State Capitals

A **capital** or capital city is the municipality exercising primary status in a country, state, province, or other administrative region, usually as its seat of government.

In *The Scrambled States of America* franchise, state capitals can be found in the following:

* The cast list in the first Scrambled States book.
* The State Cards in the Scrambled States of America Game.

## List of U.S. State Capitals in alphabetical order

* Albany (New York)
* Annapolis (Maryland)
* Atlanta (Georgia)
* Augusta (Maine)
* Austin (Texas)
* Baton Rouge (Louisiana)
* Bismarck (North Dakota)
* Boise (Idaho)
* Boston (Massachusetts)
* Carson City (Nevada)
* Charleston (South Carolina)
* Cheyenne (Wyoming)
* Columbia (South Carolina)
* Columbus (Ohio)
* Concord (New Hampshire)
* Denver (Colorado)
* Des Moines (Iowa)
* Dover (Delaware)
* Hartford (Connecticut)
* Helena (Montana)
* Frankfort (Kentucky)
* Harrisburg (Pennsylvania)
* Honolulu (Hawaii)
* Indianapolis (Indiana)
* Jackson (Mississippi)
* Juneau (Alaska)
* Lansing (Michigan)
* Lincoln (Nebraska)
* Little Rock (Arkansas)
* Jefferson City (Missouri)
* Madison (Wisconsin)
* Montgomery (Alabama)
* Montpelier (Vermont)
* Nashville (Tennessee)
* Oklahoma City (Oklahoma)
* Olympia (Washington)
* Phoenix (Arizona)
* Pierre (South Dakota)
* Providence (Rhode Island)
* Raleigh (North Carolina)
* Richmond (Virginia)
* Sacramento (California)
* Saint Paul (Minnesota)
* Salem (Oregon)
* Salt Lake City (Utah)
* Santa Fe (New Mexico)
* Springfield (Illinois)
* Tallahassee (Florida)
* Topeka (Kansas)
* Trenton (New Jersey)
* Washington, D.C.

## State Capitals in order of Capitalhood

Note: The first three states on the list gain capitalhood *before* the independence of the United States.

1. Santa Fe, NM
2. Boston, MA
3. Annapolis, MD
4. Dover, DE
5. Richmond, VA
6. Trenton, NJ
7. Columbia, SC
8. Frankfort, KY
9. Raleigh, NC
10. Albany, NY
11. Montpelier, VT
12. Concord, NH
13. Harrisburg, PA
14. Columbus, OH
15. Little Rock, AR
16. Jackson, MS
17. Tallahassee, FL
18. Indianapolis, IN
19. Jefferson City, MO
20. Nashville, TN
21. Augusta, ME
22. Springfield, IL
23. Madison, WI
24. Austin, TX
25. Honolulu, HI
26. Montgonery, AL
27. Lansing, MI
28. Saint Paul, MN
29. Olympia, WA
30. Sacramento, CA
31. Salem, OR
32. Topeka, KS
33. Des Moines, IA
34. Salt Lake City, UT
35. Carson City, NV
36. Boise, ID
37. Denver, CO
38. Lincoln, NE
39. Atlanta, GA
40. Cheyenne, WY
41. Hartford, CT
42. Helena, MT
43. Baton Rouge, LA
44. Bismarck, ND
45. Charleston, WV
46. Phoenix, AZ
47. Pierre, SD
48. Providence, RI
49. Juneau, AK
50. Oklahoma City, OK

## Every U.S. States' First Historical Capitals

* AL: St. Stephens (1817)
* AK: Novo-Arkhangelsk (1808 as Russian America)
* AZ: Fort Whipple (1864)
* AR: Arkansas Post (1819)
* CA: Monterey (1777 as Alta California)
* CO: Denver (1859)
* CT: Hartford (1639)
* DE: Fort Kristina (1638 as New Sweden)
* FL: Fort Caroline (1564)
* GA: Savannah (1733)
* HI: Waikiki (1795)
* ID: Lewiston (1863)
* IL: Kaskaskia (1809)
* IN: Vincennes (1800)
* IA: Burlington (1837)
* KS: Pawnee (1855)
* KY: Frankfort (1792)
* LA: New Orleans (1722)
* ME: Saint Croix Island (1604)
* MD: St. Mary's City (1634)
* MA: Plymouth (1620)
* MI: Detroit (1805)
* MN: Saint Paul (1849)
* MS: Natchez (1798)
* MO: St. Louis (1765)
* MT: Bannack (1864)
* NE: Omaha (1854)
* NV: Carson City (1861)
* NH: Portsmouth (1680)
* NJ: Elizabeth (1665)
* NM: *San Juan de los Caballeros* (1598)
* NY: New York (1625 as New Netherlands)
* NC: New Bern (1712)
* ND: Bismarck (1883 as Dakota)
* OH: Marietta (1788)
* OK: Tahlequah (1838)
* OR: Chamopeg (1843)
* PA: Philadelphia (1682)
* RI: Providence (1636)
* SC: Charlestown (1670)
* SD: Pierre (1889)
* TN: Rocky Mount (1790)
* TX: San Antonio (1722)
* UT: Salt Lake City (1849)
* VT: Westminster (1777)
* VA: Jamestown (1619)
* WA: Olympia (1853)
* WV: Wheeling (1861)
* WI: Belmont (1836)
* WY: Cheyenne (1869)

