlements in
North America .
Tama County, Iowa , named for any of several
Native American chiefs or chief's wives, over which there is dispute.
Tippah County, Mississippi , named for
Tippah , wife of
Pontotoc , an important
Chickasaw leader.
[12]
Winona County, Minnesota , named for Wenonah (which means oldest daughter in Dakota), a
Dakota woman of distinction who was a cousin of the last of three chiefs named Wabasha.
[13]
Famous women
Titled noblewomen and queens
Amelia County, Virginia , named for
Princess Amelia of Great Britain , daughter of
George II .
Anne Arundel County, Maryland , named for
Anne Arundell , the wife of
Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore and daughter of
Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour .
Augusta County, Virginia , named for
Augusta of Saxe-Gotha , wife of
Frederick, Prince of Wales and mother of
George III of Great Britain .
Caroline County, Maryland , named for Lady
Caroline Eden , the daughter of
Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore , sister of
Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore , and wife of
Robert Eden , the last colonial governor of
Maryland .
Caroline County, Virginia , named for
Caroline of Ansbach , wife of
George II of Great Britain .
Three counties named for
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz , wife of
George III :
Dutchess County, New York , named for
Mary of Modena , the
Duchess of York and wife of the future King
James II of England .
Isabella County, Michigan , named for Queen
Isabella I of Castile , who patronized
Christopher Columbus .
King and Queen County, Virginia , named for King
William III of England and Queen
Mary II of England .
Louisa County, Virginia , named for
Princess Louise , daughter of
George II .
Somerset County, Maryland , named for Mary, Lady Somerset, the wife of Sir John Somerset and daughter of
Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour .
Queen Anne's County, Maryland , named for
Anne, Queen of Great Britain .
Queens County, New York , named for
Catherine of Braganza , Queen of England and wife of
Charles II .
Saints
St. Helena Parish, Louisiana , named for
Saint
Helena of Constantinople , the mother of
Constantine the Great .
St. Lucie County, Florida , named for the
Spanish-era
Ais town of
Santa Lucea , presumed to have been named by the Spanish for
Saint Lucie of Syracuse .
Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri , named after
Sainte Genevieve , the patron saint of
Paris .
Santa Barbara County, California , named for
Saint Barbara , patroness of fire.
Santa Clara County, California , named for
Mission Santa Clara , which was in turn named for
Saint Clara de Asís .
Aspects of the Virgin Mary
Assumption Parish, Louisiana , named for the
Assumption of Mary into heaven.
Dolores County, Colorado , named for the
Dolores River , originally Rio de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores (River of our Lady of Sorrows).
Guadalupe County, New Mexico , named for
Our Lady of Guadalupe , the
patron saint of the
Americas .
Los Angeles County, California , named for the fact that
Gaspar de Portolà 's explorers reached what was then the Native American village of
Yangna on August 2, 1769, the
feast day of Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciúncula (Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of Porciúncula).
St. Mary's County, Maryland , and
St. Mary Parish, Louisiana , named for the
Blessed Virgin Mary , the mother of
Jesus .
Fictional
Counties indirectly named for women
Doña Ana County, New Mexico , named for its first
county seat of
Doña Ana, New Mexico , which in turn was named for Doña
Ana Robledo , a 17th-century woman known for her charitable giving.
Fluvanna County, Virginia , named for an archaic term for the
James River , fluv. Anna or River of
Anne .
Haines Borough, Alaska , named after
Haines, Alaska , which is named in turn for
Mrs. F. E. Haines , the community leader who raised funds for a religious mission to the local
Chilkat
Native American tribe.
Judith Basin County, Montana , named for the
Judith River , which in turn is named for
Julia Hancock , the sweetheart and future wife of
William Clark of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition , who explored the river; the misspelling is because Clark mistook her name to be Judith.
Santa Rosa County, Florida , named for
Santa Rosa Island , which in turn is named for
Saint Rose of Viterbo , a Catholic saint who lived in the thirteenth century.
Counties possibly named for women
Culpeper County, Virginia , named for one of three members of the Colepeper family, of which two were women:
Thomas Colepeper, 2nd Baron Colepeper of Thoresway , a colonial governor of Virginia; his first wife
Margaretta van Hesse , called Margaret, Lady Colepeper; or their daughter, Thomas's heir and only surviving issue,
Catherine Colepeper .
Elmore County, Idaho , named for the
Ida Elmore mines , which may have been named for a woman named Ida Elmore.
Ida County, Iowa , possibly named for Ida Smith, the first European American child born in the county.
Jessamine County, Kentucky , traditionally said to be named for Jessamine Douglas, the daughter of surveyor James Douglas.
[16] Local tradition claims that she was an early settler killed by
Native Americans , but other accounts say that she died by
suicide after an unhappy love affair.
[17] A Directory of United States Counties (2006) calls the story "baseless", saying that the county is named for the Jessamine Creek and the
jasmine flowers that grow next to it.
[18]
Louisa County, Iowa , named either for
Louisa Massey of
Dubuque, Iowa , who, according to legend, killed the murderer of her brother; or for
Louisa County, Virginia .
Maries County, Missouri , named for the
Maries River , which may be named after one or more Maries.
St. Clair County, Michigan , named either for
Arthur St. Clair , the first governor of the
Northwest Territory , or for
Saint
Clare of Assisi , on whose
feast day
Lake St. Clair was seen during an expedition led by
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle .
See also
References
^
"Ada County" . Idaho.gov . Archived from
the original on 21 March 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015 .
^
"About Dare County" . Dare County . Archived from
the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2015 .
^
"History of East Feliciana Parish" . Feliciana Tourism . Archived from
the original on 2016-10-12.
^ Gannett, Henry (1905).
The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States . Govt. Print. Off. pp.
127 .
^ Gannett, Henry (1905).
The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States . Govt. Print. Off. pp.
141 .
^
"Hart Country" . Georgia.gov . Retrieved 8 January 2015 .
^
"Marshall County" . Oklahoma Historical Society Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture . Retrieved 8 January 2015 .
^
"Nebraska Place Names (1925)" . NEGenWeb Project . Retrieved 8 January 2015 .
^
"Joel Lane House" . United States National Park Service .
^
"About" . Angelina County website . Archived from
the original on 2015-02-02. Retrieved 2015-01-08 .
^ L, David (2011-11-03).
"Letters for George: Queen Marinette" . Letters for George . Retrieved 2016-04-20 .
^ Davis, Jefferson (1975-02-01).
The Papers of Jefferson Davis: June 1841--July 1846 . LSU Press.
ISBN
9780807100820 .
^ Thompson, Michael Allen.
"Homecoming To Explore Roles of American Indian Women" . diversityfoundation.org . Retrieved 2016-04-20 .
^ Blackmar, Frank Wilson (1912).
Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc . Standard Publishing Company. pp.
153 .
^
"Bremer County History" . Bremer County, Iowa. Archived from
the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved May 6, 2011 .
^ Gannett, Henry (1905).
The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States . Govt. Print. Off. pp.
169 .
^
https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1082&context=rennick_ms_collection [
bare URL PDF ]
^
Counties USA: A Directory of United States Counties . Omnigraphics, Incorporated. July 6, 2006.
ISBN
9780780808218 – via Google Books.
General Demographics Economy Geography Name origins See also