# Meatiest Upstate NY Indian place names **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 26, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969 "2005-02-26T03:32:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/1 "2005-02-26T03:32:59Z")
Mmmmm! Those upstate NY place names really rolls off the tongue! Just hearing one makes me nostalgic for listening to weather reports when I was young about far away places (far from Fredonia at least) that were magical and mystical. These places are really meaty to say and really fill up your mouth with mystical wonder: Conewango Honeoye Cattaraugus Otisco Conesus Honorable mention but ruined by too much exposure to pop culture: Geneseo ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/2 "2005-02-26T04:22:34Z")
I kind of like Oswego. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/3 "2005-02-26T04:30:58Z")
Can we go over one state? Massachusetts has Lake CHARGOGAGOGMANCHARGOGAGOGCHARBUNAGUNGAMOG. It means “You fish on your side, I’ll fish on my side, nobody fish in the middle.” [http://www-linguistics.stanford.edu/Archives/Sesquipedalian/1996-97/msg00023.html](http://www-linguistics.stanford.edu/Archives/Sesquipedalian/1996-97/msg00023.html) ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/4 "2005-02-26T04:40:39Z")
I have a fondness for Canandaigua. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/5 "2005-02-26T05:00:42Z")
Schenectady Rensselaer Coxsackie Poughkeepsie Oneonta I’ll be back with more. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/6 "2005-02-26T06:44:48Z")
I always loved the NY State Fair theme song from a long time ago, it started Owego, Oswego, Otsego and Troy…and went on to name probably 8 or 10 more towns=) ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/7 "2005-02-26T08:02:03Z")
The Fingerlakes: Conesus Hemlock (well, maybe not this one) Canadice Honeoye Canandaigua Keuka Seneca Cayuga Owasco Skaneatelas Otisco ---
**Author:** ![Farmwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8dc957/32.png) [@Farmwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmwoman)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/8 "2005-02-26T10:33:51Z")
We live near the (literally translated) “beautiful banks” of the Tioughnioga River. Pronounced _TEE-uff-ni-OH-ga_, I don’t think it gets much meatier than that! ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/9 "2005-02-26T12:19:50Z")
Psst, **Anaamika** … Rennselaer is a [Dutch name](http://www.rpi.edu/about/history.html). I’ve always had a soft spot for Ticonderoga and Canandaigua, myself. And I still have pleasant memories of a picnic lunch on the banks of the Oswegatchie River. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/10 "2005-02-26T12:38:42Z")
Growing up in Hamilton, ON, we’d always hear Irv Weinstein on Channel 7 Buffalo, talking about places like Cheektowaga, Tonawanda and Lackawanna. Those aren’t in Upstate NY, but they roll off the tongue quite nicely, though. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/11 "2005-02-26T13:55:53Z")
> [@sunfish](#): > > Psst, **Anaamika** … Rennselaer is a [Dutch name](http://www.rpi.edu/about/history.html). I had no clue, thanks. I just picked a bunch of names from my backyard. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/12 "2005-02-26T14:02:27Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > Growing up in Hamilton, ON, we’d always hear Irv Weinstein on Channel 7 Buffalo, talking about places like Cheektowaga, Tonawanda and Lackawanna. Those aren’t in Upstate NY, but they roll off the tongue quite nicely, though. I’m not sure what state you think they’re in, but all three are suburbs of Buffalo, in Erie County, NY. (Lackawanna was borrowed from the area in NE Penna of te same name, but WKBW-TV’s usage was applicable to the Upstate NY city.) ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/13 "2005-02-26T14:10:04Z")
How did what state I thought they were in come into question? I am fully aware that they are suburbs of Buffalo. I’m confused about what the confusion is about. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/14 "2005-02-26T14:46:34Z")
I’d guess your remark that “those aren’t in Upstate NY” led to the confusion. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/15 "2005-02-26T14:53:14Z")
> [@sunfish](#): > > Psst, **Anaamika** … Rennselaer is a [Dutch name](http://www.rpi.edu/about/history.html). > > I’ve always had a soft spot for Ticonderoga and Canandaigua, myself. And I still have pleasant memories of a picnic lunch on the banks of the Oswegatchie River. Where along it? – Poly (who grew up 40 miles from several points along that river, and has fond memories of it himself) **Fishbicycle** , exactly. “Upstate” is nearly always taken to mean “anywhere in New York State north and west of the northernmost suburbs of NYC.” My personal definition uses Putnam and Orange Counties as the southernmost parts of “Upstate” and Westchester and Rockland as the northernmost parts of “Downstate,” though I’ll concede that others may use differing limits. ---
**Author:** ![Booker57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Booker57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Booker57)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/16 "2005-02-26T15:11:13Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > Growing up in Hamilton, ON, we’d always hear Irv Weinstein on Channel 7 Buffalo, talking about places like Cheektowaga, Tonawanda and Lackawanna. Those aren’t in Upstate NY, but they roll off the tongue quite nicely, though. Those citys are in “Wonderful Western NY” Upstate is to the east of that area but west of “Central NY” that’s the area around Syracuse. Going east again and you will be in the “Capital Region” After that comes the “Hudson River Valley” going south to “The City” and Long Island. This is how I break up my state. Others may do differently. Booker57 from “The Gateway to the Finger Lakes” Canandaigua NY ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/17 "2005-02-26T15:15:04Z")
I signed in to say the same thing as Booker57. We western NYer’s almost always correct the people who say that we’re from upstate. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/18 "2005-02-26T15:24:24Z")
OK. Sorry! ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/19 "2005-02-26T15:47:39Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > Growing up in Hamilton, ON, we’d always hear Irv Weinstein on Channel 7 Buffalo, talking about places like Cheektowaga, Tonawanda and Lackawanna. Those aren’t in Upstate NY, but they roll off the tongue quite nicely, though. Was he talking about them being on fire? As a native Buffalonian, I’ve always been a little mystified when I’ve met people from Ontario who have a perception, from Irv, that Western New York was perpetually on fire. Canandaigua is my favorite NY State Indian name. Runner up is Scajaquada, formerly Creek and now Expressway. Somewhat related to the topic at hand, I recommend the [New York State Find the County game](http://www.nysegov.com/map-NY.cfm) to fellow fans of NY place names. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969/20 "2005-02-26T16:01:36Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > Was he talking about them being on fire? As a native Buffalonian, I’ve always been a little mystified when I’ve met people from Ontario who have a perception, from Irv, that Western New York was perpetually on fire. Channel 7 had that sort of format where, if it was a slow news day, the lead story on the 6 and 11 news would be a house on fire. The station would send a camera crew and a reporter to anything that was on fire. Very weird! I haven’t seen another station that thought it was that important. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatiest-upstate-ny-indian-place-names/291969.md?page=2)