On First Name Terms With America: K to Z Quiz

Answer: Montana

Kevin, Montana is a town in Toole County and is 25 miles south of the Canadian border.

Its population in 2014 was 147.

It is curious from European eyes that a place with 77 male and 70 female inhabitants could be called a "town".

Still, it may be a place to consider if you are short of the old do-re-me: in 2016 the cost of living index in Kevin was 85.9. The U.S. average is 100.

Montana gets its nickname through its rich mineral reserves, which include gold, silver and gemstones.

Answer: Kansas

Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County.

The settlement was established in the mid 1800s and named "Lawrence City" after Amos Adams Lawrence, a noted abolitionist.

The town was destroyed by pro-slavery guerillas during the War Between The States. In what became known as the "Lawrence Massacre" or "Quantrill's Raid", between 150 and 200 men and boys were murdered.

The sunflower is the official state flower of Kansas and appears on the state flag and the Kansas quarter.

Answer: Alabama

Marion is the county seat of Perry County.

The area was initially the home of the Creek native Americans.

A township was founded in 1817 and in 1822 was renamed in honour of Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox", a hero of the American Revolutionary War.

The city gained notoriety in 1958 when a black man was sentenced to death by a jury for stealing $1.95. It caused such an international outcry that clemency was granted.

Alabama does not have an "official" state nickname. As well as "Heart of Dixie state", it is known as "The Yellowhammer State" and "The Cotton State".

Answer: Oklahoma

Norman is 20 miles (30 km) south of Oklahoma City. The estimated population was 120,284 in 2015.

It was settled in 1889, and was named after Abner Norman, the area's first land surveyor.

The US Weather Center (NWC) is located on the campus of the University of Oklahoma, at Norman.

The nickname "The Sooner State" is said to derive from the opening of unassigned lands in the Oklahoma Territory in 1889. While many people lined up on the border so they could race into the territory to claim a stake of land, others went in early and became known as "Sooners."

Answer: New York

Olive is thirty minutes from Kingston, New York, and a little more than an hour's travel from the state capital of Albany.

It is located within the Catskill State Park, and has become a seasonal recreational area for New Yorkers.

Olive was established in 1823 from parts of three other towns. The name is said to have been adopted from the Biblical story of a dove returning to Noah in his ark with an olive branch in its mouth.

The origin of the State nickname is unknown, although some refer to George Washington, who described New York state as "at present the seat of the Empire" in December 1784.

Answer: Maine

Located on the US/Canada border, the town of Perry boasts of being "Halfway Between the Equator and the North Pole".

It was incorporated in February 1818 and named after Commander Oliver Hazard Perry, an American naval commander during the War of Independence.

Not only does a pine tree feature on Maine's flag, seal, and quarter, the white pine is the State tree, and the white pine cone and tassel is the state floral emblem.

Answer: Ohio

Named after John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the United States, Quincy was established in 1830.

The population of the village in 2014 was just under 700.

Quincy is an unusual first name, and probably the most famous of that name is Quincy Jones, music producer.

Ohio's nickname partially comes from the many buckeye trees that once covered the hills and plains. Native Americans called the nut "hetuck," which means "buck eye", because the markings resemble the eye of a deer.

Answer: Nevada

Ruth was established as a settlement for workers of the White Pine Copper Company in 1903. It was named after Ruth McDonald, daughter of the owner of the original copper claim.

The town's fortunes fluctuated with the demand for copper and the mines closed and reopened several times.

The author Stephen King used Ruth as the inspiration for the novel Desperation.

The Silver State" nickname dates back to the Nevada silver rush days of the mid 1800s when silver could be shoveled off the ground.

Answer: Nebraska

Sidney, county seat of Cheyenne County, had a population of 6,757 at the 2010 census.

Established in 1867, it grew around a military base, Fort Sidney.

Initially known as the "Treeplanters' State", the official nickname was changed to "Cornhusker State" in 1945. It derived from the nickname for the University of Nebraska athletic teams, "the Cornhuskers". Early settlers would have husked corn by hand.

Answer: Missouri

Tina is a village in Carroll County, Missouri.

In 2017, it had a population of 152.

Missouri does not have an official nickname. "Show Me State" is unofficial. It is said to derive from a speech by Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver in 1899 in Philadelphia: "I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me."

Answer: Pennsyslvania

In 1831, a new settlement in Potter County, was named Lewisville after an early settler.

However, the post office and local newspaper were named Ulysses, and in 1968, the town was officially renamed to match.

In 2017, it had a population just shy of 700.

The most famous person with the first name Ulysses is probably US President Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885).

The nickname came from Pennsylvania's position as the middle colony of the original 13 colonies, and the belief it held a key position in the economic, social, and political development of the US.

Answer: Minnesota

Established in 1892, the new town was named Virginia because a large number of lumbermen working in the area were from that state.

Logging was the reason it came into existence, however, the discovery of large deposits of iron ore made it an important mining centre.

It was to later call itself "Queen city of the north".

In 2016, a movie "I Am Not A Serial Killer" was filmed in Virginia.

The nickname originates from the French motto on Minnesota's state flag and seal: "l'étoile du nord". It is also poetically and accurately known as the "Land of 10,000 lakes".

Answer: Massachusetts

Located in western Worcester County, the town is bisected by the Quaboag River. It is one of six towns first settled in 1660.

Incorporated as Western in 1741, the town was renamed in 1834 in honour of Revolutionary War general Joseph Warren.

Massachusetts is also known as "The Baked Bean State"; "The Codfish State"; and "The Pilgrim State".(

Answer: Illinois

Phew! I am only too glad to find an X town, I did not think there would be any.

Xenia as a name is probably of Greek origins, although there are several people of that name from Russian and Eastern European backgrounds.

There have been several Saint Xenias. In more modern times, Xenia Edith Martinez, from Temecula, California, was a contestant on "The Voice" TV show in 2011.

Xenia, Illinois, is a village in Clay County. Buffalo hunting brought the first settlers and a post office was established in 1834.

Illinois is where the vast grasslands of the American Prairie began - historically. The prairie is now an endangered eco-system.

Answer: Louisiana

Zachary lies 16 miles (26 km) north of the city of Baton Rouge.

Initially a settlement grew up around a railroad depot on land that had been owned by a farmer, Darel Zachary

A post office was opened in 1885, and Zachary was incorporated as a city in 1889.

The brown pelican is also the State Bird of Louisiana.