Same city name in different states. (school, live in, rail)

[virgo]

Don't know if this has been asked, but does anyone know how it comes to be that a city name ends up in different states?

Examples:
Richmond & Arlington in TX and VA
Gainesville in FL and in VA
Charleston in WVa and in SC
Memphis in TN and in KY
Nashville in TN and in KY

There are many more that are just not coming to me, but I was wondering if anyone knows the how come behind this?

Thanks!

[mels]

I know in the northeast many of the names were "stolen" from England and used in various states, i.e. Stratford, Glastonbury, Oxford, Norwich, etc.. I am thinking it was due to lack of creativity.

[tahiti]

did you know that the creators of The Simpsons purposely chose Springfield as the town name because there are so many of them? Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa can live in almost any state...and that was the idea. I know off-hand of one in NJ, MA, MO, IL.

eta - there are many towns in NJ that have the same name - e.g. - there are about 7 washington townships. silly.

[ontheroad]

I was thinking of Springfield, too. Also one in VT.

Originally Posted by tahiti

did you know that the creators of The Simpsons purposely chose Springfield as the town name because there are so many of them? Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa can live in almost any state...and that was the idea. I know off-hand of one in NJ, MA, MO, IL.

eta - there are many towns in NJ that have the same name - e.g. - there are about 7 washington townships. silly.

[Southlander]

I'm in Decatur, Alabama. There are 17 Decaturs, all thanks to the early American hero Stephen Decatur. I believe there was once a meeting of all the Decatur mayors in one of the Northern Decaturs. Our town is frequently confused with Decatur, Georgia.

[UmbrellasYearRound]

There's both Portland, Maine and Portland, Oregon

I was born in Orange, California, and I've heard that there is an Orange, Florida too.

[krudmonk]

Kansas City

[Rmaf623]

Alexandria - Louisiana, Virginia, Minnesota, & Egypt.
Lafayette - Louisiana & Indiana. (but two different pronunciations!)

[bostoner]

Originally Posted by UmbrellasYearRound

There's both Portland, Maine and Portland, Oregon

I was born in Orange, California, and I've heard that there is an Orange, Florida too.

Don't forget Portland, Texas! And Orange, Texas, right on the border of Texas and Louisiana!

There are many, many Texas towns with the same name as other towns. I'd be here all day listing them all...

Athens, TX and Athens, GA
Atlanta, TX and Atlanta, GA
Mt. Pleasant, TX and Mt. Pleasant, MI; Mt. Pleasant, SC; and Mt. Pleasant, IA
Huntsville, TX and Huntsville, AL
DeKalb, TX and DeKalb, IL

Not to mention Paris and Palestine. NOTHING like their namesakes, I assure you!

[SunnyKayak]

DENVER CO and DENVER NC

The Denver North carolina area was settled ca. 1770 and, because of it's location adjacent to a swampy area, was originally known as "Dry Pond". In 1873 "Dry Pond" was renamed "Denver" by D. Matt Thompson, the local school principal. Legend has it that in the early 1870's the people of "Dry Pond" were lobbying to persuade the railroads to route rail service through the area. Rail service held the promise of opportunity, prosperity and wealth. They worried that the name "Dry Pond" made the area sound unattractive and that it might hamper their chances with the railroads. The school principle, being respected for his education and learning, was asked to help choose a new name that would make the area sound more appealing and help improve their chances of obtaining rail service. It was 1873 and Colorado was then being considered for admission to the Union, so Mr. Thompson suggested renaming the area after the capital of Colorado, thus the name of Denver. In 1877 the town of Denver was officially incorporated in the state of North Carolina. Sadly, all their efforts were for naught as the railroads decided not to bring a rail line through the newly named town. Without the railroads the growth of the small town was stymied, the town became too poor to maintain even it's own streets. In 1971 the little town of Denver lost it's incorporated status when the State of North Carolina rescinded the charters of several inactive N.C. cities.