Match the Capital, Part 1 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Maryland

The city of Annapolis was originally founded in 1649 on the north shore of the Severn River by Puritan exiles from Virginia, before they subsequently moved to an area on the other side of the river that offered better protection. Originally called "Anne Arundel's Towne", in 1694 the capital of the Province of Maryland, then a British colony, was moved to the site, with the town renamed Annapolis after Princess Anne of Denmark and Norway, the sister-in-law of King William III, who would succeed him as Queen Anne in 1702. Annapolis was incorporated as a city in 1708, and retained its status as Maryland's capital after the foundation of the United States.

Today, Annapolis is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area, as it is around 25 miles south of Baltimore and 30 miles east of Washington DC.

Answer: West Virginia

Charleston's history dates to just after the Revolutionary War, when Thomas Bullitt obtained 1,250 acres of land on the Elk River. Bullitt left this land to his brother, Cuthbert, when he died in 1778, after which it was sold to Colonel George Clendenin in 1786, upon which the first settlement, named Fort Lee, was built. After its establishment, Fort Lee was renamed after Clendenin's father, Charles - initially named "Charles Town", it was renamed as Charleston to avoid confusion with a similarly named settlement. Charleston was officially incorporated by Virginia's General Assembly in 1794.

During the Civil War, although the state of Virginia seceded from the Union, Union forces held much of the north and west of the state. To solve this issue, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation declaring that the Union held areas were now a separate state called West Virginia, which joined the Union in 1863. The state's capital moved intermittently between Charleston and the town of Wheeling until 1877, when a public vote was held to decide the permanent state capital, for which Charleston received the most votes, and so was declared the capital of West Virginia.

Answer: South Carolina

The area of what is now Columbia was first explored by Europeans in the 1540s when an expedition led by Hernando de Soto passed through on an exploration of the interior of the South-East region. Europeans began to settle in the area during the colonial period, initially in a frontier fort on the west bank of the Congaree River. In the 1750s, the colonial government of South Carolina connected the fort with the growing number of European settlements on the high ground of the east bank using a ferry. From its position, the settlement became a major industrial area, with the river flow providing power for many textile mills in the area.

In 1786, following the Revolutionary War, the South Carolina State Senate passed a bill to create a new state capital, which was to be named "Columbia", after the personification of the United States. The site of the fort on the Congaree River was chosen as a result of its central location, with the South Carolina legislature meeting there for the first time in 1790. Columbia received its first town charter in 1805, and was incorporated as a city in 1854.

Answer: Kentucky

The area around what is now Frankfort was first developed when, in 1786, James Wilkinson purchased a 260 acre tract of land on the north side of the Kentucky River, which then began to be developed as a settlement. The settlement was initially named "Frank's Ford", after pioneer Stephen Frank, who was killed by Native Americans at the site.

The name was later contracted to simply Frankfort. Following Kentucky's admission as the 15th state in 1792, Frankfort was selected as the state capital, which saw funding appropriated by Kentucky's state legislature to develop the settlement as a fully fledged town, which saw, amongst other buildings, the construction of both a State Capitol building and a residence for the state's governor. Frankfort eventually received its charter in 1835.

Answer: Pennsylvania

The first Europeans to view the site later occupied by Harrisburg were on an expedition led by John Smith, travelling from Virginia up the Susquehanna River in 1608. However, the area was not settled until John Harris Sr obtained 800 acres of land from the Susquehanna tribe in 1719, which his son, John Harris Jr, began to develop into a town in 1785, which he named Harrisburg in honour of his father.

The town was incorporated in 1791 and, thanks to its strategic location on the river, was named as Pennsylvania's state capital in October 1812. Harrisburg was a major industrial location during the early 19th century, primarily in the iron and steel industry, but also as a railroad hub. Harrisburg received its city charter in 1860.

Answer: Mississippi

The area now occupied by the city of Jackson was initially the site of a trading post called LeFleur's Bluff, established on the banks of the Pearl River during the 18th century. This was on land held by the Choctaw nation but, following the 1820 Treaty of Doak's Stand, European settlers were allowed in. At the time, the State of Mississippi was looking to establish a capital, following its admission to the Union in 1817. Looking for a location that was reasonably central, the surveyors found the area around LaFleur's Bluff, and reported its suitability.

