Early town names reflect priorities of area's first settlers

Lake County's rich tapestry of history is woven into the very fibers of its place names. Generally speaking, local places were named for settlers, area topography or American Indian heritage.

Even though there are 52 municipalities within Lake County, more than 500 place names are associated with the county's communities, lakes and rivers. This great number of names is indicative of the variety of individuals and the things that influenced them in their choice of names.

It was common for settlers to name their settlements after themselves.

For example, Gage's Settlement in present-day Antioch was named after Darius and Thomas Gage, who settled there in 1836. Or they named the area in honor of former homelands such as Bannockburn for Bannockburn, Scotland.

Although many of the early place names no longer exist, they are part of Lake County's progression of development.

For instance, Waukegan began as Little Fort. Tradition claims that a French trading post was located on the bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan as early as 1695. When settlers arrived in the 1830s and saw the burned out remnants of this structure they named their community Little Fort.

But as the community grew in population, the name seemed too small. In 1849, the name Waukegan was adopted, being the Algonquin American Indian word for "trading place." This name also reflects the tradition of place names with an American Indian origin.

Postmasters were given the honor of naming communities as well.

Jeremiah Porter ran an inn at the intersection of Greenbay and Yorkhouse roads beginning in 1836. Since the inn was on a stage line, it was also used as a post office. Porter served as postmaster and named the post office and therefore the area Otsego, after his home county of Otsego, New York.

The term "grove" was used extensively to indicate an area with a large grove of trees. The "grove" in today's Buffalo Grove and Long Grove probably referred to a single large grove of trees that covered the southern portion of Vernon Township. German immigrants referred to it as "mutter stotlz" or mother's pride, and the heavy timber may have reminded them of the vast forests of Germany.

Place names can be as endearing as the tiny area of Peanutville in Gurnee, or as patriotic as Libertyville's former name of Independence Grove. They reflect the birthplaces of settlers, the beauty of the land, and the traditions of those that came before us.