Lincoln is the capital of Nebraska and the state’s second largest city. Lincoln was founded in 1856 as the village of Lancaster. Omaha had been the capital of the territory and when it was decided to move the capital to Lancaster, Omaha tried to block that move by renaming Lancaster as Lincoln. Much of the [more...]
Helena is the capital of Montana and the state’s sixth largest city. With a main street named “Last Chance Gulch,” one knows one is in the Old West. In fact, many of the original streets followed the meandering paths of the miners, going around claims and following the winding gulch. As a result, few city [more...]
Jefferson City is the capital of Missouri and was named after Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. Jefferson City was selected as the new capital in 1821. It was first called Lohman’s Landing. When the legislature decided to relocate there, they suggested the name “Missouriopolis” but later agreed on Jefferson City. Located [more...]
Jackson is the capital of Mississippi and the state’s largest city. Jackson was founded as Parkerville, later known as LeFleur’s Bluff. The city was later named Jackson after the seventh President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, in recognition for his victory in the Battle of New Orleans. In 1839, Jackson was the site of [more...]
Saint Paul is the capital of Minnesota and the state’s second largest city. We have already learned of one state capital city which began as a land scam, now we will learn of one that became capital because somebody deliberately hid the official paperwork that would have made another city the capital. The Minnesota Territory [more...]
Lansing is the capital of Michigan, and the state’s sixth largest city. Lansing is the only state capital to begin as a ‘land scam.’ The city was founded by two brothers from New York who plotted the area now known as REO Town just south of downtown Lansing and named it “Biddle City.” It was [more...]
Boston is the capital and largest city in Massachusetts and was founded in 1630, by Puritan colonists from England. The town was later named after Boston, Lincolnshire, England (United Kingdom). During the Revolutionary War, The Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege [more...]
Annapolis is the capital of Maryland and perhaps one of the more exciting of the small state capital cities. It is certainly not just another ‘big’ small town. And there is more to it than being the home of the United States Naval Academy. Annapolis was once even the Capital of the United States (1783–1784). [more...]
Augusta is the capital of Maine and one of the smallest state capital cities, though rather large by Maine standards. It was first inhabited by English settlers from the Plymouth Colony in 1629 as a trading post on the Kennebec River and known by its Indian name Cushnoc. Later the name was changed to Augusta [more...]
Baton Rouge is the capital and second largest city in Louisiana. Baton Rouge dates from 1699, when French explorer Sieur d’Iberville leads an exploration party up the Mississippi River. Since then, Baton Rouge has been governed by France, England (UK), Spain, Louisiana, the Florida Republic, the Confederate States, and the United States. Baton Rouge became [more...]
Frankfort is the capital of Kentucky and the 5th smallest state capital city. In 1786, the area of Frankfort was first purchased and an effort was made to make it the national capital over Washington D.C. It was established as Frankfort, Virginia, and became the capital of the new state of Kentucky in 1792. This [more...]
Topeka is the capital of Kansas, was chartered as a city in 1857 and served as a gateway west for pioneers traveling on the Oregon Trail. Topeka is home to the well known Kansas Museum of History where you’ll step back in time and learn all about the land that is Kansas and the American [more...]
Des Moines is the capital and largest city in Iowa. It was incorporated in 1851, as Fort Des Moines later shortened to “Des Moines” in 1857 and became the capital the same year. Some Des Moines attractions are the State Capitol with its gilded roof, which is also one of the more popular capitol buildings [more...]
Indianapolis is the capital and largest city in Indiana. It is the third largest city in the Midwest, after Chicago, Illinois, and Detroit, Michigan, and the second most populous state capital after Phoenix, Arizona. Indianapolis was chosen as the site of the new state capital in 1820 and is the only state capital in the [more...]
Springfield is the capital of Illinois. Founded in the late 1810s, its most famous resident was Abraham Lincoln, who lived in Springfield from 1837 until he went to the White House in 1861. Many tourist attractions are of historic sites connected with Lincoln. Springfield became the capital of Illinois in 1839. On February 10, 2007, [more...]
Boise (often called the City of Trees), is the capital and largest city in Idaho. Boise was incorporated as a city in 1864 and later made the territorial capital of Idaho in 1866. Art shows, annual festivals, food and wine events, historic celebrations, theatrical performances, bicycle races and marathons, there is something going on all [more...]
Honolulu is the capital of Hawaii and the only incorporated city in the state. All other urban regions are administrated at the county level. In 1845, King Kamehameha III moved the permanent capital of the Hawaii from Lahaina on Maui to Honolulu. He and the kings that followed him changed Honolulu into a modern capital. [more...]
Atlanta is the capital and largest city in the state of Georgia. The town was incorporated as Atlanta on December 29, 1847. In 1868, Atlanta became the state capital. If one is going to Atlanta to see some of the Old South, there will be some disappointment. Unlike many other Southern cities such as Savannah, [more...]
Tallahassee is the capital of Florida. The city became the capital of Florida in 1824. The rough-hewn frontier town rapidly grew during Florida’s territorial period. In 1845, a Greek Revival structure was erected as the Capitol building in time for statehood. Now known as the “Old Capitol,” it stands in front of the New State [more...]
Dover is the capital of Delaware and the states second largest city. The city was named by William Penn for Dover in Kent, England and it became the capital in 1777. Dover is one of the fast-growing areas in the country, due in large part to the relatively low cost of living. It is also [more...]