Missouri’s Borrowed City Names

Athens, Amsterdam, Monterey, Paris, and Versailles. I know exactly what you are thinking. Yes, those are some of the most picturesque places in Missouri. Let’s face it, the world has been around a lot longer than Missouri has been a state, so we were at a disadvantage when it came to naming cities and towns because many of the good ones were already taken. The good thing is that many people who came to Missouri in our early years had been around the world and brought those experiences with them, along with the names. So here are some of Missouri’s borrowed city names we see on signs around the state and the history behind them.

Albany: 

Albany is the county seat of Gentry County in northwest Missouri with a population of 1,679.   The village was first called Athens, so it is likely one of the few towns in Missouri named after two cities from other parts of the world. 

The small town eventually became Albany in honor of the New York hometown of a local judge. 

Amsterdam: 

Amsterdam is a small town in Bates County about 30 miles south of Kansas City with a population of 220.  The connection between the name of the town and the reason for the name seems to be a bit of a stretch. 

According to the book, “How Missouri Counties, Towns and Streams Were Named”, Amsterdam was named after the city in Holland by a railroad executive, but it’s not known exactly why he named it that.  Historians say the only connection they can find is the European city was the home base for a man who financed many railway lines across the US, thus it might have been possible homage to the man paying the bills. 

Atlanta: 

Atlanta is a small town of 379 people in Macon County and lies about 20 miles south of Kirksville. It dates all the way back to 1858. The interesting connection here is that both the town, and the county, share a name with more famous cities in Georgia.   

Macon County, and the county seat of Macon, were both named after Nathaniel Macon, the former Senator of North Carolina. But Macon, Georgia was also named after him, so there is a bit of a connection after all.

Buffalo: 

Buffalo, much like a few other Missouri towns, shares a name and county with other well-known places in the United States.  It is the county seat of Dallas County and has a population of 3,084 about 30 miles north of Springfield.  

Buffalo was named by a man named Joseph Miles who had moved to Missouri from upstate New York. He loved the area so much that when he laid out the town in 1854, he named it after his birthplace.

Cairo: 

Cairo is a village in Randolph County with 292 residents due north of Moberly.  Despite the fact that the area is nowhere near a major river and has very little resemblance to the Nile Delta, local records claim it was still named after the city in Egypt. 

Another big difference between the Missouri town and the Egyptian city is how your pronounce it. Unlike the more common pronunciation most people around the world are familiar with, this one is KA-row.

California: 

California is the county seat of Moniteau County in west central Missouri.  The town of 4,515 was formerly called Boonsborough, but had to change because there was already another town in Missouri with that name. So the city was renamed to California in 1847.  That is about the time that the West Coast of the United States was booming, and so the name was a good fit during the period of westward expansion.  

Chamois: 

Chamois is a town of 377 people that lies along the Missouri River in Osage County.  Although the area is hilly, it certainly isn’t considered mountainous.  But that didn’t stop the early settlers from naming the city in honor of the Alps Mountain region of Chamonix. 

The locals also say it differently, preferring sha-MOY to the French version of sham-oh-KNEE. 

Cuba:  

Cuba is a small city in Crawford County with a population of 3,356.  At one point in the 1980’s, it was one of the fastest growing towns in the state. Despite its’ landlocked location on I-44 and Historic Route 66, it was named in honor of the island nation of Cuba.   There is also an unincorporated village of Havana in Gentry County.

Freistatt: 

162 people call Freistatt home between Monett and Mount Vernon.  This small town in Lawrence County was founded in the mid to late-1800’s as German settlers began migrating to the area.  Interestingly, the town is named after the town of Freistadt, which is now in Austria. 

Hayti: 

Hayti is a city in the bootheel county of Pemiscot. The town has a population of 2,493 and some sources say it was named after the country of Hayti.  But according to official Missouri records, that may not be entiredly true.

The town sprung up from land donated by Dr. Granville Hayes with hopes that it would become the county seat. They wanted to call it Gayoso City, but there was another township called Gayoso, so it was rejected. The man who helped lay out the town, Louis Houck, said the name was a combination of “Hayes” and “tie”, referring to the high ridge connecting the town to Caruthersville. Thus, Hay-ti (Hayti) and the reason for the unusual pronunciation of the town, HAY-tie.  

