1001 Kansas Place Names

by Sondra Van Meter McCoy, Jan E. Hults

Intriguing place names abound in Kansas. This handy place name gazatteer is both a valuable reference and a source of good fun.

240 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1989

Reviews

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

The origins of names has always been a fascinating subject to me and one that I enjoy exploring, especially when the compilation is as diverse as a state's names. Whether they can be credited as true or not, they are a snapshot of our history that captures and showcases what our ancestors held dear at one point and even captures the changes of beliefs as time marches on.

This book itself presents to the reader a list of names that covers not only cities and counties but also parts of the landscape. As such there are the stories such as the naming of the Marais Des Cygnus, the salutes to the indigenous people and/or individuals, the infamous memorials such as Benders Mound and the memorializing of other names such as with all things related to Horace Greeley. Thus the reader is then given the choice on how to choose this book whether they will read it from cover-to-cover or pick-and-choose the entries they would like to explore.

At the same time given to the march of time the book is also outdated and a bit of a tragic read. Just alone in the first two letters of the alphabet three of the towns mentioned are now gone from the Kansas landscape while Bismarck Grove and Black Jack have devolved - one into a farm on the outskirts of north Lawrence while the other is now a historic battle site/park on the edges of yet another town. As they say the only thing that stays the same is change.

All in all it is still a great read when taken together as a whole and a wonderful treasure to those who enjoy Kansas history.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Light, easy reading. Sometimes humorous, sometimes educational, and sometimes even doubtful, but if you like Kansas history, this is a fun book to read.

[Spenser White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just some fun reference

[MKF · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book explaining the meaning and history of the names of different places. It included the names of cities, counties, buildings, and other Kansas objects such as rivers, etc. I did enjoy it but I am not sure if all of them are correct and that is why I choose to give it only 3 stars.

[Roxanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being new to Kansas I have wondered how some of towns we have here got named also. Some are named after people, or the land, or a city back east. Neat book.