## U.S. State Capital name origins

* **Montgomery, AL:** "Gumarich's mountain" in Norman French. This is the name of communes in Calvados, France.
* **Juneau, AK:** Named after gold prospector Joseph Juneau.
* **Phoenix, AZ:** From the name of a beautiful immortal bird that appears in Egyptian and Greek mythology.
* **Little Rock, AR:** Little Rock was named by French explorer Jean Baptist Bénard de La Harpe, who discovered two rocky outcroppings on the Arkansas River in 1722.
* **Sacramento, CA:** "Sacrament" in Spanish, when discovered by the Spanish.
* **Denver, CO:** Named after politician James W. Denver.
* **Hartford, CT:** Named after the village of Hartford, England, when discovered by the British.
* **Dover, DE:** Named after the town of Dover, England, when discovered by the British.
* **Tallahassee, FL:** "Old town" in Apalachee.
* **Atlanta, GA:** Named after Martha Atalanta Lumpkin, the daughter of politician Wilson Lumpkin.
* **Honolulu; HI:** "Sheltered harbor" in Hawaiian.
* **Boise, ID:** "Wooded" in French, when founded by French Louisiana.
* **Springfield, IL:** Originally called Springfield for the nearby Spring Creek, the city was briefly renamed Calhoun in the 1820s, for politician John C. Calhoun.
* **Indianapolis, IN:** A combination of Indiana and "polis", which means "city" in Greek.
* **Des Moines, IA:** "Of the monks" in French, derived from the Des Moines River (river of the monks).
* **Topeka, KS:** "A good place to dig potatoes" in Kansa.
* **Frankfort, KY:** Named after its county of Franklin, which is named after Benjamin Franklin.
* **Baton Rouge, LA:** "Red stick" in French, when founded by the French.
* **Augusta, ME:** Anglicized form of *Augustus*, which means "exalted" in Latin.
* **Annapolis, MD:** Named after Queen Anne of Great Britain. Means "Anne's city" in Greek.
* **Boston, MA:** Named after the town of Boston, England, when discovered by the British.
* **Lansing, MI:** Patronymic from *Lans*, Germanic Lanzo, a Dutch cognate of Lance.
* **Saint Paul, MN:** Named after the Apostle Saint Paul.
* **Jackson, MS:** Named after the seventh U.S. President Andrew Jackson.
* **Jefferson City, MO:** Named after the third U.S. President Thomas Jefferson.
* **Helena, MT:** Its original name was Saint Helena.
* **Lincoln, NE:** Named after the sixteenth U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
* **Carson City, NV:** Named after the Carson River, after Kit Carson.
* **Concord, NH:** Concord was named and founded in the spirit of conflict resolution, and refers to the desire for harmony between the feuding towns of Bow and Rumford.
* **Trenton, NJ:** Named after William Trent.
* **Santa Fe, NM:** "Holy faith" in Spanish.
* **Albany, NY:** Named after the Duke of York and Albany, when discovered by the British.
* **Raleigh, NC:** Named after Walter Raleigh.
* **Bismarck, ND:** Named after Otto von Bismarck.
* **Columbus, OH:** Named after Christopher Columbus.
* **Oklahoma City, OK:** The state itself.
* **Salem, OR:** "Complete" in Hebrew.
* **Harrisburg, PA:** Named after John Harris Sr.
* **Providence, RI:** Derived from the word meaning "divine direction" or "foresight". This is a virtue name which is pretty standard.
* **Columbia, SC:** Same meaning as Ohio's capital.
* **Pierre, SD:** Named after Pierre Chouteau Jr.
* **Nashville, TN:** Named after General Francis Nash.
* **Austin, TX:** Named after Stephen F. Austin.
* **Salt Lake City, UT:** Named after Utah's Great Salt Lake.
* **Montpelier, VT:** Named after the French city of Montpellier (with two L's), when discovered by the French.
* **Richmond, VA:** Named after the town of Richmond, England.
* **Olympia, WA:** Named after Mount Olympus in Greece.
* **Charleston, WV:** Named after Charles Clendenin.
* **Madison, WI:** Named after the fourth U.S. President James Madison.
* **Cheyenne, WY:** Derived from the Dakota word *shahiyena* meaning "red speakers".
* **Washington, D.C.:** Named after the first U.S. President George Washington, like Washington state. D.C. stands for District of Columbia, which is named after Christopher Columbus.

## States whose capital is also that state's largest city by population

* Phoenix, AZ
* Little Rock, AR
* Denver, CO
* Atlanta, GA
* Honolulu, HI
* Boise, ID
* Indianapolis, IN
* Des Moines, IA
* Boston, MA
* Jackson, MS
* Columbus, OH
* Oklahoma City, OK
* Providence, RI
* Nashville, TN
* Salt Lake City, UT
* Charleston, WV
* Cheyenne, WY

## Facts

* Phoenix, AZ, is the largest state capital by population.
* Indiana and Oklahoma are the only states whose names are used in their capitals respectively.
* The three state capitals that gain capitalhood before the independence of the United States are Santa Fe, Boston, and Annapolis.
* Santa Fe, NM, is the oldest state capital in America.
* 23 state capitals are named after people.
* 25 state capitals gain capitalhood before their respective states' statehood.
* Six state capitals are named after something related to the United Kingdom.
* Four state capitals are named after U.S. Presidents.
* Kentucky, Nebraska, and South Dakota's capitals gain capitalhood the same year as their respective states' statehood.
* Florida, Kansas, and Wyoming's capitals' names are derived from native American languages (unavailable on Google Translate).
* Providence, RI, is the last state capital in America's 13 colonies to regain capitalhood.
* It doesn't matter how Minnesota's capital Saint Paul is spelled, whether as "Saint" or "St."
* Indiana and Maryland's capitals have the Greek root "polis" (meaning "city") in their name.