Mexico: 

Mexico is the county seat of Audrain County with a population of more than 11,000 residents.  Interestingly, the early name of Mexico was actually “New Mexico.”  It was established as a stopping point for people heading to Texas who were going there to settle land near the country of Mexico.  When Texas became a part of the United States, the New was dropped to simply Mexico, Missouri. 

Other Mexican town names in Missouri include Molino in Audrain County, Monterey in Reynolds County, Vera Cruz in Douglas County, and Yucatan in Callaway County.

Miami:  

Miami is a small town of 175 in Saline County due north of Marshall along the Missouri River.  It was originally called Greenville, but was switched to Miami a few years later in honor of the Miami Indians.  Much like its more famous namesake in Florida, both were named after Native American tribes, albeit different tribes with similar names. 

Monticello: 

Monticello is a tiny town in Lewis County with a population of 104 up near the Illinois and Iowa borders.  The small population gives this town a unique distinction; it is the county seat with the smallest population in Missouri.  It was named after Thomas Jefferson’s estate in Virginia. 

As far as Jefferson, see also: Jefferson County and Jefferson City, along with more than a dozen schools and 19 townships named in his honor across the state.

New Madrid: 

New Madrid is a city in New Madrid County with a population of 2,787.  Unlike Madrid in Spain, New Madrid is pronounced MAD-rid.  The town along the Mississippi River was founded by Spanish Governor Bernardo de Galvez. 

Early settlers were actually required to become citizens of Spain because that was the country controlling the region at that point.  The area was eventually sold to the U.S. as part of the Louisiana Purchase, but the name remained. 

Oregon: 

Oregon is the county seat of Holt County and has a population of 857.  It was originally named Finley, but was changed to Oregon in honor of the Oregon Territory. 

Paris: 

Paris is the county seat of Monroe County in northeast Missouri with a population of 1,161.  It wasn’t directly named after the city in France, but came about the name through a twist of fate. 

Paris, Missouri was actually named after Paris, Kentucky, which was the hometown of the first settler in the area.  But since the town in Kentucky was named after Paris, France, the Missouri town does share the famous name through an intermediary. 

Syracuse: 

Syracuse is not far from Tipton in Morgan County and has a population of 172.  This town was actually named twice, after two different parts of the country.  The original name was “Pacific City”, named after the Pacific Railroad.  That name was later changed to Syracuse in the 1800’s after the city in upstate New York. 

Utica: 

Utica is a small town Livingston County with a population of 222.  It was named after the city in New York, which was the hometown of Roderick Matson, who was the settler of the Missouri town. 

Taos: 

Taos is a city in Cole County with a population was 1,150.  The town has been around since the mid-1800s and takes its name from the resort town of Taos, New Mexico.  The name of the city in New Mexico, Taos roughly means the “place of red willows”, which is a tree that grows in the southwestern United States, not in Missouri. So the founders of the town in Missouri really did take some liberties with the name it appears!

Versailles:

Versailles is the county seat of Morgan County with a population of 2,446.  Like many Missouri towns, Versailles did take its name from European roots.  It is actually named after the Versailles, likely because of the presence of French descendants in the area.  The difference is how it’s pronounced.  Unlike the European pronunciation of ver-SAHY, the Missouri town prefers ver-SAILS. 

Just for the record, Versailles, Missouri is 114 miles from Paris, Missouri. Versailles, France and Paris, France are 9 miles apart!

Vienna:

Vienna is the county seat of Maries County with a population of 581 and dates back to the mid-1800’s. Much like the Austrian capital it was named after, according to the historical book by David Eaton, Vienna lies near beautiful rivers. Although it is one of the smallest county seats in the entire state, it is full of history showcased by the Maries County Historical Society. The Old Jail Museum and the Maries County Jail and Sheriff’s House are also nearby.

Not far away is the village of Argyle, which straddles Maries and Osage counties with a population was 144. Argyle has nothing to do with the fashion pattern, but was named after the region of Argyll, Scotland. 

Warsaw: 

Warsaw is the county seat of Benton County with a population of 2,133.  The Missouri town was named in honor of the capital city of Poland because of a Revolutionary War hero who came from Polish descent.