Slightly OT: MA "-boro"/"-borough" spellings?
Larry Harvilla
in Marlboro(ugh) just off of I-495. My question for this evening is in
regards to the "-boro" vs. "-borough" spellings for some Massachusetts
towns: What is the deal with these?
I think I recall some discussion about MassHighway spelling these towns
one way and the Mass Turnpike Authority the other, or something along
those lines, on this group in the past, but I'm not sure. What is the
"official" spelling of these towns, both as far as the local governments
are concerned, and with the USPS?
--
Larry Harvilla
e-mail: roads AT phatpage DOT org
blog-aliciousness: http://www.phatpage.org/news/
also visit: http://www.phatpage.org/highways.html
(in progress)
Random Waftings Of Bunker Blasts
always spelled Middlesborough in census publications, for some reason.
Nobody in Kentucky ever spells it that way.
--
Buy my book about school bullying here:
http://www.lulu.com/content/112781 (recommended)
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?isbn=1411626559
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1411626559
The Etobian
<ro...@phatpage.org> wrote:
>I was just in Massachusetts recently, and in fact had to pick up a load
>in Marlboro(ugh) just off of I-495. My question for this evening is in
>regards to the "-boro" vs. "-borough" spellings for some Massachusetts
>towns: What is the deal with these?
>
>I think I recall some discussion about MassHighway spelling these towns
>one way and the Mass Turnpike Authority the other, or something along
>those lines, on this group in the past, but I'm not sure. What is the
>"official" spelling of these towns, both as far as the local governments
>are concerned, and with the USPS?
The official spelling for all but one is -borough. The sole exception
is Attleboro.
Gorgonzolla the Cheese Monster
> I was just in Massachusetts recently, and in fact had to pick up a load
> in Marlboro(ugh) just off of I-495. My question for this evening is in
> regards to the "-boro" vs. "-borough" spellings for some Massachusetts
> towns: What is the deal with these?
>
> I think I recall some discussion about MassHighway spelling these towns
> one way and the Mass Turnpike Authority the other, or something along
> those lines, on this group in the past, but I'm not sure. What is the
> "official" spelling of these towns, both as far as the local governments
> are concerned, and with the USPS?
>
NJ has "Boros", PA has "Boroughs"-At Taco Bell, they have Burritos, The
first two of these are equivalent to the NY "Village". Right in my area, we
have the Town of Marlboro, while the hamlet is Marlborough-which is the
post office designation
--
Comrade Mister Yamamoto
http://mryamamoto.50megs.com
Remember, buy Whizzo butter and go to HEAVEN!
Michael Moroney
>>those lines, on this group in the past, but I'm not sure. What is the
>>"official" spelling of these towns, both as far as the local governments
>>are concerned, and with the USPS?
>The official spelling for all but one is -borough. The sole exception
>is Attleboro.
Oh, and before anyone asks, yes, North Attleborough is among the -boroughs
and is spelled differently from its neighbor.
Emi M Briet
mor...@world.std.spaamtrap.com (Michael Moroney) wrote:
What about Foxboro(ugh)?
Michael Moroney
>> Oh, and before anyone asks, yes, North Attleborough is among the -boroughs
>> and is spelled differently from its neighbor.
>What about Foxboro(ugh)?
Officially Foxborough, like all the others except Attleboro.
Kurumi
Larry Harvilla <ro...@phatpage.org> wrote:
> I was just in Massachusetts recently, and in fact had to pick up a load
> in Marlboro(ugh) just off of I-495. My question for this evening is in
> regards to the "-boro" vs. "-borough" spellings for some Massachusetts
> towns: What is the deal with these?
>
> I think I recall some discussion about MassHighway spelling these towns
> one way and the Mass Turnpike Authority the other, or something along
> those lines, on this group in the past, but I'm not sure. What is the
> "official" spelling of these towns, both as far as the local governments
> are concerned, and with the USPS?
In 1890, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to Standardize U.S. City
Names issued its Official Decision, which called for changes like:
- dropping possessive forms (e.g. former Pike's Peak in CO)
- dropping the trailing 'h' in "-burgh"
- change "borough" to "boro"
- change "centre" to "center"
- avoidance of the overuse of diacritic characters (the Vietnamese
particularly go overboard here :-)
The link below includes more info and a 1911 letter confirming
PittsburgH's spelling. AFAIK it's the only burgh left in a state with
nearly 100 burgs.
