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Ever wonder about some of those state capitols sometimes? I understand a lot of times the state capitol was chosen because of a central location, thus the state capitol is in the middle of the state. Sometimes it works(Denver, Indianapolis, Columbus, Phoenix), sometimes it doesn't work and you just wonder why:
Pierre, SD
Frankfort, Kentucky
Augusta, Maine
Montpelier, Vermont-they don't even have a McDonald's...
Jefferson City, Missouri
I don't know, it's just when the capitol is a small or mid-sized town it just seems odd to me. I can understand some cases like Cheyenne, Santa Fe, Helena, Juneau, but others I still wonder why...
Think you are right about putting in the middle. In the old days when travel was more difficult, putting it in the middle gave everybody in the state sort of equal access. Was a good idea if you just had to pick a location.
I don't think in a modern sense it is so much about location but how is the state balanced out in terms of political, economic, people distribution type issues.
One example might be Massachusetts. All the power is located at the far eastern tip of the state in Boston. The rest of the state feels screwed and a bit taken for granted. You get into a situation where one city is the state by default on every major issue.
Then something like Florida. Does that work putting the capital way up north. You can argue Yes, it is one way of balancing out influence from the economic power / population in the south.
A lot of states might not work that well if you made the major city the capital. NY, CA, PA, TX, IL come to mind. It would concentrate too much power in one area. Plus nobody would ever get a parking spot within miles of the place.
You probably do want the state capital to be a bit of a backwater for a bunch of reasons. Just let it tend to government, don't make it too easy for Big Business just to walk across the street to do their pay off's. Plus how are the Pols going to hide when doing all their dirty deals if too many people can see them??
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
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one good example; richmond, va. most dangerous city in virginia might not even be in top 5 in population in VA. wouldn't be the captial if not for location in middle of state.
Ever wonder about some of those state capitols sometimes? I understand a lot of times the state capitol was chosen because of a central location, thus the state capitol is in the middle of the state.
I don't know why it is that I never realized this before, but just now going through the mental list of the capitals and a map in my head, I'm just now realizing just how many states' capitols are in fact in the geographic middle of the state.
I've always thought Sacramento was a strange choice... sure, it's a good-sized city with some stuff to offer, but hardly the shining glory of California. Population isn't that big, weather sucks (in the summer, at least), good amount of poverty & crime, boring scenery, and a pathetic skyline... not to mention, they don't even have a football or baseball team. I think we should nominate San Francisco instead!!
Ever wonder about some of those state capitols sometimes? I understand a lot of times the state capitol was chosen because of a central location, thus the state capitol is in the middle of the state. Sometimes it works(Denver, Indianapolis, Columbus, Phoenix), sometimes it doesn't work and you just wonder why:
Pierre, SD
Frankfort, Kentucky
Augusta, Maine
Montpelier, Vermont-they don't even have a McDonald's...
Jefferson City, Missouri
I don't know, it's just when the capitol is a small or mid-sized town it just seems odd to me. I can understand some cases like Cheyenne, Santa Fe, Helena, Juneau, but others I still wonder why...
Montpelier not having a McDonald's shows good judgement in my opinion. Maybe people there aren't interested in clogging the arteries of their citizens and adding to the obesity epidemic. . . . Would you like some lipitor with those fries
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