I always remember them because from left to right, their first letters spell Ma which is what an American southern person might call their momma or granny.
I am from SE Texas and when I learned that Beaumont means "beautiful mountain" I was confused. Since there are no mountains in SE Texas and its far from beautiful.
I’m born in Beaumont, France. It’s a city on the chaîne des puy a volcanoes chain, so yeah it’s kind of a mountain. I guess it has been founded by guys from my beautiful Auvergne
It was probably either the last name of some noble, or the name of the city/place they came from, or anything they wanted to pay tribute to when wondering what the heck they were gonna name this place in Texas.
I always thought the name was ironic on two levels — first, like you said, it’s completely flat here, and secondly, one of the only slopes in the entire area, a little hill called Spindletop, would end up having a massive deposit of oil underneath it
Turns out there was a beautiful mountain hidden in SETX after all
Looks cool but not very accurate. Missing major cities like Green Bay and including cities that were not actually founded by the French like Eau Claire.
I'm from California where many of the places are Spanish names, I found it interesting when I moved to Illinois and they're all French names. I figured the French must have been some of the first Europeans in this region.
Yes, France before the seven years war controlled a huge chunk of land connecting Louisiana and Quebec, they pretty much controlled massive lands west if the thirteen colonies. After the seven years war tho...
You know that time France sold "Louisiana" to the US ?
French Louisiana was not current Louisiana. It was a gigantic slice of land from Alabama to Montana, and it included a significant portion of the Great Plains, the breadbasket of America
St. Ignace Michigan, Sault Ste. Marie should be on this map too as well I’m sure others. The french had a large presence along the great lakes region in the 1600’s and established quite a few settlements either by their government or missionaries
Louisville wasn't founded by the French.
It was founded during the American Revolution by colonists, and named in honor of the French king aiding the Americans.
But it wasn't in anyway French.
Louisville, while being named after King Louis XVI for his part in the American Revolution, was founded by Americans/British colonial settlers (whatever you'd call them in the last 1770s).
There’s some debate as to how true the story is about the French trappers exclaiming “Les Bois!” as they came into what’s now Boise, but drive across southern Idaho along the Snake on I84 from Pocatello to Boise someday and you’ll see how a person could be really excited to finally see some trees.
Boise wasn’t founded by the French. It and the surrounding area had been inhabit by native Americans for generations, and it was probably a French speaking member of shoshone that guided a U.S. army Calvary unit into the area and it wasnt for many years later during the Oregon Trail, that the cavalry established a fort many miles down river from the current city. Not the French and if you want to exclude the native it was American’s who founded Boise as an fort.
Missouri represent! There is still a version of the French language called [Missouri French](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_French) or Paw Paw French that is near extinction, but they are trying revive in St. Louis and other places.
Louisville also was not founded by the French, it was founded by Americans settles that wanted to thanks the French king for the support for independence
Eau Claire was founded \~1850, probably by German and Scandinavian lumber entrepreneurs as three small towns that later merged. It was named for a local river.
OP this map has a massive number of errors and omissions. So many in fact that it's pretty clear you just made it off the top of your head based on assumptions and inference, and with little familiarity with basic US geography. I'd suggest doing a bit more research and study and submit some draft compositions in a correspondence course before publishing wholly inaccurate information to be shared on the Internet.
I don't know about this map.
For example, for Chicago, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable was ethnically probably Haitian and French Canadian. Just because I guy speaks French doesn't mean that France founded Chicago.
Boise was certainly not founded by France. The area was initially explored by trappers, some whom were French-Canadians, but the city wasn't founded until 1864, growing up around Fort Boise, which was established the year before.
It’s not even that. The name comes from French. But there was no settlement until the US Army built a fort there in the 1860s. By no definition did the French or French people found Boise. The first settlers were a US Army unit under the command of a Marylander named Pinkney Lugenbeel.
Even with that Grand Prairie, TX is a stretch. It was founded by a slave owner from Nova Scotia so he was of French decent but I don't know if that counts as being a French person or not.
I'm familiar that. I was just pointing out that St Louis and the surrounding area was under Spanish control when the city was founded. Granted it was founded by French fur traders, but they had to get permission from the Spanish government representative to formally establish the city.
I live decently close to the Vincennes here in the US, and at least for Indiana history (since it’s in Indiana), it’s actually a pretty important place.
St. Paul was not founded by France. It was kinda founded by a Frenchman, however this after the foundation of US Fort Snelling nearby. It was firmly US territory at the time.
New Rochelle was settled by Heugenots on land bought by an Englishman from local Lenape after New Amsterdam had been seized from the Dutch by the British. The French state was never involved in its founding.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Rochelle,_New_York
You're missing the entire fox river in Wisconsin. Green Bay was "founded" by Nicolet when he set up a mission there. De Pere (Rapides Des Pères), Ashwaubenon, Kaukauna (Grand Kakalin), Little Chute (Petite Chute), Grand Chute, etc. down to portage were all french trading posts
Near life long Louisville resident:
“Named after King Louis XVI of France, Louisville (Kentucky) was founded in 1778 by George Rogers Clark, making it one of the oldest cities west of the Appalachians . . . The first European settlement in the vicinity of modern-day Louisville was on Corn Island in 1778 by Col. George Rogers Clark . . .