There's also good information in Bill Bryson's "Made In America"
regarding US place names, such as:
- Kansas has had over 140 different spellings (WTF?)
- Iowa was once spelled Ouaouia (by the French)
(Marlborough, CT also flouted the boro rule.)
Dan Vincent
That's because that's what the town is actually named.
On freeways, the Big Green Signs are two different things.
You rarely see a -oro on a MassHighway maintained road, with the
exception of Attleboro, MA. I don't know why this is, it just is.
In effect, though, the names mean the same thing. You can mail
something to 123 main in Lanesboro or Lanesborough MA and they would go
to the same place.
marmar5
David Jensen
"marmar5" <mar...@sbcglobal.net> wrote in
<1133063105.6...@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>:
>Wooster, Ohio is named after Worcester, Massachusetts.
At least one of them knows how to spell.
Banjomax
New Hampshire more often than not seems to be holding on to the "ugh" in
most of its "boro"s (according to the state's official website).
Exceptions: Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro. Hills-, Lynde-, Marl-, Moulton-,
and Peterborough keep their extra letters.
In Vermont there is no "boro" town name ending in "ugh": Brattle-,
Greens-, Marl-, Reads-, Starks- and Wardsboro all omit the "ugh".
I was thinking about this recently when at work I received a press
release from a concern in Marlborough, NH...they had spelled Brattleboro
as "Brattleborough".
--
banjo
It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it
and remove all doubt.
-- Samuel Langhorne Clemens
Marc Fannin
> Wooster, Ohio is named after Worcester, Massachusetts.
No, common misconception.
Worcester, MA:
"Where did Worcester get its name?
No one knows for sure, but there are two most prevalent opinions. Some
believe the name Worcester comes from the Saxon Wegeraceaster, meaning
war castle, while others say that the city may be named after the
Battle of Worcester (UK) in 1561."
http://www.worcesterhistory.org/la-faqs.html
Wooster, OH:
"Wooster, the largest of the county's three cities at the time, became
the county seat in 1808. Wooster also takes its name from a
Revolutionary War hero, General David Wooster."
http://www.wooster-wayne.com/wccvb/hist.htm
"Wooster was named in honor of Revolutionary War Brigadier-General
David Wooster of Connecticut."
http://www.mainstreetwooster.org/about.html
________________________________________________________________________
Marc Fannin|musx...@kent.edu or @hotmail.com| http://www.roadfan.com/
Larry Harvilla
> Wooster, Ohio is named after Worcester, Massachusetts.
Not only has Marc Fannin already shown this to be incorrect (cf. his
post), but I can add that they're not even pronounced the same:
Worcester MA: WUSS-ter (first syllable just like the word for a weak,
milquetoast, "gutless" person)
Wooster OH: WOO-ster (first syllable rhymes with "boo" or "goo")
Marc Fannin
> On 11/26/2005 10:45 pm, marmar5 wrote:
>
> > Wooster, Ohio is named after Worcester, Massachusetts.
>
> Not only has Marc Fannin already shown this to be incorrect (cf. his
> post), but I can add that they're not even pronounced the same:
>
> Worcester MA: WUSS-ter (first syllable just like the word for a weak,
> milquetoast, "gutless" person)
>
> Wooster OH: WOO-ster (first syllable rhymes with "boo" or "goo")
Actually I've heard the Ohio city pronounced more often like the MA
pronunciation you gave above rather than the Ohio one.
Steve
> In 1890, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to Standardize U.S. City
> Names issued its Official Decision, which called for changes like:
>
> - dropping possessive forms (e.g. former Pike's Peak in CO)
Is that why the town in NY is now Fishs Eddy? Fishs.
