What’s In A Name? How Capital Region Cities, Towns and Villages Got Their Names

In every state across this great nation, there are cities with strange and unusual names. I've always been fascinated when I've come upon a city to find out why it was given the name it has. Sometimes the story is pretty straightforward like it was named for its founder, or in honor of someone, but other times it's more interesting.

When I lived in Michigan I just had to find out why the town of Hell, MI was named that. Turns out  In the 1830s, the town settler, George Reeves, made a deal with local farmers to trade his homemade whiskey for the grain they grew. When the farmer’s wives knew their husbands were off dealing with Reeves, they were known to remark, “He’s gone to hell again.” The name stuck, according to Mental Floss.

So what about towns and cities right here in the Capital District? Well, they might not be as funny as Hell, Michigan but it's still pretty interesting how our local cities, towns, and villages got their names.