STATES, POPULAR NAMES OF.
Badger State. Wisconsin, from the animal.
Bay, or Old Bay, State. Massachusetts. The name Massachusetts Bay, though later used in a more extended sense, was originally restricted to Boston Harbor, and as early as 1622 persons from Plymouth spoke of 'the Bay.' Under the first charter, the government was called the Col ony of the Massachusetts Bay; and under the second charter, the Province of the Massachusetts Bay. Hence the nicknames Bay Colony, Bay Province, and Bay. or Old Bay. State.
Bayou State. Mississippi, from the number of its bayous, a word derived from the Indian bayouc(k), meaning a rivulet.
Bear State. Arkansas, from the animal.
Blackwater State. Nebraska, from the dark color of its rivers, owing to the black vegetable mold which covers large areas.
Blizzard State. South Dakota. The word `blizzard,' of obscure origin, was used as early as 1S29 in the sense of a blow or a discharge from a gun. In its present sense the word was recorded in 1876, and is said to have been current in Dakota for a decade previous.
Blue Grass State. Kentucky, from its cele brated blue grass.
Blue lien State. Delaware. The term is said to have originated in the Revolutionary War, when an officer in a Delaware regiment raised famous gamecocks from a breed of blue liens; hence the members of his regiment were called `Blue Hen's Chickens.' and so the name came to be applied to the State; but the story lacks proof.
Blue Law State. Connecticut. See BLUE LAws.
Bread and Butter State. Minnesota, from its wheat and dairy products.
Buckeye State. Ohio. because of the horse chestnut, which grows there in great profusion and which for more than a century has been popularly called buckeye.
Bullion State. Missouri, from the sobriquet 'Old Bullion,' applied to Senator Thomas Hart. Benton of that State on account of his advocacy of gold and silver currency.
Centennial State. Colorado, because it was ad mitted into the Union in the Centennial year, 1876.
Central State. Kansas, from its location with reference to the other States of the Union.
Corn Cracker State. Kentucky, perhaps be cause the poor whites subsist chiefly on corn.
Cotton State. Alabama, because it is the cen tral State of the cotton belt.
Cracker State. Georgia, from the poor whites, who for more than a century have been called Crackers.
Creole State. Louisiana, from its many inhab itants descended from the French and Spanish settlers.
Dark and Bloody Ground. Kentucky, because in its early days it was the scene of frequent Indian wars. The name has been known for more than a century.
Diamond State. Delaware, from its diminu tive size.
Dominion, Ancient or Old. Virginia. In early documents we read of 'the Colony' or 'the Plan tation' or 'the Colony and Plantation' of Vir ginia ; while later, about 1674, there are allu sions to 'the Colony and Dominion' of Virginia, about 1682 to 'the Dominion' of Virginia, and about 1697 to 'the Ancient Colony and Dominion' of Virginia. Hence, in time, came the nick names Ancient, Dominion and Old Dominion merely. According to some, the name is due to Virginia's loyalty to the Stuarts during the Civil War.
Egypt. Southern Illinois, either from its al leged intellectual darkness or from the fertility of its soil.
El Dorado. California. El Dorado (q.v.) was the name of a fictitious region or city, abounding in gold, supposed to exist in South America. Hence it was sometimes, after the discovery of gold in California in 1849. applied to that State.
Empire State. New York, from its size, wealth, and number of its inhabitants.
Empire State of the South. Georgia, from its enterprise.
Evergreen State. Washington.
Excelsior State. New York, from the motto on its seal (adopted 1778).
Freestone State. Connecticut, from its free stone quarries.
Golden State. California. from its gold-mines. Gopher State. Minnesota, from the animal. Granite State. New Hampshire, from its granite hills.
Green _Alountain State. Vermont, from the Green Mountains.