--
Steve Alpert
MIT - B.S. '05, M.S. (Transportation) '06
http://web.mit.edu/smalpert/www/roads
Emi M Briet
Larry Harvilla <ro...@phatpage.org> wrote:
> Worcester MA: WUSS-ter (first syllable just like the word for a weak,
> milquetoast, "gutless" person)
I've always pronounced it like it looks.. WORCE-ter ...with "worce"
pronounced like "worse"
If you say it quickly, it ends up sounding like "wuss-ter" anyway *heh*
maggie...@webtv.net
> On Sat, 26 Nov 2005 00:51:16 -0500, Larry Harvilla
> <ro...@phatpage.org> wrote:
>
> >I was just in Massachusetts recently, and in fact had to pick up a load
> >in Marlboro(ugh) just off of I-495. My question for this evening is in
> >regards to the "-boro" vs. "-borough" spellings for some Massachusetts
> >"official" spelling of these towns, both as far as the local governments
> >are concerned, and with the USPS?
>
> The official spelling for all but one is -borough. The sole exception
> is Attleboro.
And even Attleboro was once (oficially) Attleborough. When it changed
from a town to city form of government in 1914, the spelling was
changed in the new city charter that it received from the legislature.
As Michael noted upthread, the neighboring town of North Attleborough
has never changed and continues to use "-borough" in its official name.
The "rules" on official spellings for the New England states appear to
be as follows:
Massachusetts: always "-borough", except for Attleboro.
Connecticut: there is only one municipality with this ending, and it
uses "-borough" (Marlborough).
New Hampshire: no consistent rule; "-borough" seems to be more common,
but there are some towns that use "-boro" instead.
Maine: always "-boro", except for Scarborough. IIRC, there was also
one other town -- I think it was Nobleboro -- that also officially used
the "-borough" spelling up until the 1960s.
Vermont: always "-boro".
Rhode Island: no municipalities with the "-boro"/"-borough" ending.
At least in Massachusetts, most if not all of the "-borough"
communities are often informally referred to as "-boro". You may see
the "-boro" spelling on signs, on maps and in business names, for
example. I'm not sure how true this is for the "-borough" communities
in other states; does anyone know of any "-borough" towns in New
England where locals are picky about using that spelling and not
shortening it to "-boro"? I don't think I've ever seen Scarborough, ME
referred to as "Scarboro".
The USPS is all over the place in which spellings it uses. For all of
the communities that end in "-boro", the USPS consistently uses that
ending. For communities that end in "-borough", however, sometimes it
uses that spelling, sometimes it uses "-boro"; sometimes it recognizes
the opposite spelling as an acceptable alternate, sometimes it doesn't
(even in some cases where the spelling in question is in common use
and/or is how the municipality officially spells its name). As Dan
alluded to upthread, your mail will probably get delivered no matter
which spelling you use.
Upthread Scott had mentioned the 1890 U.S. Board on Geographic Names
decision that had attempted to standardize on "-boro" across the
country. It is my impression that at one time the "-borough" spelling
was used throughout New England, at least formally (I have seen old
Census materials that use the "-borough" spellings for
states/communities that no longer use it today). Presumably, when the
USBGN decision was made, Vermont and Maine decided to follow it; or
perhaps they followed it because the "-borough" spellings were already
out of common use there by then.
Today, in the country as a whole, "-boro" seems to be far more common
that "-borough", possibly due to the USBGN decision. Massachusetts and
New Hamsphire appear to be the only states with large concentrations of
municipalities ending in "-borough".
Pete from Boston
> Larry Harvilla wrote:
>
> > I was just in Massachusetts recently, and in fact had to pick up a load
> > in Marlboro(ugh) just off of I-495. My question for this evening is in
> > regards to the "-boro" vs. "-borough" spellings for some Massachusetts
> > towns: What is the deal with these?
> >
> > I think I recall some discussion about MassHighway spelling these towns
> > one way and the Mass Turnpike Authority the other, or something along
> > those lines, on this group in the past, but I'm not sure. What is the
> > "official" spelling of these towns, both as far as the local governments
> > are concerned, and with the USPS?
> >
>
> NJ has "Boros", PA has "Boroughs"-At Taco Bell, they have Burritos, The
> first two of these are equivalent to the NY "Village". Right in my area, we
> have the Town of Marlboro, while the hamlet is Marlborough-which is the
> post office designation
New Jersey has "boroughs," which really aren't like the New York
"village." A borough in New Jersey is a distinct municipality, not part
of a town(ship), on equal footing with other cities and towns and
townships and what have you. "Village" in New York is a local
government that is till subject to the overarching jurisdiction of its
town(ship). "Borough" in the City of New York has more in common with
village government in other municipalities.