In November 1821, the General Assembly passed an act confirming the site as Mississippi's capital city, to be named Jackson, in honor of General Andrew Jackson (later to be elected as the 7th President of the United States). Jackson was incorporated in 1822, with the state's legislature first meeting there in December of that year.

Answer: Nebraska

Lincoln was originally founded in 1856 as a village called Lancaster, and was established as the seat of the newly created Lancaster County in 1859. During the early 1860s, a number of homesteaders settled in the area, either side of the 1865 "Sioux scare". At the time, the capital of the then Nebraska Territory was at Omaha, but this was in the far east of the territory. As a result, the territory's legislature looked to move the capital much further west, to a point south of the Platte River, which was where the majority of the population resided. The site of Lancaster was eventually chosen, with an act moving the capital passed in 1867.

Nebraska was granted statehood in the same year, and the new capital city began to expand as a result of its status. Despite potential opposition, as the area in which it was located was notorious for its Confederate sympathies during the Civil War, Lancaster was renamed as Lincoln in honour of President Abraham Lincoln in 1869, the same year in which it was incorporated as a city.

Answer: South Dakota

The area now occupied by Pierre initially came about in 1832, when Pierre Chouteau Jr., a fur trader from St Louis, established a trading post on the west bank of the Missouri River, and just on the north side of the Bad River, which he named Fort Pierre Chouteau, replacing another post located a mile further north. Over time, a town developed around the trading post and saw expansion of settlement in the area. However, during the latter half of the 19th century, the Chicago & North Western Railroad expanded its routes into the Dakotas to a site on the bank opposite Fort Pierre. This led to the site being developed as a community, starting in 1880, which was eventually given the name Pierre, and incorporated in 1883.

At the time, the region was part of the Dakota Territory, which had its capital at Bismarck. However, in 1889, the Dakota Territory was divided into two entities named as North Dakota and South Dakota, both of which were admitted to the Union as states. South Dakota's admission meant it required a state capital - for this, Pierre was selected thanks to its location in the new state's geographical center, as well as its rail connections.

Answer: Rhode Island

Providence was first settled by Europeans in 1636, when Puritan theologian Roger Williams, who had been expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, led a group to establish a settlement on the banks of the Providence River, which they named "Providence Plantations". In the two decades following its foundation, Providence grew into a substantial settlement based around agriculture and fishing. The town was burned down in 1676 by a coalition of local native tribes. It evolved into an industrial and commercial hub following its reconstruction, which saw its population steadily expand. Following the Revolutionary War, Providence's economy became more focused on manufacturing and less on agriculture, which saw an explosion in the town's size, eventually leading to it being incorporated as a city in 1831.

During its history, as far back as the colonial era, Providence had served as one of a number of rotating capitals of Rhode Island, with, since 1854, the city alternating with Newport. But, in 1900, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed a measure to designate Providence as the state's sole capital.

Answer: Minnesota

The area now occupied by Saint Paul has been estimated to have been used for around 2,000 years, based on the evidence of burial mounds found in the area. From the early 17th century onwards, the region was home to the Mdewakanton, a tribe of the Sioux from the Dakotas. In 1805, the United States negotiated the purchase of 100,000 acres to establish a fort and military reservation.at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers - Fort Snelling was built in 1819. Settlers, traders and explorers in the region began to come to the area of Fort Snelling for protection, and a community started to develop. The community was initially named "Pig's Eye", after a tavern, but in 1841, following the establishment of a Roman Catholic chapel dedicated to St Paul, the community's name was changed to Saint Paul, in honour of the chapel.

In 1849, with the establishment of the Minnesota Territory, Saint Paul was named as the new territorial capital. This saw the population explode from 900 in the year it became the capital, to 10,000 in 1860. It was in 1854 that Saint Paul was incorporated and, following Minnesota's admission as the 32nd state in 1858, the city retained its position as the new state's capital.