Sweet Home...California????

[ScatteredFrog]

Hi, all...newbie on this board, but a long-time Teemer...

Anyway...I've been living in Chicago for a couple of years, and one thing I noticed is the strange connection to California...that is, lots of place names that are shared with California. There are streets in Chicago named Francisco, California, Sacramento, Fullerton, and God knows what else. There are nearby towns called Winnetka, Burbank. There's a neighborhood on the South Side called Beverly Hills.

Is there a reason for these places sharing California names?? Just coincidence??? Maybe a reason for the original "land of California" lyrics in "Sweet Home Chicago"??

[Ed Zotti]

According to Wikipedia, the Winnetka in CA (which I'd never heard of before) was named after the one in Illinois. Francisco is a common Spanish name. Fullerton, CA was named after a railroad land agent; according to:

http://www.chsmedia.org/househistory/nameChanges/start.pdf

... Fullerton Avenue in Chicago was named after Alexander Fullerton, "a pioneer Chicago attorney. He was a member of the first Board of Health and the first clerk of the Town Trustees." California is named after the state, and Sacramento is named after the capital; the two are parallel and close together, so there may be some connection there, but further research would be required to figure out what it is.