Evidence of -ugh spelling:
http://www.westwoodnj.gov/
http://www.ci.flemington.nj.us/
http://www.tuckertonborough.com/
I don't know what goes on in Pennsylvania, and I like it that way.
Steve
> Today, in the country as a whole, "-boro" seems to be far more common
> that "-borough", possibly due to the USBGN decision. Massachusetts and
> New Hamsphire appear to be the only states with large concentrations of
> municipalities ending in "-borough".
>
Well, in NJ, towns like Marlboro seem to all end in Boro, but the town
units are Boroughs. Of course, highway signs (and even the NJ state
map) are starting to use "Boro of...", but I believe that's unofficial.
k_f...@lycos.com
Hey!
"Borough" is the way the word is spelled. "Boro" is shorthand to save
letters, in the way "Thru" has come to stand for "through.
Same in PA as in NJ. E.g.: http://www.wilsonborough.org/
maggie...@webtv.net
Steve wrote:
> maggie...@webtv.net wrote:
>
> > Today, in the country as a whole, "-boro" seems to be far more common
> > that "-borough", possibly due to the USBGN decision. Massachusetts and
> > municipalities ending in "-borough".
> >
>
> Well, in NJ, towns like Marlboro seem to all end in Boro, but the town
> units are Boroughs. Of course, highway signs (and even the NJ state
> map) are starting to use "Boro of...", but I believe that's unofficial.
> --
Yeah, I was talking about the suffix in place names, not the municipal
title. According to the Census Bureau's web site, there are eleven
incorporated municipalities in New Jersey with the "-boro/-borough"
ending in their names; there are also at least two other communities
with this ending which are not municipalities in their own right but
have their own post office. All but one of the above, including
several which are titled as Boroughs, end in "-boro". The only
exception is Hillsborough Township (ironically, not a Borough), in
Somerset County.
Boroughs ending in "-boro": Fieldsboro, Gibbsboro, Glassboro,
Paulsboro, Swedesboro, Teterboro.
Townships ending in "-boro": Elsinboro, Marlboro, Plainsboro,
Willingboro.
Other places with post offices ending in "-boro": Clarksboro,
Whitesboro.
MCT
> > Gorgonzolla the Cheese Monster wrote:
> > NJ has "Boros", PA has "Boroughs"-At Taco Bell, they have Burritos, The
> > first two of these are equivalent to the NY "Village". Right in my area, we
> > have the Town of Marlboro, while the hamlet is Marlborough-which is the
> > post office designation
New York doesn't seem to have very many place names ending in
"-boro/-borough", but most of those that it does have seem to use
"-boro". The Census Bureau shows towns called Lewisboro (Westchester
County) and Willsboro (Essex County), and villages called Whitesboro
(Oneida County) and Wurtsboro (Sullivan County). The Census shows
Marlborough/Marlboro as the opposite of what you stated -- they have
the town as Marlborough and the hamlet (which they recognize as a CDP)
as Marlboro -- but either way it appears to be the only place of any
significance in the state ending in "-borough".
> New Jersey has "boroughs," which really aren't like the New York
> "village." A borough in New Jersey is a distinct municipality, not part
> of a town(ship), on equal footing with other cities and towns and
> townships and what have you. "Village" in New York is a local
> government that is till subject to the overarching jurisdiction of its
> town(ship). "Borough" in the City of New York has more in common with
> village government in other municipalities.
Actually, I'd say that boroughs in New Jersey and villages in New York
are fairly close equivalents. You'd be hard pressed to find any two
states whose municipality setups are exactly the same, but these are
fairly close in concept -- both represent a form of incorporated
municipality that was originally intended to serve a fairly small,
built-up place, typically smaller than a city. The difference that you
note is certainly important, but I think overall they're a lot more
alike than they are different. The same applies to boroughs in
Pennsylvania, which, like their New Jersey counterparts, become
completely independent of their parent townships.
Many midwestern states also have similar types of entities called
villages. In some midwestern states, as in New York, villages remain
part of their parent township; Michigan is one example. In other
states, as with boroughs in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the villages
become independent of their originating townships; Wisconsin is one
example. Here again, I wouldn't say that, because of that difference,
villages in Wisconsin and villages in Michigan "really aren't like"
each other. It's an important difference to note, but they are still
fundamentally pretty similar in concept.
