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Washingtons in the Northeast/East Coast though are 9 times out of 10 (actually I'd guess 10 times out of 10 but I can't prove it in every case nor do I care to) not named for the state, but after the President. I actually did a quick google search for Washington County, PA and according to Wiki, the county was formed in 1781 and named after George. I always giggle a bit when people say any Washingtons out East are named after the state out West. They share a name, but the Eastern ones likely came looong before the state, and both/all are named after the President.
Delaware County in PA is likely named after the river, which it borders, not the state (actually again, according to Wiki, it was named after the river). The state and river just happen to share a name. Actually, the state was named after the river, which was named the Delaware in 1664. Gotta love those Native American influences.
Now - I looked up California, PA, and that one was definitely named after the state.
IMO there is a difference between sharing a name and being "named for/after." Someone didn't say, "let's name this county Washington after the state" (which didn't even exist at the time). My town is called Cranford, and while there is a Cranford in the UK (with a TV show based off of it), my town was not named after it. Rather, a guy who settled here around 1720 and put effort into making it a town was named Crane, and Cranford is a derivative of his last name.
On a related note, NJ has 5 Washingtons. All called "Washington Township," and one each in Bergen, Burlington, Gloucester, Morris, and Warren Counties. I guess we really, really liked our first president in this state.
Delaware County, Ohio is named for the Delaware Native American tribe. I'm sure that is the case with some other states, too.
Also, 43 of Ohio's 88 counties have a Washington Township. One county is named Washington County. There is a city named Washington Court House. And there are villages names Old Washington, New Washington, and Washingtonville. That's a lot of George! haha
Delaware County, Ohio is named for the Delaware Native American tribe. I'm sure that is the case with some other states, too.
Also, 43 of Ohio's 88 counties have a Washington Township. One county is named Washington County. There is a city named Washington Court House. And there are villages names Old Washington, New Washington, and Washingtonville. That's a lot of George! haha
but isn't that sort of where all the Delaware names derive?
The most southern part of Canada, Middle Island (south of Pelee Island) is further south than parts of northern Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
It's also farther south than 13 entire states, including Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Here's a geography mind-screw to go along with all of these "ooo this place people consider north is actually south of such and such and what people think of east is really west of such and such"....
All directions are technically arbitrary and completely abstract in space. You could flip a globe upside down and it isn't really an upside down representation of Earth. Space continues out in all directions forever. The orientations we've given to latitude, longitude, north, south, east, west.....all in our heads. East can be North; South can be West; Argentina can be North of Canada if you flip the globe or consider Earth approaching from the opposite direction in space.
Here's a geography mind-screw to go along with all of these "ooo this place people consider north is actually south of such and such and what people think of east is really west of such and such"....
All directions are technically arbitrary and completely abstract in space. You could flip a globe upside down and it isn't really an upside down representation of Earth. Space continues out in all directions forever. The orientations we've given to latitude, longitude, north, south, east, west.....all in our heads. East can be North; South can be West; Argentina can be North of Canada if you flip the globe or consider Earth approaching from the opposite direction in space.
East and west, yes. North and south, no. The concept of latitude is based on Earth's position relative to the sun. The lower the number, the more direct sunlight you get. What people are saying is that "Yes, a small spot in far southern Ontario, Canada in fact does get more direct sunlight than the northern border of California!"
Granted, it has no meaning what so ever outside of the solar system, but within the solar system it means everything.
Someone in Pensacola Florida can make a phone call to someone in Ontario Oregon, and be separated in time by only one hour. Most of Malheur County Oregon is on Mountain Standard Time, while the Florida panhandle observes Central Standard Time. Suggested in another way, a state that has beach on the Pacific Ocean and a state that has a beach on the Atlantic Ocean have areas that are separated in time by only one hour.
Someone in Pensacola Florida can make a phone call to someone in Ontario Oregon, and be separated in time by only one hour. Most of Malheur County Oregon is on Mountain Standard Time, while the Florida panhandle observes Central Standard Time. Suggested in another way, a state that has beach on the Pacific Ocean and a state that has a beach on the Atlantic Ocean have areas that are separated in time by only one hour.
That is a good one, and completely true. I remember being in Baker City, OR (pacific), and the cable system also covered Boise, ID (mountain). So I could watch The Tonight Show at 9:30 pacific, and again at 11:30 pacific, due to mountain/central airing programming one hour earlier than pacific/eastern.
Last edited by Count David; 03-06-2016 at 08:39 AM..
It's 13 and a half hours from Arlington, Virginia to Memphis, Tennessee despite Virginia and Tennessee bordering each other.
I made this very drive (Tulsa, OK to Alexandria, VA via Memphis) and was shocked at how long it took to drive through Tennessee. And then once I got into Virginia, it was another 5-6 hours!
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They share a name, but the Eastern ones likely came looong before the state, and both/all are named after the President. 
