I remember hearing a while back (I think on Millionare, but I’m not sure), that the most common town name in America is Springfield.
Okay, fine.
But the total # of towns named Springfield was either 102 or 104, I can’t recall exactly, but I do know that it was more than twice the number of states.
Now, how is this possible.
Can there be two Springfield’s in one state?
or maybe there are variations on the spelling…
Verify the number of towns named Springfield, then worry about how there can be that many. I suspect that you will find that there are not 102 Springfields in the U.S. My atlas lists 25, but it is rather old. It lists 26 Washingtons, including, of course, D.C.
The US Census Bureau counts 76 unique places with “Springfield” in their name. Slightly fewer than “Millionare” would say. As you can see, there are multiple Springfields in some states. This is one reason why the Post Office came up with ZIP codes. The condensed results of querying their database for “Springfield” (weeding our duplicate places with variant names)is:
Springfield, CO, Population: 1475
Springfield Division, CO, Population: 2137
Springfield, FL, Population: 8715
Guyton-Springfield Division, GA, Population: 8667
Springfield, GA, Population: 1415
Springfield Township, IA, Population: 139
Springfield Township, IA, Population: 474
Springfield Township, IA, Population: 1114
Springfield, IL, Population: 105227
Springfield Township, IL, Population: 7857
Springfield Township, IN, Population: 1078
Springfield Township, IN, Population: 1188
Springfield Township, IN, Population: 3169
Springfield Township, IN, Population: 4600
Springfield, KY, Population: 2875
Springfield Division, KY, Population: 8196
Springfield, LA, Population: 439
Springfield, MA, Population: 156983
West Springfield, MA, Population: 27537
Springfield, ME, Population: 406
Springfield, MI, Population: 5582
Springfield Township, MI, Population: 871
Springfield Township, MI, Population: 9927
Springfield, MN, Population: 2173
Springfield Township, MN, Population: 216
Springfield, MO, Population: 140494
Springfield Township, MO, Population: 259
Springfield Township, ND, Population: 47
Platford-Springfield No. 2 Precinct, NE, Population: 1535
Springfield, NE, Population: 1426
Springfield, NH, Population: 788
Springfield, NJ, Population: 13420
Springfield Township, NJ, Population: 3028
Springfield, NY, Population: 1267
Springfield, OH, Population: 70487
Springfield Township, OH, Population: 2284
Springfield Township, OH, Population: 2607
Springfield Township, OH, Population: 2644
Springfield Township, OH, Population: 3204
Springfield Township, OH, Population: 5290
Springfield Township, OH, Population: 6031
Springfield Township, OH, Population: 8460
Springfield Township, OH, Population: 13352
Springfield Township, OH, Population: 14773
Springfield Township, OH, Population: 20045
Springfield Township, OH, Population: 38509
Eugene-Springfield Division, OR, Population: 199009
North Springfield, OR, Population: 5451
Springfield, OR, Population: 44683
Springfield, PA, Population: 24160
Springfield Township, PA, Population: 507
Springfield Township, PA, Population: 1118
Springfield Township, PA, Population: 1892
Springfield Township, PA, Population: 2968
Springfield Township, PA, Population: 3218
Springfield Township, PA, Population: 5177
Springfield Township, PA, Population: 19612
Springfield Township, PA, Population: 24160
Springfield, SC, Population: 523
Springfield Division, SC, Population: 2184
Springfield, SD, Population: 834
Springfield, TN, Population: 11227
Springfield-Greenbrier Division, TN, Population: 24929
North Springfield, VA, Population: 8996
Springfield, VA, Population: 23706
Springfield District, VA, Population: 3745
Springfield District, VA, Population: 158447
West Springfield, VA, Population: 28126
Springfield, VT, Population: 4207
Springfield, VT, Population: 9579
Springfield, WI, Population: 476
Springfield, WI, Population: 480
Springfield, WI, Population: 772
Springfield, WI, Population: 2650
Springfield District, WV, Population: 1892
Springfield District, WV, Population: 2138
The full results, with details and a map of each place, can be found by querying the U.S. Gazetteer at:
http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/gazetteer
There are actually more places named “Clinton”, than Springfield. Use the link above and check for yourself. - Over 100 variations.
Regarding paperbackwriter’s post: I did some followup and a number of those multiple listings in the same state are not different communities at all. They are merely different perceptions of the same town/city.