Douglas Kerr
"Kurumi" <colle...@capitalone.com> wrote in message
news:collections-65F8...@newsclstr02.news.prodigy.com...
> In article <7_CdnUPDr8p...@megapath.net>,
> Larry Harvilla <ro...@phatpage.org> wrote:
>
>> I was just in Massachusetts recently, and in fact had to pick up a load
>> in Marlboro(ugh) just off of I-495. My question for this evening is in
>> regards to the "-boro" vs. "-borough" spellings for some Massachusetts
>> towns: What is the deal with these?
>>
>> I think I recall some discussion about MassHighway spelling these towns
>> one way and the Mass Turnpike Authority the other, or something along
>> those lines, on this group in the past, but I'm not sure. What is the
>> "official" spelling of these towns, both as far as the local governments
>> are concerned, and with the USPS?
>
> In 1890, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to Standardize U.S. City
> Names issued its Official Decision, which called for changes like:
>
> - dropping possessive forms (e.g. former Pike's Peak in CO)
> - dropping the trailing 'h' in "-burgh"
> - change "borough" to "boro"
> - change "centre" to "center"
> - avoidance of the overuse of diacritic characters (the Vietnamese
> particularly go overboard here :-)
>
> The link below includes more info and a 1911 letter confirming
> PittsburgH's spelling. AFAIK it's the only burgh left in a state with
> nearly 100 burgs.
Whereas in New York State and even into Vermont, some towns with a "-burgh"
ending are somewhat common.
Banjomax
> Whereas in New York State and even into Vermont, some towns with a "-burgh"
> ending are somewhat common.
Actually, in Vermont "-burgh" endings seem to be the exception rather
than the rule. Enosburgh and Ferrisburgh are the only two towns in
Vermont that end in "-burgh". Outnumbered more than two-to-one by
Alburg, Hinesbug, Irasburg, Lunenburg and Searsburg.
Peace.
Pete from Boston
> Douglas Kerr wrote:
>
> > Whereas in New York State and even into Vermont, some towns with a "-burgh"
> > ending are somewhat common.
>
> Actually, in Vermont "-burgh" endings seem to be the exception rather
> than the rule. Enosburgh and Ferrisburgh are the only two towns in
> Vermont that end in "-burgh". Outnumbered more than two-to-one by
> Alburg, Hinesbug, Irasburg, Lunenburg and Searsburg.
>
> Peace.
I'm not looking up a reference now, but I recall reading that the Board
on Geographic Names or the USPS at some point around the turn of the
20th century advised/required/hoped that all "-burgh" names be spelled
"-burg."
Pete from Boston
Maybe I should have looked up a reference, because there it is already
mentioned in this very thread. Sorry, Kurumi!
Michael Moroney
>Whereas in New York State and even into Vermont, some towns with a "-burgh"
>ending are somewhat common.
According to the US Census, all those towns in Vermont (as well as MA and
the one in NH) are "-burg" officially. NY appears to be split about 50-50
between "-burg" and "-burgh".
As far as "-boro(ugh)", all those in Vermont are "-boro", all in NY
are "-boro" as well except for the Town of Marlborough (which has a
Village called Marlboro), but in NH all are "-borough" except for
Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro.
MCT
> Douglas Kerr wrote:
>
> > Whereas in New York State and even into Vermont, some towns with a "-burgh"
> > ending are somewhat common.
>
> Actually, in Vermont "-burgh" endings seem to be the exception rather
> than the rule. Enosburgh and Ferrisburgh are the only two towns in
> Vermont that end in "-burgh". Outnumbered more than two-to-one by
> Alburg, Hinesbug, Irasburg, Lunenburg and Searsburg.
>
A couple of observations on this:
1) Upthread, I had mentioned that I had seen old Census materials that
use the "-borough" spellings for states/communities that no longer use
it today. The same is true for "-burg/-burgh". I've gone
through my files and found an example - a copy of a town-by-town
population listing from the 1790 Census for the New England states. It
fairly consistently spells "-borough" with the "-ugh", even for
communities that use "-boro" today; and "-burgh" with the
"-h", even for communities that use "-burg" today. For
example:
--For Massachusetts - Fitchburgh, Lunenburgh and Williamsburgh, and
Attleborough.