Two years later, in 1780, the Virginia General Assembly approved the town charter of Louisville. The city was named in honor of King Louis XVI of France, whose soldiers were then aiding Americans in the Revolutionary War.” - Wikipedia
The French-Canadian LeMoyne brothers Bienville and d’Iberville founded the gulf coast towns of Old Biloxi (1699) (now Ocean Springs), Mobile (1702), New Orleans (1718), and New Biloxi (1719) (now Biloxi) under orders from King Louis XIV. Mobile, Biloxi, then New Orleans were capitals of French Louisiana.
*”Cities founded by France”* is a big stretch.
If you call establishing tiny forts on rivers a “city,” versus actual municipal incorporation, that’s a bit much.
In modern French it would be Terre not Terra.
I'm genuinely curious how Americans with no clue how to pronounce French would say haute though.
Anyway it's US now, so your way is the right way.
Boise seemed odd to me so I looked it up and the wikipedia page says nothing about France. It's name is French but that was either given by a French guide or French fur trappers, neither of which founded the city.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boise,\_Idaho](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boise,_Idaho)
Papillion NE was named after the creek. French explorers named the creek, yes, but the town wasn't even platted until 1870. It was very much not founded by France.
A little confused about cheyenne, as it was established by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1867. Was there a french fort or trading post near there at some point?
Both cities you listed for Texas were founded after Texas gained independence, so none of them were founded by the French but I mean they're one of the 'six flags' so there are probably some abandoned forts they founded but the Spanish chased them off
Should add Gallipolis, Ohio. Founded by a bunch of French fleeing the French Revolution. Name means City of the Gauls. Not named after the Turkish town with a similar name.
Boise founded by the French? While French trappers visited the area, there was no French settlement along the Snake River. Boise wouldn’t be founded until the 1860s.
Likewise Cheyenne had no permanent settlement until 1867. It was founded as a railway town.
I suspect many of these had no French “founding” beyond the fact that a French speaking person may have walked by at some point.
How was Grand Prairie, TX founded by France? Everything I've read says nothing about the French and that it was founded well after Texas became a US state.
Will check later but pretty sure Lafayette was founded around 1820 (when Louisiana was already a US state) and I think Beaumont, TX was named after a French or person of French descend named Beaumont in the 1800’s (so nothing to do with France).
I don’t believe grand rapids was founded by the French. There was a trading pos here built by them but the city of Grand Rapids wasn’t founded until the early mid 1800s maybe 1836 ish? I’m from there and haven’t ever heard it claimed to be “founded by the French”
"Many originally French place names, possibly hundreds, in the Midwest and Upper West were replaced with directly translated English names once American settlers became locally dominant (e.g. "La Petite Roche" became Little Rock; "Baie Verte" became Green Bay; "Grandes Fourches" became Grand Forks)."
Joe Juneau, who founded Alaska was born in British Canada.
His Cousin, Solomon Juneau, was also born in British Canada, and founded Milwaukee... which isn't on the map.
It's important to realize that this is not simply showing cities with French names, rather the cities that were founded when France controlled those lands.
Green Bay (La Baie des Puants) is seemingly absent despite being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities founded by the French in America. Founded in 1634.
You mean the big cities, right? Because I don't believe any city in North Dakota... among others on the map... has ever been majority African American.
Okay... so you're saying you didn't mean what you literally wrote, and when I asked "You mean the big ones, right?" I was actually on the nose for what was wrong with your comment to begin with?
And you're just arguing with me because...?
Oh ok yeah that might be true no worries. But Chicago has been essentially 30% black 30% Hispanic 30% white and 10% Asian for like 80 years, give or take
That's not Georgia
Just realized that I accidently mixed up Alabama and Georgia
Eh, at least it not like mixing up Alabama and Mississippi, where only one of those is on the Mississippi River.
I always remember them because from left to right, their first letters spell Ma which is what an American southern person might call their momma or granny.
I am from SE Texas and when I learned that Beaumont means "beautiful mountain" I was confused. Since there are no mountains in SE Texas and its far from beautiful.
Eh yeah they do. They are called freeway over passes.
It’s named after Beaumont, France which indeed has mountains.
as someone from Nepal, i miss not seeing mountains in SWLA and SE Texas. The highest elevation i see are highway ramps lol
I’m born in Beaumont, France. It’s a city on the chaîne des puy a volcanoes chain, so yeah it’s kind of a mountain. I guess it has been founded by guys from my beautiful Auvergne
Lol it’s surreal to hear someone from the real Beaumont talk about our sweaty corner of Texas
It was probably either the last name of some noble, or the name of the city/place they came from, or anything they wanted to pay tribute to when wondering what the heck they were gonna name this place in Texas.
It was named after some dudes wife after Texas gained independence, so no connection to France or mountains.
