Washington Place Names

There are so many itty-bitty places in our state that I'd never heard of or could pinpoint where they were on a map. How about you?

Venersborg, Clark County. This community was established in 1909 by the Swedish Land Co. on land owned by a farmer named Vener. 

Venice, Kitsap County. Known as Venice Landing, site of the longest wharf on Puget Sound (780') circa 1908, this Bainbridge Island community is the namesake of California's once artificially canaled copy of the Italian city.

Veradale, Spokane County. Namesake of Vera McDonald whose father helped plat the district in 1911. First named Vera but changed to Veradale in 1923.

Victor, Mason County. Source of the name was selected in 1892 when ships delivered mail to the "pigeon hole" post office house in the community's general store is unknown. This tiny community is near Belfair. 

Viti Rocks, Whatcom County. Names by Wilkes for Viti Levu, one of the Fiji Islands that was the home of a cannibal the expedition took prisoner and brought to the Pacific Northwest. 

Vega, Pierce County. Community on Anderson Island derived its name from Vegatorp, Sweden, home town of the first postmaster.

Washington Place Names

 

This is The Most Delightful book! Written in 1971 by James W. Phillips, its nearly 180 pages give a bit of history for scores of places in the Evergreen State. For instance:

Cashmere:  Originally known as Mission as a result of early Catholic missions established in the area between 1850s and 1870s. Town renamed in 1903 to emulate in name, as well as fertility and valley setting, the beautiful and productive Vale of Kashmir in India. 

Hadlock:  Originally known as Port Hadlock, the town was named for founder Samuel Hadlock, who built the Washington Mill Co. on Port Townsend Bay in 1870. 

Home: In Pierce County; established as a social reform colony in 1896 on Carr Inlet by George H. Allen and named to demonstrate the group's friendship to all.

Maple Valley:  Named Vine Maple Valley by the first settlers in 1879 because of the maple trees growing along that portion of the cedar River, the name was shortened by postal officials in 1888.

Moclips:  A Quinault Indian word describing a place where maidens were sent to undergo puberty rites.

Monse:  In Okanogan County; original name of Swansea was changed in 1916 to honor Mons, Belgium, where the British fought the first battle of WWI on 23 August 1914.

Jovita:  In Pierce County; Townsite developed by the Jovita Land Co. of Seattle. 

Joyce:  In Clallam County; named in 1913 by its first postmaster J.M. Joyce, who operated a store, a shingle mill and a farm nearby.

Otis Orchards:  In Spokane County; originally a railroad flag station called Otis after an early settler; name amended in 1908 with the establishment of a post office to tie into the area's image as a fruit growing center.

Lots more to come! This book is still available if you want a copy. 

Would you guess that Washington has 70 Native American-origin place names?

Would you ever have guessed that there are over 70 town names in Washington that come from Native American words??  

Recently I enjoyed a browse through The Atlas of the North American Indian, by Carl Waldman, first published in 1985 and updated in 2009. I found the pages explaining the Northwest Indians and their culture to be so interesting.

One unexpected thing I gleaned from this book was a list of place names in Washington that are of native origins. Could you have come up with this list of 73 places?? (The list does include two names of French derivation.)

“TN” denotes a tribal-origin name. Places were tribal names, chief’s names, or of Indian derivation. For some names, the tribe was designated and for others it was not. Sometimes the meaning was given and sometimes not.

Anatone – TN

Asotin – Nez Perce “elk creek”

Cathlamet – TN

Chehalis – TN “sand”

Chewelah – TN

Chimacum – TN

Chinook – TN

Clallam – TN “big brave nation”

Conconully – TN “cloudy”

Copalis – TN

Cowlitz – TN “power”

Ilwaco – Chief El-Wah-ko-Jim

Entiat – TN “rapid water”

Kalotus – TN “hole in the ground”

Kittitas – TN “shoal people”

Klickitat – TN “beyond”

Latah – Nez Perce “place of pines”

Methow – TN

Moclips – Quinault “place where girls were sent during puberty rites”

Napavine – TN “small prairie”

Naselle – TN

Nespelem – TN

Nisqually – TN

Okanogan – TN “meeting place”

Omak – TN

Palouse – TN “grassy expanse”

Pend Oreille – French; “ear pendants”

Potlach – TN “give”

Puyallup – TN “generous people”

Queets – TN

Quilcene – TN

Quillayute – TN

Quinault – TN

Sanpoil – TN

Seattle – Chief Sealth

Selah – TN “still water”

Sequim – TN “quiet water”

Simcoe – TN “waist spine”

Similk – TN

Skagit – TN

Skamania – TN “swift water”

Skamokawa – Chief name

Skykomish – TN “inland people”

Snohomish – TN

Snoqualmie – TN “moon”

Spokane – TN “people of the sun”

Stehekin – TN “pass”

Steilacoom – Chief name

Sultan – Chief name

Suquamish – TN

Tacoma – TN “mountain god”

Tenino – TN

Tieton – TN “roaring water”

Toppenish – TN

Touchet – French; “fire cured salmon”

Toutle – TN

Tucannon – TN “bread root”

Tukwila – TN “land of hazelnuts”

Tulalip – TN “by with small mouth”

Tumwater – TN “heart”

Twisp – TN

Wahkiakum – Chief name

Walla Walla – TN “little river”

Washtucna – Chief name

Waukon – Chief name

Wauna – TN “spout creature”

Wenatchee – TN “river from canyon”

Whatcom – Chief name

Willapa – TN

Yacolt – TN “haunted place”

Yakima – TN “growing families"