--For New Hampshire - Tuftonborough, Wolfborough (sic).
--For Vermont - Alburgh, Brattleborough, Greensborough, Hinesburgh,
Marlborough, Reedsborough (sic), Starksborough and Wardsborough (plus a
few that don't use that name at all anymore, like Huntsburgh
[present-day Franklin]).
--For Maine - Gouldsborough, Isleborough, Nobleborough,
Vassalborough, Waldoborough and Waterborough (plus a few that don't
use that name at all anymore, like Pepperrellborough [present-day
Saco]).
The one exception is that Ferrisburg, VT is spelled with no "h",
although it's certainly possible that's a typo.
Also, see this site, http://history.rays-place.com/me/index.htm, which
has information from a gazetteer of Maine published in 1886. It stills
shows the "-borough" endings, although all of the
"-burg/-burgh" towns (including Newburgh) are shown as "burg".
2) Regarding Enosburg(h) and Ferrisburg(h): The Census Bureau and the
U.S. Postal Service both show the "-burg" ending for *all* of the
towns in Vermont that Banjomax mentioned, including Enosburg and
Ferrisburg. For that matter, both appear to use "-burg" for every
town and city in New England with this ending (e.g., Fitchburg, MA;
Fryeburg, ME; Pittsburg, NH), with the lone exception of Newburgh, ME.
I tried to find an online source to confirm the official spelling of
Enosburg(h) and Ferrisburg(h), but neither town appears to have a web
site, and I couldn't find a list of towns anywhere on Vermont's
state web site. However, a search of the Vermont web site shows
inconsistency in how different state agencies spell these two towns'
names, as you can find numerous hits for them both with and without the
"h". That there is inconsistency is significant, because the same
search shows that the other towns are universally spelled with no
"-h"; there appear to be no non-historical references whatsoever to
Alburgh, Hinesburgh, Irasburgh, Lunenburgh or Searsburgh.
I also took a look at http://www.virtualvermont.com, an online source
with information about Vermont towns and their histories. It does show
Enosburgh and Ferrisburgh with the "h", and under Ferrisburg it
states the following: "The main village of Ferrisburg got a post
office called Ferrisburgh in 1850. In 1892, the h was dropped, as it
was most everywhere in the US at the urging of the postal folk. Recent
years have seen that spelling coming back into use for the entire
town". Note that under Searsburg, it also states: "Named
Searsburgh in the charter, the final h dropped through custom".
3) So, this is the understanding that I am getting:
--Early in their history (i.e., 18th century/early 19th century), most
if not all towns in New England used the "-borough" and
"-burgh" spellings, at least formally.
--At some point during the 19th century, most towns dropped the
"-ugh" or "-h". This may have been prompted by the USBGN or
USPS attempting to standardize spellings across the country in the
1890s, or in some cases it may have been something that developed over
time, going back even earlier, just because it was easier for people to
write the town names that way. I'd guess that in some cases the
"-boro" or "-burg" form had become the de facto normal spelling
(it looks like "-burgh" in particular may have gone out of use earlier
and more universally), and the USBGN decision simply forced
states/towns to decide whether they technically wanted to use the
old-fashioned "-borough" or "-burgh" spellings as official.
Most states/towns apparently decided not to. The most notable
exceptions to the above were that Massachusetts (in all cases) and New
Hampshire (in most cases) retained the "-borough" ending, at least
for official purposes. A few other scattered communities also kept the
"-borough" or "-burg" endings. In the 20th century, a few of
these holdouts switched over (Attleboro, MA, for example).
--In recent times, Enosburg(h), VT and Ferrisburg(h), VT have
apparently both brought back the "-h" for whatever reason, so that
both "-burg" and "-burgh" seem to both be in current use,
although I'm not clear which spelling they consider to be official.
Banjomax
> I also took a look at http://www.virtualvermont.com, an online source
> with information about Vermont towns and their histories.
That was the (only) source of my earlier post. Had I checked other
sources (and had a cup of coffee before I posted) I would have noticed
the discrepancy.
