Our forefathers named many of our cities after foreign countries: 219 cities and 64 countries. Forty-three states have cities with country names. Would you have ever guessed that San Marino, California is named after the third deed holder's, grandfather's plantation in Maryland which was named after the country of San Marino? The town of Japan, Missouri took its name from a local Catholic church, the Holy Martyrs of Japan. Many towns, such as Ireland, West Virginia, home of the sport of Irish Road Bowling, get their names in a more common way, from their first settler's home country. These are some of the pleasant mysteries tucked away in cities and towns across America.
Cities and towns have a genealogy as people do. Who settled the town? Where did they come from? Does the culture of the town today resemble that of the one it is named for? Did it ever? Part of the genealogy of a town is its cuisine. Do restaurants in Egypt, Arkansas offer ful mudammas? Can you order blini in Russia, Ohio?
The idea of foreign travel is fascinating, but in this brief look around the United States we see towns with mystery and charm which compare with any overseas. You can experience every cuisine, climate, culture and type of geography on earth without leaving the United States. I'll see you at the poetry festival in Montserrat, (Missouri).
