Scottish Geographic
Roots...
in Washington!
Aberdeen, WA
Wishkah was the original name of this Washington city. It
was eventually renamed after a local salmon cannery, which
is a namesake of the original Aberdeen in Scotland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberdeen%2C_Washington
Blaine, WA
Blaine was named after James G. Blaine, who was a US Senator,
Secretary of State and a Republican presidential candidate
in 1884. His Scottish ancestry comes from his grandfather,
Colonel Ephraim Blaine, who fought alongside General Washington
in the American Revolution.
http://books.google.com search: The Bay State Monthly: A Massachussettes
Magazine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaine%2C_Washington
Fife, WA
Fife is a city in Pierce County, WA. It is named after Tacoma
industrialist William Fife, who was of Scottish decent.
Finley, WA
Finley was found in March 18, 1902 by George Finley, a farmer
of Scottish decent, who immigrated to the area from Nebraska.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finley%2C_Washington
Kenmore, WA
John McMaster founded Kenmore in 1901. He named the town after
his hometown of Kenmore, Ontario, Canada, which received its
namesake from the Scottish village of Kenmore.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenmore%2C_Washington
McNeil Island
Charles Wilkes in responsible for naming McNeil Island. When
he first came to the southern Puget Sound he was greeted by
Captain William Henry McNeil of the Hudson’s Bay Company.
Captain McNeil must’ve made quite an impression on Wilkes,
as he decided to honor McNeil by naming the island after him.
In addition, there are several unincorporated communities
in WA State that have Scottish place names: Cunningham and
Douglas. There are also Washington cities and towns where
we could not find information as to why they were given Scottish
place names, such as Graham, Lake McMurray, Monroe and Sinclair.
Join us next month on our journey through the Northwest, as
we discover our Scottish roots in Idaho!
By Melody Mackey-LaRue |
Support Scottish Heritage!
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Background Tartan:
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