> --In recent times, Enosburg(h), VT and Ferrisburg(h), VT have
> apparently both brought back the "-h" for whatever reason, so that
> both "-burg" and "-burgh" seem to both be in current use,
> although I'm not clear which spelling they consider to be official.
If a town's schools are any indication, there is the Enosburg Elementary
School, Enosburg Falls Middle & High School and the Ferrisburgh Central
School. (http://www.k12.vt.us/)
If a town's fire department is any indication there is the Enosburgh
Fire Dept. and the Ferrisburg Vol. Fire Dept.
(http://cms.firehouse.com/content/fhnet/)
The Vermont State Police website spells the towns' names "Enosburg" and
"Ferrisburgh". (http://www.dps.state.vt.us/vtsp/dispatch/discomctr.html)
Confused yet? Well, the Vermont Secretary of State may have the final
word on this (since neither town appears to have an official website):
listing of all of the town/city clerks for the state of Vermont
(accurate as of 11/1/05) lists Enosburgh and Ferrisburgh with the "h".
(http://vermont-elections.org/elections1/2005TCGuide1101.pdf)
(http://vermont-elections.org/elections1/2005TCPublicList1101.xls
As mentioned by another poster, the Census Bureau and the Postal Service
both seem to disagree with the Sec. of State. No "h" for either.
Why I find spelling discrepancies in place names so fascinating, I'll
never know. :)
Doug Krause
Kurumi <colle...@capitalone.com> wrote:
>In 1890, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to Standardize U.S. City
>Names issued its Official Decision, which called for changes like:
>
>- dropping possessive forms (e.g. former Pike's Peak in CO)
Except for Martha's Vineyard.
Steve
Marthas Vineyard: The Vineyard in which Marthas are grown.
A quick survey of the NJ state map shows names like Norburys Landing and
Carrs Corner. Why is the possessive so horrible?
Marc Fannin
> Doug Krause wrote:
>
> > Kurumi <colle...@capitalone.com> wrote:
> >
> >>In 1890, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to Standardize U.S. City
> >>Names issued its Official Decision, which called for changes like:
> >>
> >>- dropping possessive forms (e.g. former Pike's Peak in CO)
> >
> > Except for Martha's Vineyard.
>
> Marthas Vineyard: The Vineyard in which Marthas are grown.
>
> A quick survey of the NJ state map shows names like Norburys Landing and
> Carrs Corner. Why is the possessive so horrible?
I can't tell you truthfully about BGN's rationale, but I can say that
the related USGS dropped apostrophes so that map users wouldn't
misinterpret them as other map symbols (see _Maps for America_, Morris
M. Thompson). Perhaps BGN's reason is related.
MCT
See http://geonames.usgs.gov/pppdgn.html#CH5 for the current rule and
reasoning.
MCT
Here are a list of municipalities around the country with the
"-boro/-"borough" ending, taken from information on the Census
Bureau's web site. This list focuses on incorporated municipalities.
Townships are included in states where they are considered to be
incorporated (e.g., NJ, PA), and there are some notes for townships in
other states where they are not incorporated but are of some local
administrative significance (e.g., the midwest and plains states).
Aside from that, no attempt was made to capture the names of
unincorporated places. All names are as shown by the Census Bureau,
assuming that the Census is using the correct "official" spelling
for each.
A few observations:
--In the country as a whole, "-boro" far outnumbers "-borough".
There are more than 150 place names on this list that end in
"-boro", versus 27 that end in "-borough". Further, 16 out of
the 27 places ending in "-borough" are in Massachusetts or New
Hampshire; if you throw out those two states, there are only 11
remaining. Because the "-borough" ending is so uncommon, such
places are marked 'EXCEPTION" on the list below.
--Massachusetts and New Hampshire are the only states with multiple
incorporated municipalities ending in "-borough", and the only two
states (among states with more than one "-boro/-borough"
municipality) where "-borough" is in the majority.
--The "-boro/borough" ending seems to be most common in the
northeast and southeast. North Carolina has 21, Massachusetts and
Pennsylvania 12, New Jersey 11, Maine 10, and Georgia 8. Many western
states have few or no municipalities with these endings. In the
eastern half of the country, Michigan and Rhode Island also stand out
as two states that have none.
