Ever pass through a town and wonder who came up with the name of the place? More often than not, they named after people or some natural feature of the landscape, and sometimes their origins are a little more complex.
1. Grafton
There are two origin stories for this name. The most likely is that it was named after John Grafton, a civil engineer who worked on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Another is based on the word "graftin" because the town sits at a crossroads where several rail lines converge with the mainline.
2. Bruceton Mills
This town was named by John M. Hoffman after his stepfather George Bruce, who was descended (unconfirmed) from Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland from 1306 to 1329.
3. Wyoming
The origins are difficult to trace, but this town is likely named after the county of the same name, which is the name of an Indian tribe. It's also believed to be named after Thomas Campbell's poem ‘Gertrude of Wyoming."
4. Tenmile
The name of this unincorporated community has a double meaning: It sat on a stream which was believed to be ten miles long and was therefore named Big Ten Mile Creek. Additionally, the founders estimated that the distance from the mouth of the creek to the nearest town of Buckhannon was also ten miles.
5. Wheeling
Believed to be derived from the Iroquois word "Whiling" (one of several documented spellings), meaning "place of the skull." Legend says that the first white settlers were killed there and their skulls were placed on stakes at the head of the Big Wheeling Creek to ward off any other trespassers.
6. Huntington
Named after Collis P. Huntington, CEO of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, who planned to use nearby Guyandotte as his base of operations. After receiving a fine for damage done by his horse to a resident's yard, Huntington created his own town nearby, supposedly out of spite.
7. Helvetia
This community, the only Swiss settlement in West Virginia, is named after the Latin word for Switzerland.
8. Coco
An unincorporated community near the state capital, Coco was originally named Poco after a child's pet rooster. There was a documentation error that misnamed the town Coco, and it was never corrected.
9. Charlestown
This town was named after prominent resident Charles Washington, the brother of our first president.
10. Matoaka
Named after the famous Native American woman Pocahontas. Matoaka was her birth name.
11. Charleston
Named after settler Charles Clendenin, after which the town of Clendenin is also named.
Did you know about these names and their origins? What others do you know? Feel free to comment below and join the discussion.
To learn more about West Virginia, check out this large city that few people realize was once an ancient lake.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Get the latest updates and news
Thank you for subscribing!
