# Earliest usage of "panhandle" in reference to state geography. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 3, 2016, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-usage-of-panhandle-in-reference-to-state-geography/758998 "2016-07-03T13:20:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-usage-of-panhandle-in-reference-to-state-geography/758998/1 "2016-07-03T13:20:00Z")
In the US, several states have panhandle regions, but as nearly as I can tell, Oklahoma is the only state that could even remotely be described as pan shaped. Did much older states, such as Florida and West Virginia, refer to their salients as panhandles before the existence of Oklahoma? If so, who first referred to their salient as a panhandle? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-usage-of-panhandle-in-reference-to-state-geography/758998/2 "2016-07-03T13:47:55Z")
First evidence of usage is apparently [Virginia in 1856.](http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=panhandle&allowed_in_frame=0) ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-usage-of-panhandle-in-reference-to-state-geography/758998/3 "2016-07-03T14:22:43Z")
The _only_ one I ever heard is Texas. And for years it never dawned on me that, well, yeah, I can see it, if you like your pans unbalanced and likely to break your wrist. [Me, I’d call that Upstate Texas…see current thread…] ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-usage-of-panhandle-in-reference-to-state-geography/758998/4 "2016-07-03T14:25:22Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > The _only_ one I ever heard is Texas. Interesting. I seem to hear it most with Florida, but am aware of OK and TX, too. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-usage-of-panhandle-in-reference-to-state-geography/758998/5 "2016-07-03T14:25:30Z")
Note that the “Virginia panhandle” in 1856 would have referred to a different region than it would today. In 1856, the land we now know as “West Virginia” was still a part of Virginia proper, and the “Virginia panhandle” would have meant the narrow strip including Wheeling. Nowadays, if you talk about the “Virginia panhandle”, people would probably think you meant the far western part of the state around Abingdon. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-usage-of-panhandle-in-reference-to-state-geography/758998/6 "2016-07-03T15:23:57Z")
I’ve got 1845: > **[Expedition to the Southwest](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=aaKmH_MWAXkC&pg=PA18&dq=%22panhandle%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiCrtLMzNfNAhVGKMAKHe-CAbY4PBDoAQghMAE#v=onepage&q=%22panhandle%22&f=false)** > > Lieutenant James William Abert (1820-97) of the United States Army Topographical Engineers received orders in 1845 to explore the Canadian River region of the southern plains -- an area covering present-day Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma.... ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-usage-of-panhandle-in-reference-to-state-geography/758998/7 "2016-07-03T15:38:46Z")
> [@MikeS](#): > > Note that the “Virginia panhandle” in 1856 would have referred to a different region than it would today. In 1856, the land we now know as “West Virginia” was still a part of Virginia proper, and the “Virginia panhandle” would have meant the narrow strip including Wheeling. Nowadays, if you talk about the “Virginia panhandle”, people would probably think you meant the far western part of the state around Abingdon. And West Virginia has two panhandles: the northern one including Wheeling (which used to be the Virginia panhandle), and the eastern one including Harpers Ferry. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-usage-of-panhandle-in-reference-to-state-geography/758998/8 "2016-07-03T15:46:21Z")
I can’t back this up, but when they refer to the Texas panhandle, they’re referring to that area of Texas near the Oklahoma panhandle. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-usage-of-panhandle-in-reference-to-state-geography/758998/9 "2016-07-03T15:57:37Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I’ve got 1845: > > [Expedition to the Southwest: An 1845 Reconnaissance of Colorado, New Mexico ... - James William Abert - Google Books](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=aaKmH_MWAXkC&pg=PA18&dq=%22panhandle%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiCrtLMzNfNAhVGKMAKHe-CAbY4PBDoAQghMAE#v=onepage&q=%22panhandle%22&f=false) If you read that cite more carefully, the author is referring to a report from 1898(Mooney) describing the 1845 trip. Mooney used the tern “panhandle,” not the 1845 journal. There are two earlier cites now in the OED rather than 1856. 1846, still referring to the part of (West Virginia). ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-usage-of-panhandle-in-reference-to-state-geography/758998/10 "2016-07-03T16:29:15Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > I can’t back this up, but when they refer to the Texas panhandle, they’re referring to that area of Texas near the Oklahoma panhandle. Of course. Is anyone claiming otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-usage-of-panhandle-in-reference-to-state-geography/758998/11 "2016-07-03T17:56:35Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > If you read that cite more carefully, the author is referring to a report from 1898(Mooney) describing the 1845 trip. Mooney used the tern “panhandle,” not the 1845 journal. > > There are two earlier cites now in the OED rather than 1856. 1846, still referring to the part of (West Virginia). Ngrams appears to be finding some earlier than that, but I may be mistaken about the actual publication date. Does this one check out? (1838): > **[Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society Held at Philadelphia for...](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ta9JAAAAYAAJ&q=%22panhandle%22&dq=%22panhandle%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj9ov207tfNAhWEUBQKHaBsApMQ6AEIKDAC)** ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-usage-of-panhandle-in-reference-to-state-geography/758998/12 "2016-07-03T18:29:38Z")
Interestingly, there’s another common name for this sort of thing. It’s sometimes called a “salient.” I never heard that name before: > **[Salient (geography)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salient_(geography))** > > A salient (also known as a panhandle or bootheel) is an elongated protrusion of a geopolitical entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state. > While similar to a peninsula in shape, a salient is most often not surrounded by water on three sides. Instead, it has a land border on at least two sides and extends from the larger geographical body of the administrative unit. > In American English, the term panhandle is often used to describe a relatively long and narrow salient, such as the ... ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-usage-of-panhandle-in-reference-to-state-geography/758998/13 "2016-07-03T19:16:21Z")
**Wendell** , see OP. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-usage-of-panhandle-in-reference-to-state-geography/758998/14 "2016-07-03T20:10:35Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Ngrams appears to be finding some earlier than that, but I may be mistaken about the actual publication date. Does this one check out? (1838): > [Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society Held at Philadelphia for ... - American Philosophical Society - Google Books](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ta9JAAAAYAAJ&q=%22panhandle%22&dq=%22panhandle%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj9ov207tfNAhWEUBQKHaBsApMQ6AEIKDAC) Nope. That one is around the 1870s. Common problem when the scanned volumes include multiple years. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-usage-of-panhandle-in-reference-to-state-geography/758998/15 "2016-07-03T20:44:24Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Interestingly, there’s another common name for this sort of thing. It’s sometimes called a “salient.” I never heard that name before: > > [Salient (geography) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salient_(geography)) To be honest, I’d never heard of the term either. When I googled panhandle, the wiki redirected me to salient. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-usage-of-panhandle-in-reference-to-state-geography/758998/16 "2016-07-03T20:52:40Z")
Yeah, you’re right, Leo Bloom, I didn’t read the OP carefully. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earliest-usage-of-panhandle-in-reference-to-state-geography/758998/17 "2016-07-03T21:11:59Z")
We’re among friends. You can call me **Leo**. And that’s **Leo** , not Leo, BTW.