Alphabetical America, Part Two Quiz

On July 4th, 1867, the Union Pacific Railroad established the location of its mountain region headquarters where they planned to build their crossing of the Crow Creek (in the Dakota Territory). A month later, the town of Cheyenne (named by the residents for the local indigenous peoples) was incorporated.

In 1868, the Territory of Wyoming was created from portions of the Dakota, Idaho, and Utah territories, and Cheyenne was dubbed as the (temporary) territorial capital in August of 1869 after the territorial government was formed. On July 10th, 1890, when Wyoming was admitted into the Union as the 44th state, Cheyenne was confirmed as the state capital.

It was during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush during the summer of 1858 that the first settlement was established in the area that would one day become Denver, Colorado. Later that same year, land prospectors (General William Larimer and Captain Jonathan Cox, Esquire) established a townsite and named it 'Denver City' after the governor of the Kansas Territory.

When the Colorado Territory was created in 1861, it established its capital at Colorado City. In 1862 the capital was moved to Golden City, and then in 1867, Denver City became the acting territorial capital. This role continued when Colorado became a state in 1876, but it was not until a statewide ballot confirmed its status as the permanent state capital in 1881 that the name was shortened to Denver.

Fort Des Moines was established at the confluence of the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers in 1843, on a site that had long been used by indigenous peoples (evidence of 7,000+ years). The fort was abandoned by the army in 1846, but Europeans continued to settle around the site. After a flood destroyed most of the town in 1851, it was rebuilt, and in 1857, took over the role of state capital from Iowa City, shortening its name at the same time to just 'Des Moines' (Iowa received statehood in 1846).

Des Moines grew substantially in the 1860s with the combination of coal mining and the establishment of a rail link. Within 20 years, Des Moines became the largest city in the state.

Ohio achieved statehood in 1803, nearly ten years before Columbus was founded at its original site on the east bank of the Scioto River (in 1812). In an effort to establish a centralized capital, the town of Franklinton (est. 1797) marked out a nearby plot of land to entice the government, and Columbus was born (named after explorer Christopher Columbus, of course). Once Columbus was officially incorporated in 1816, it took on the role of the state capital.

The city grew slowly until the early 1830s when two major transportation systems were linked to the city: the Ohio and Erie Canal (connecting to Lake Erie); and the National Road (connecting to Baltimore).

Although not 100% historically confirmed, it is believed that the name of Frankfort came from the previous name of the site, which was known as 'Frank's Ford', after a pioneer (Stephen Frank) was killed there in a skirmish with Native Americans the 1780s. About a decade later, when Kentucky became the 15th state admitted into the Union, Frankfort was selected to become the new state's capital.

Interestingly, during the Civil War, Frankfort was the only Union state capital to be occupied by Confederate forces. Multiple incursions into Kentucky resulted in the state government withdrawing from the capital, and Confederate troops (the 1st Louisiana Cavalry under the command of Colonel John Scott) took control of the city on September 3rd, 1862. A little over a month later, Union soldiers drove the Confederates out and reclaimed the capital.

When West Virginia split from Virginia in 1863, it became the 35th state to join the Union (albeit in the middle of the Civil War). At that time, Wheeling was named the capital of the newly-founded state, but in 1870, it was moved to Charleston (which was chartered as a city in the same year). This glory would be short-lived, as Wheeling would reclaim the title between 1875 and 1885, when Charleston would take on the role permanently.

Before Charleston's illustrious days as West Virginia's capital city, it had humble beginnings. It started out as 'Fort Lee' in 1787, on land sold to Col. Savannah Clendenin. It was renamed 'Charles Town' and in 1794 was incorporated as such. In 1818, the name was shortened to 'Charleston'.

Where the Saluda and Broad Rivers merge to form the Congaree River is where you will find Columbia, South Carolina. After the Declaration of Independence in 1776, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on May 23rd of 1788, but before that happened, the State Legislature chose this site as the (future) new state capital because of its central location.

Columbia would be chartered as a city in 1854, and it would soon become a focal point of the Civil War when South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union in 1860. Much of the city would be destroyed by fire at the end of the conflict in 1865, and would be rebuilt in the Reconstruction era.

Delaware was born as a colony after William Penn acquired the land in 1682 and made it part of Pennsylvania as the 'Lower Counties on the Delaware (River)' (until 1701). They became an independent colony at that time, but still shared a governor until the Declaration of Independence in 1776, at which time they separated from both Great Britain and Pennsylvania, becoming their own state. On December 7th, 1787, Delaware became the first to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

Dover, in the meantime, was established back when Penn acquired the land, officially founded as a court town of the Lower Counties in 1683. In 1777, shortly after declaring their independence, Dover took on the mantle of state capital from the former colonial capital of New Castle.

While the Susquehanna River was well-traveled by both Native Americans and European explorers alike, Harrisburg got its start when an enterprising John Harris, Sr. settled on a plot of land along the river in 1719. Many years later, his son (John Harris, Jr.) established a town on the land, naming it Harrisburg after his father (and, incidentally, himself).

When Colony of Pennsylvania came into existence in 1681, Philadelphia was established as the capital. It remained so when independence was declared and then later, when the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ratified the U.S. Constitution on December 12th, 1787, becoming the second state to officially join the Union. The state capital was moved to Lancaster in 1799, then finally Harrisburg took on the role in 1812.

New Hampshire was established as a British colony in 1629, with Portsmouth as the first capital, with Exeter holding the title briefly just prior to the Declaration of Independence. During the Revolutionary War, the government would move around, alternately landing in Concord, Hopkinton, Dover, Amherst, Charlestown and Hanover, and (officially) in Exeter. New Hampshire would become the ninth U.S. state on June 21st, 1788.

Concord began as a plantation named for the local Indigenous population: 'Penacook' before growing into the town of 'Rumford' in the mid 1720s. The name of 'Concord' was created in 1765 after Rumford and the neighbouring town of Bow resolved a borderline dispute, coming to a concordance. This central and growing town was named the capital of New Hampshire in 1808.