State Nicknames With a Twist - 3 Quiz

Did you know that the name for Vermont is derived from the French language? "Vert" means green and "mont" means mountain. The first European to explore the area around Vermont was Frenchman Samuel de Champlain in 1609, who also named the region. It appears that sometime in the 1700s the land was first called the Green Mountain State.

You may have heard of the Green Mountains in Vermont, and the Green Mountain Boys who used the mountains to their advantage during the American Revolution. The mountain range that runs through Vermont stretches from Quebec, Canada, to Massachusetts, but some people call all of the mountains in Vermont Green Mountains! The Green Mountain Boys were a militia that protected the southern part of what is now Vermont from an attempted takeover by New York in the 1760s, before the American Revolution even began. During the Revolution the militia became part of the Continental Army.

The story of Tennessee's nickname goes all the way back to the War of 1812. During this time, even though most of the Tennessee soldiers had no experience in battle, they fought when Governor Blount called for 3500 men. By the end of the war, it is estimated that as many as 28,000 had served, some with General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans. When the Mexican War broke out, many militiamen from Tennessee again volunteered to fight after President Polk asked for 2800 men. It is said that 30,000 answered his call!

Today the nickname is more likely to apply to the University of Tennessee athletic teams, but native Tennesseans are still proud of their reputation of service to the United States!

South Carolina's state tree is the sabal palmetto tree; the historical significance of this native palm dates all the way back to the Revolutionary War at the Battle of Fort Moultrie on June 28, 1776. The softwood from the tree had been used to build fortifications, and it effectively absorbed the impact from the barrage of cannonballs sent by the British that day.

After that it became an important symbol of freedom and liberty. When South Carolina seceded from the Union in 1861, the palmetto tree became part of its new flag.

Now please remember that the palmetto bugs in South Carolina aren't such an important symbol! They are a type of roach.

Now this is an easy nickname to assess! If you have ever been to Mississippi you undoubtedly have smelled the sweet scent of magnolia flowers! The southern magnolia, which is native to the region, is the state flower, state tree, and is featured on the state quarter.

Mississippi has several nicknames, including the Hospitality State, and the Bayou State.

There is no set explanation as to the origin of Indiana's nickname, but theories abound. You may be surprised by this, but none of the theories are connected to the negative connotation of the word that exists today, which insinuates that a Hoosier is country hick.

One idea is that the name is derived from the Native American word for corn, which is "hoosa". The men who took the corn to port in New Orleans were known as "hoosa men". Another theory associates the name with Samuel Hoosier, who liked hiring men from Indiana to work on digging canals; they eventually became known as Hoosier's Men.

The explanation that is generally accepted as being the most plausible is that the name was taken from a poem by John Finley called "The Hoosier's Nest", which first appeared in 1830 and described a group of brave men.

No one knows for sure how Iowa received this nickname, but it is commonly believed that a couple of native Iowans adopted it before something else that might have been unflattering could be assigned to the state by outsiders.

While some theories associate the name with Hawkeye from James Fenimore Cooper's "Last of the Mohicans" (1826), most believe the name is a nod to the Native American Black Hawk, who fought with the British during the War of 1812 in order to keep settlers out of his homeland. He was also a leader during the Black Hawk War in 1832, which was an attempt to reclaim tribal land.

Iowa is also called the Corn State.

No, a flickertail is not a bird! It is a Richardson's ground squirrel - a type of gopher - and there are lots of them in North Dakota! The nickname is derived from the fact that they flick their tail a certain way.

North Dakota has other nicknames, such as the Peace Garden State and the Rough Rider State.

Prior to 1889 Oklahoma was part of an area called the Unassigned Lands. These lands were part of the Indian Territory, and were settled by some Native American tribes, but had very few white settlers. In an attempt to attract more settlement, the U.S. Government made available almost 2 million acres of land; homesteads were free to those who claimed them first after noon on April 22, 1889.

Those who went early, before it was legal to stake claims, were called Sooners. The name was taken from the Indian Appropriation Act of 2 March 1889, which stated that anyone who came "sooner" would forfeit their right to a holding.

In 1860 a mining executive proposed the name Idaho to Congress, claiming that it was a Shoshone name that meant Gem of the Mountain. Even though it is NOT a Native American word and was totally made up, the name stuck. As it turned out, Idaho was a gem! There are approximately 240 different minerals found there, including gold, lead, copper, opal, topaz, and aquamarine.

Idaho is also called Little Ida and Spud State.

It may first come to mind that California is the Golden State because of the Gold Rush there in 1849. As it turns out, in 1856 Eliza Farham wrote the book, "California indoors and out; or, How we farm, mine and live generally in the Golden State", that spoke of the vast variety of opportunity there and told all the reasons why California was golden.

Some reasons for the nickname that are listed today include the sunny weather found there due to the golden sun, and the color of the golden poppy, which was eventually chosen as the state flower. In addition, the state fish is the golden trout, and, historically, the Spanish called the land El Dorado, which means the Golden One. The discovery of gold there was just icing on the cake!

California is also called the Beach State and El Dorado State.