AL: Greensboro, Hillsboro, Hurtsboro, Lowndesboro, Mountainboro,
Scottsboro
AR: Jonesboro, Murfreesboro
CA: EXCEPTION - Hillsborough
CT: EXCEPTION - Marlborough
DE: Dagsboro, Millsboro
FL: Greensboro, Hillsboro Beach
GA: Davisboro, Greensboro, Jonesboro, Riceboro, Statesboro, Swainsboro,
Toomsboro, Waynesboro
IL: Hillsboro, Hindsboro, Jonesboro, McLeansboro, Murphysboro,
Smithboro, Thomasboro
IN: Dillsboro, Greensboro, Hillsboro, Jonesboro, Pittsboro
IA: Hillsboro, Lanesboro, Northboro, Searsboro
KS: Hillsboro; EXCEPTION - Eastborough
KY: Brownsboro Farm, Brownsboro Village, Drakesboro, Old Brownsboro
Place, Owensboro; EXCEPTION - Middlesborough
LA: Jonesboro, Simsboro, Winnsboro
ME: Frenchboro, Gouldsboro, Isleboro, Jonesboro, Nobleboro, Vanceboro,
Vassalboro, Waldoboro, Waterboro. EXCEPTION - Scarborough
MD: Boonsboro, Goldsboro, Greensboro, Hillsboro, Upper Marlboro,
Woodsboro
MA: Attleboro; EXCEPTIONS - Boxborough, Foxborough, Lanesborough,
Marlborough Middleborough, New Marlborough, North Attleborough,
Northborough, Southborough, Tyngsborough, Westborough
MN: Lanesboro; EXCEPTION: there is an Ellsborough Township.
MS: Pittsboro, Waynesboro
MO: Hillsboro, Westboro; EXCEPTION - Marlborough
NH: Tuftonboro, Wolfeboro; EXCEPTIONS - Hillsborough, Lyndeborough,
Marlborough, Moultonborough, Peterborough
NJ: Elsinboro Twp., Fieldsboro, Gibbsboro, Glassboro, Marlboro Twp.,
Paulsboro, Plainsboro Twp., Swedesboro, Teterboro, Willingboro Twp.;
EXCEPTION - Hillsborough Twp.
NY: Lewisboro, Whitesboro, Willsboro, Wurtsboro; EXCEPTION -
Marlborough
NC: Asheboro, Bayboro, Bladenboro, Carrboro, Dillsboro, Ellenboro,
Goldsboro, Greensboro, Mooresboro, Murfreesboro, North Wilkesboro,
Oakboro, Pittsboro, Roseboro, Roxboro, Swansboro, Tarboro, Vanceboro,
Wadesboro, Wilkesboro; EXCEPTION - Hillsborough
ND: Hansboro, Hillsboro
OH: Hillsboro, Springboro, Streetsboro. Though there is no
incorporated municipality by this name, there are also two Marlboro
Townships.
OK: Earlsboro
OR: Hillsboro
PA: Birdsboro, East Pennsboro Twp., Edinboro, Goldsboro, Greensboro,
Hatboro, Lanesboro, Springboro, Stoneboro, Waynesboro, Wellsboro, West
Pennsboro Twp.
SC: Walterboro, Winnsboro
SD: no incorporated municipalities, but there is a Millboro Township.
TN: Gainesboro, Jacksboro, Murfreesboro, Waynesboro; EXCEPTION -
Jonesborough
TX: Brownsboro, Hillsboro, Jacksboro, Pottsboro, Whitesboro, Winnsboro,
Woonsboro
VA: Hillsboro, Waynesboro
VT: Brattleboro, Greensboro, Marlboro, Readsboro, Starksboro,
Wardsboro.
WV: Ellenboro, Hillsboro, Pennsboro
WI: Hillsboro. Though there are no incorporated municipalities by
these names, there are also town(ship)s named Ellenboro, Westboro and
Woodboro.
Random Waftings Of Bunker Blasts
>KY: Brownsboro Farm, Brownsboro Village, Drakesboro, Old Brownsboro
>Place, Owensboro; EXCEPTION - Middlesborough
Everyone spells it Middlesboro though. Almost every map and state document
spells it this way, even if federal census documents spell it the other way.
--
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Steve
" Hyphens are generally not to be used to separate syllables in Native
American names."
Looks like Ho-Ho-Kus just became Ho Ho Kus.