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These 7 US Cities Changed Their Names. Do You Know Why?

US cities
Photo by Morphart Creation from Shutterstock

1. New York was formerly named New Amsterdam

One of the US cities that changed its former name is New York, initially known as New Amsterdam. Let us tell you a little story. The region that is today known as Manhattan was discovered by Englishman Henry Hudson, who was sailing under the Dutch East India Company’s flag after he failed to discover a western way to Asia.

After learning that there was a sizable beaver population and that beaver fur was highly sought-after in Europe at the time, Hudson informed his superiors of this gold mine based on rodents. In an attempt to stave off invasions by both locals and the British, this report led to the establishment of the trading posts of New Amsterdam and Fort Amsterdam.

The town changed sides several times due to a series of wars, but in the end, the Dutch reclaimed it and called it New Orange. Even now, borough names like Brooklyn (Breukelen) and Harlem (named after the Dutch town of Haarlem) reflect Dutch influence.

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  1. New Bedford, Massachusetts, once the ‘Whaling Capitol of the World’, & now the leading port of the nascent US Offshore Wind Energy, was once known as ‘Bedford’ until it was learned that Massachusetts already had a city/town known as Bedford in the upper part of the state.

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