Been away a week... I've enjoyed all the posts, and especially enjoyed yours, Ranger Steve. Did you have a children's tv show in the 50's? I think you've singled out the reason why American towns sound different than those of the British Isles (other than all the examples of towns that were named AFTER British Isles towns. So much of our "American" heritage comes from native americans. We did an exhibit at the Museum where I worked for many years about place names in the United States, and almost every state is an indian name that was corrupted over the years.

Wisconsin, like most states, has a wealth of indian town names.. repeat after me, Manitowoc,Menomonie,Minoqua,Muckwanago, Muskego, Oconomowoc, Waukesha, Waunakee and Waupaca. I grew up in a boringly-named town, Janesville... named after the Janes family who were the first settlers. Yawn...

Jerry