Henry Schoolcraft - Naming Places

Naming Places

Schoolcraft named many of Michigan's counties and locations within the former Michigan Territory. He named Leelanau County, Michigan after his wife's pen name of "Leelinau". For those counties established in 1840, he often created faux Indian names. In names such as Alcona, Algoma, Allegan, Alpena, Arenac, Iosco, Kalkaska, Oscoda and Tuscola, for example, Schoolcraft combined words and syllables from Native American languages with words and syllables from Latin and Arabic. Lake Itasca, the source lake of the Mississippi River, is another example of his faux Indian names.

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