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Minnesota Place Names: A Geographical Encyclopedia
The names of places, the names that people give to the land, the rivers, the towns, and the cities, contain miniature history lessons, stories wrapped up in a few words. Naming a place is a way of connecting to it and making it more familar. An important aspect of identity, place names honor the past, telling who came before us, and they speak to the future, telling of our hopes and ambitions. And sometimes, they're simply products of our whimsy.
From Big Bird Lake to Cucumber Island, Big Stone to Wanamingo, Puposky Township to the Zumbro River, thousands of discoveries await the reader of Minnesota Place A Geographical Encyclopedia . This classic book tells the stories behind more than 20,000 names of the towns and cities, townships and counties, lakes and rivers of the North Star state.
This comprehensive volume is a browser's delight and a rich reference for historians, linguists, geographers, folklorists, genealogists, and those interested in the origin of place names. It includes tales for such curious place names as Embarrass and Sleepy Eye, Bemidji and Climax, the Rum River and Man Trap Lake. Did you know that the Rat Root River was named for the roots that fed muskrats that populated its banks, or that Winona is the Dakota word for "first-born daughter"?
Published originally in 1920 as the culmination of Warren Upham's lifetime of collecting Minnesota minutiae, this book is a remarkable achievement and classic of Minnesota history. For this revised edition, the staff of the Minnesota Historical Society combed recent literature and databases to update entries and add new names.
In this handsome new edition, Minnesota Place Names captures much of the lost lore of familiar places and of towns that have disappeared—and of the people who made the state what it is today.
From Big Bird Lake to Cucumber Island, Big Stone to Wanamingo, Puposky Township to the Zumbro River, thousands of discoveries await the reader of Minnesota Place A Geographical Encyclopedia . This classic book tells the stories behind more than 20,000 names of the towns and cities, townships and counties, lakes and rivers of the North Star state.
This comprehensive volume is a browser's delight and a rich reference for historians, linguists, geographers, folklorists, genealogists, and those interested in the origin of place names. It includes tales for such curious place names as Embarrass and Sleepy Eye, Bemidji and Climax, the Rum River and Man Trap Lake. Did you know that the Rat Root River was named for the roots that fed muskrats that populated its banks, or that Winona is the Dakota word for "first-born daughter"?
Published originally in 1920 as the culmination of Warren Upham's lifetime of collecting Minnesota minutiae, this book is a remarkable achievement and classic of Minnesota history. For this revised edition, the staff of the Minnesota Historical Society combed recent literature and databases to update entries and add new names.
In this handsome new edition, Minnesota Place Names captures much of the lost lore of familiar places and of towns that have disappeared—and of the people who made the state what it is today.
730 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1969
About the author
Warren Upham
81 books1 followerArchaeologist, and librarian who is best known for his studies of glacial Lake Agassiz. Upham worked as a geologist in New Hampshire before moving in 1879 to Minnesota to study the resources and glacial geology of that state. Upham graduated from Dartmouth College in 1871 and worked under Minnesota state geologist Newton H. Winchell.
The standard author abbreviation Upham is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.
The standard author abbreviation Upham is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 4, 2013
This is one of those "I can't pick it UP books! It's big and bulky, but so fun! I doubt that I will ever get the entire book read, but I dig it out frequently to learn how a town like Backus was named. Or when a county was established. Or how a lake's discovery impacted the nation! (Think Lake Itasca - - the headwaters for the Mississippi spring forth from that lake...). Not for everyone - but a welcome addition to my collection of books!
July 16, 2016
Reference. Surprisingly interesting tidbits of information; more information than I expected. Well laid out.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews