The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1923-07-13
ORIGIN ofkhe
NAMES &he
nix

ceived a grant 10 the land from Charles
ii and who named the country in his
honor.
Georgia was named by and for King
George III Of England, and the coloay
was referred to under this name in
the charter which that monarch
granted to General Oglethorpe, the
founder, in 1882.
OF the three states bearing French
names, the origin of one is doubtful.
This small number is out of proper
ton 70 the extent Of French eXplora-
tons, evidence of which'can be gained
from the trail of French place-names
from the mouth of the ST. Lawrence
10 New Orleans.
Vermont was first explored by
Samuel de Champlain in 1909 and was
50 named by him after its Green
Mountains vert MonD, which are the
dominating natural feature Of the
state.
The generally accepted version of
the origin Of the name of Maine Is
that it was SO called by some early
French explorers after the French
province Of that name, wherein was
located the private estate of Henrietta
Maria, wife Of Charles | of England.
There is another meaning aScribed
to the name. fairly we'll supported by
authorities. According to this version,
the fishermen on the islands along the
coast Of Maine always referred to that
region as the "Mayn land" and in
support Of this theory we find the
colony referred TO in a grant of Charles
| TO Sir Fernando Gorges in 1880 as
"the province or county Of Mayne."
Louisiana for Louie XIV.
The third state meme of French
origin is that Of Louisiana, so called
in honor Of Louis XIV. The name
was first applied in 1888 by the dar-
ing French explorer, La Sale, who
employed it to indicate the vast ter
ritory watered by the Mississippi and
its tributaries.
Permanent Spanish settlements with
in the present boundaries Of the Unit
ed States were made earlier than those
Of any other country and they were
numerous. AS a result, we have six
states bearing names OF Spanish origin,
and in them and their %neighborS we
find a large number of tow "a cOun.
" names from this tongue.
The first state tO bear q Spanish
name was Florida, which was dis
covered by Ponce de Leon on Easter
Sunday. 1912. Two theories exist re-
garding the origin Of the name. One
refers to the Spanish term, Pascua
Florida easter Sunday-literally,
Feast of the Flowers"), having ref,
erence TO the flowers with which the
churches in Spain are decorated on
that day. In view Of the day on
which the discovery was made, this
is probably the correct explanation of
the origin.
The second theory IS that Ponce de
Leon simply used the word "Florida,'
meaning "iowery," from the aspect
Of the country.
The other Spanish-named states lie
in the Far West. Any one who has
seen the snOw-clad peaks of Nevada
can we'll appreciate the descriptive
word. SNOWY
While not explored or cOlonized by
Spaniards, Montana bears a Spanish
(some say Latin) name. This large
states giant ranges and cordilleras
make its name, which means Noun
famous" singularly appropriate.
Colorado was probably named from
the river, although only its tributaries
flow through the state. The word
is Spanish for "red" In the sense
Of "ruddy," and may come from the
color of the stream Mt some places.
Then, again, it is possible that the
state vas named from the red earth
of some regions which were settled In
the orly DAYS