Page:Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States (1905).djvu/45

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PLACE NAMES IN THE UNITED STATES
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Bath; town in Steuben County, New York, named for Lady Henrietta, Countess of Bath, daughter of Sir William Pultney.

Bath Alum Spring; village in Bath County, Virginia, so called from the medicinal springs situated there.

Bath Springs; town in Decatur County, Tennessee, so named because of the medicinal springs within its limits. Baton Rouge; city in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. It is a French name, meaning "red staff" or "red stick, " given because of a tall cypress tree which stood upon the spot where it was first settled. Some authorities say that the name is derived from the name of an Indian chief, whose name translated into French was Baton Rouge. Still another theory ascribes the name to the fact that a massacre by the Indians took place upon the spot upon the arrival of the first settlers.

Battenkill; creek, tributary to the Hudson River, called originally Bartholomew's Kill, for an early settler, Bartholomew Van Hogeboom, who was usually called Bart or Bat.

Battleboro; town in Nash County, North Carolina, named for James S. and Joseph Battle, railroad contractors.

Battle Creek; city and creek in Calhoun County, Michigan, so called because a battle was fought upon the banks of the creek.

Battle Ground; creek in Illinois, so called from a battle fought on its banks between the Cahokia and Kaskaskia Indians in 1782.

Battle Ground; town in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, named in commemoration of the battle of Tippecanoe.

Battlement; mesa in western Colorado, so named by Hay den because of its shape.

Bavaria; village in Saline County, Kansas, named from one of the divisions of Germany.

Baxter; county in Arkansas, named for Elisha Baxter, twice governor of the State.

Baxter Springs; city in Cherokee County, Kansas, named for A. Baxter, the first settler. There are also springs in the vicinity.

Bay; town in Sonoma County, California, situated on the edge of San Francisco Bay.

Bay; county in Michigan, named from its situation on Saginaw Bay.

Bayard; town in Grant County, West Virginia, named for Senator Bayard.

Bayboro; town in Pamlico County, North Carolina, so named from its situation on Pamlico Sound.

Bay City; city in Bay County, Michigan, so named from its situation on Saginaw Bay.

Bayfield; county, and village in same county, in Wisconsin, named for Rear-Admiral H. D. Bayfield, who surveyed the Great Lakes.

Bay head; borough in Ocean County, New Jersey. The name is descriptive of its geographical position at the head of Barnegat Bay.

Baylia; village in Pike County, Illinois, named for a railroad official.

Baylor; county in Texas, named for Henry W. Baylor, who fell at Dawson's massacre in 1842.

Bay of Noquet; bay in Michigan, named from an Indian tribe. The word seems to refer to "otters."

Bayou; village in Livingston County, Kentucky. The word is used frequently in the Southern States, being a Choctaw term to denote a small sluggish stream.

Bayou Boeuf; creek in Louisiana. A French name meaning "buffalo creek."

Bayou Chetimaches; creek in Louisiana, named for an Indian of the vicinity. The name is Choctaw and means "those who possess cooking vessels."

Bayou dee Buttes; creek of Louisiana, named by the French "bayou of the mounds," from the mounds found along its course.

Bayou Huffrower; creek in Louisiana, named for an old settler.