PA Towns and Cities

While driving down the freeway to Lancaster a couple of weeks ago we were intrigued as be began to read the names of the towns or cities that we were passing. Some of the names we were reading were Mt. Joy, Landisville, Burfordville, Salunga, Sporting Hill and of course Lancaster. Other interesting names are Harrisburg, Pittsburg, Chambersburg, Gettysburg, Mechanicsburg, Millersburg, Stroudsburg, Mifflinburg, Freeburg, Shippensburg, Middleburg and Dillsburg. The bigger cities and towns are called Burgs. The smaller cities or towns are called Boroughs or Boro and Villages like Waynesboro or Pottsville. We have found many towns called by the same names but with a different ending such as Millersburg, Millerstown, Millersville or it may be Elizabethville, Elizabethtown or Elizabethburg, then there is Middletown, Middleburg, or Middleville. They even go so far as to name them East Paxton, South Paxton, North Paxton, and West Paxton. They have unique names such as Tobyhanna, Tunkhannock, Wilkes Barre, Susquehanna, Honesdale, Huntingdon, York, Berwick, Ephrata, Lock Haven, and Sayre. Names that come from the bible are also represented such as Bethlehem, Nazareth, Mt Zion, and Lebanon. There are names that sound familiar such as Marysville, Clearfield, and Milford. Other names that tend to jump out at you are Johnstown, Hagerstown, St College (Home of Penn State), Williamsport, Scranton, Bird in Hand, Intercourse, New Holland, and Allentown. Those names with some Church Historical interest are Montrose, Mansfield, Fayette, and Susquehanna. Instead of saying the City of Layton here it would be The Borough of Layton. Instead of Salt Lake City or West Valley City it would be Salt Lake Borough or West Valley Borough. Unincorporated areas are Counties such as Parry County which include all of the little Cities and town in the County. A lot of names are taken from Indian names such as the Susquehannock or Iroquois Indian nations who populated the area in the early 1500 and 1600’s. Such names as Conodoquitnet, Tunkhannock, Juniata, and Tuscaora come to mind. It has been a challenge to remember the names of places as they are so much alike. For example is this Millersville or Millersburg. Thank goodness for Dora (GPS) or we would be lost all of the time. She has helped us find our way so many times.