I think there is a fayetteville or Greeneville in just about every state.
Click and Clack on Car Talk had this for a puzzler some time back. I think the answer was Fairview, which they said was according to the US Post Office. I’m at a loss as to how there can me more than one in a state much less several.
I also do not buy some of the typical answers. I have done a lot of work with the US Postal Service’s zip code file and I know that it contains many alternate place names for the same zip code. Many of these are not commonly used and of course, there are many duplicates within the same state. Of course, the correct answer to this question depends entirely on the exact question ask. To me, the real question is: “What city/town name occurs in the most states?” I have tried to answer this question below by loading the USPS zip code file into MS Access.
Here are my results for Top 10 most common city/town names in the US. Nobody even mentioned poor Franklin which is my nomination for the #1 spot.
City Number of States
Franklin 27
Clinton 26
Madison 26
Washington 25
Greenville 24
Chester 24
Salem 24
Springfield 24
Marion 24
Georgetown 22
I think the confusion stems from the fact that the word “Springfield” pops up not only in the names of cities but also in the names of other quasi-political entities such as divisions and townships and the like.
For example, I live in the city of Springfield, Illinois. My section of the city is Capital Township. Springfield Township encompasses another part of the city away from where my house is. I have no real grasp of what Capital Township means to me, as my utilites, police & fire protection, property taxes, etc. are all administered by the city of Springfield. If I had kids and if I sent them to public schools, they would go to Springfield schools. IOW, “Springfield” pops up in the names of at least two incorporated places in Illinois, but only one is a city.
YMMV.
The proliferation of Clinton-named cities and counties in America is not a prescient tribute to the 42nd president, but rather, the 3-term governor of New York and champion of the Erie Canal, Dewitt Clinton:
We had a similar thread a while back, Greenville, USA in which we tracked down about 43 states with places named Greenville.
paperbackwriter’s link is an excellent resource that I didn’t know existed. However, it doesn’t list unicorporated places or uninhabited places, of which there are a great many in this country.
HIJACK:
Fear Itself, as a strident De Witt Clinton booster myself, I applaud your post. De Witt was Da Man.
I notice that your link does not mention his gravesite (at least not on the opening page). I have seen it, and it is magnificent. It also has an interesting history. (Uke are you listening? You’ll like this one if you never heard it.)
When they opened glorious Green-Wood cemetery in Brooklyn in the 1830s-40s, the concept of a dignified non-churchyard cemetery was pretty new. The backers realized they needed a “headliner” that would stamp the place with respectability and attract other “customers.” So they approached the widow of De Witt Clinton and told her that if she agreed to move D Witt’s body from the unimpressive grave in which he then lay (near Albany IIRC), they would erect a new gravesite in Green-Wood that would knock her socks off. She agreed, and they did.
If you’re ever Brooklyn-way you must check it out.
Following a link given in the other thread, USGS search, I found only 68 Springfields in the U.S. (excluding such variations as Springfield Junction, Springfield Meadows, East Springfield, etc.). The exact count depends on which ones you decide to include; I included subdivisions and historical names. My estimates may be somewhat off, since I wasn’t counting very carefully.
130 Riversides
121 Centervilles
68 Springfields
63 Franklins
34 Washingtons
Washington and Franklin have a lot more places named after them besides those, such as Franklinville, Franklinton, Washingtonville, Washington Heights, etc.
This is a slight aside, but I did you know that the most popular street name is Second? Apparently the primary street in small towns is split among First, Main, Central, and (Townname)Street. So Second became most popular by accident.
Any minute now, we’re going to see Escanaba posting a source for this… Any minute now…
Tbone2, I’ll back up Escanaba on his post. I remember reading the same thing in (IIRC) the Guiness Book of Records years ago.
Welcome aboard, paperbackwriter. From the Beatles song right? Cool name.
::Mahaloth hides because he has nothing to contribute to conversation about town names but wanted to say hello::
Very thourough, paper.
Indeed, if you are talking about this gravesite, I think it befits a man whose face once graced the $1000 bill.
Fear, that’s it alright. Only it’s been very recently restored, so it looks clean and bronzey these days.
What you can’t see from the photo is the bas relief frieze (did I spell any of that right?) around the base that shows the highlights of his career – most notably the Erie Canal.