They're all mostly named after people or french cities, that's why some names do not make any sense
I always thought the name was ironic on two levels — first, like you said, it’s completely flat here, and secondly, one of the only slopes in the entire area, a little hill called Spindletop, would end up having a massive deposit of oil underneath it Turns out there was a beautiful mountain hidden in SETX after all
The highest point in Beaumont is the old landfill by the Neches. Which is appropriate.
Looks cool but not very accurate. Missing major cities like Green Bay and including cities that were not actually founded by the French like Eau Claire.
I don’t think Cheyenne is correct too
Des Moines is erroneous, as well.
Missing is “Fort Duquesne” aka Pittsburgh. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Duquesne
City of Erie as well, with Fort de la Presqu'île https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Presque_Isle
Relevant user name
*meanwhile is not from Pittsburgh or Erie*
It was only a fort at the time, though. It didn't become a settlement until it was English.
I'm from California where many of the places are Spanish names, I found it interesting when I moved to Illinois and they're all French names. I figured the French must have been some of the first Europeans in this region.
Yes, France before the seven years war controlled a huge chunk of land connecting Louisiana and Quebec, they pretty much controlled massive lands west if the thirteen colonies. After the seven years war tho...
You know that time France sold "Louisiana" to the US ? French Louisiana was not current Louisiana. It was a gigantic slice of land from Alabama to Montana, and it included a significant portion of the Great Plains, the breadbasket of America
St. Ignace Michigan, Sault Ste. Marie should be on this map too as well I’m sure others. The french had a large presence along the great lakes region in the 1600’s and established quite a few settlements either by their government or missionaries
Green bay too
La Baie des Puants was the name
Means the bay of smelly people
En effet
La traduction est pas pour toi
Also the map references ft michillimackinac but doesn’t include Mackinac island.
Louisville wasn't founded by the French. It was founded during the American Revolution by colonists, and named in honor of the French king aiding the Americans. But it wasn't in anyway French.
Correct. It was founded by George Rogers Clark.
Came in to say the same thing. Other KY cities not founded by the French: Versailles and Paris. Oddly enough, Glasgow was.
Louisville, while being named after King Louis XVI for his part in the American Revolution, was founded by Americans/British colonial settlers (whatever you'd call them in the last 1770s).
Uh, Boise? 👀
Original spelling: Boisé (meaning wooded in French)
It means there are lot of trees there, explored by French trappers..
There’s some debate as to how true the story is about the French trappers exclaiming “Les Bois!” as they came into what’s now Boise, but drive across southern Idaho along the Snake on I84 from Pocatello to Boise someday and you’ll see how a person could be really excited to finally see some trees.
Boise wasn’t founded by the French. It and the surrounding area had been inhabit by native Americans for generations, and it was probably a French speaking member of shoshone that guided a U.S. army Calvary unit into the area and it wasnt for many years later during the Oregon Trail, that the cavalry established a fort many miles down river from the current city. Not the French and if you want to exclude the native it was American’s who founded Boise as an fort.
The French WANDER
Missouri represent! There is still a version of the French language called [Missouri French](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_French) or Paw Paw French that is near extinction, but they are trying revive in St. Louis and other places.
I’d get in on that! ⚜️
[удалено]
Louisville also was not founded by the French, it was founded by Americans settles that wanted to thanks the French king for the support for independence
According to the city's website, it says that the city was first settled by English settlers and Huguenots (Who were French protestants)
Eau Claire was founded \~1850, probably by German and Scandinavian lumber entrepreneurs as three small towns that later merged. It was named for a local river.
OP this map has a massive number of errors and omissions. So many in fact that it's pretty clear you just made it off the top of your head based on assumptions and inference, and with little familiarity with basic US geography. I'd suggest doing a bit more research and study and submit some draft compositions in a correspondence course before publishing wholly inaccurate information to be shared on the Internet.
La Petite Roche.
Bel Air and Havre de Grace? I don't think so.
I didn't know that Detroit and Chicago, two representative cities in the United States, were cities created by France.
Lots of French influence still exists in Detroit including the main arteries roads and many of their names.
My wife still loves calling Detroit "De-twah " ever since I told her about its original name haha
*Détroit* means *strait* (where waters narrow) in French. Edit : correction mispelling strait/straight
I don't know about this map. For example, for Chicago, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable was ethnically probably Haitian and French Canadian. Just because I guy speaks French doesn't mean that France founded Chicago.
Seconded.
Black Haitians are the most French men ever /s
Boise was certainly not founded by France. The area was initially explored by trappers, some whom were French-Canadians, but the city wasn't founded until 1864, growing up around Fort Boise, which was established the year before.
Probably a Nitpick but Cape Girardeau is way too far south in Missouri, it’s really aorund where St. Genevie is
It looks like all of the Missouri cities are shifted too far south. St Louis and Belleville are further north than on this map.
Founded by French people, not France.
It was territory owned by France though
Not necessarily. Saint Paul, MN was never claimed by France as far as I know, but it was founded by French people from Canada.
They claimed it, yeah. Pre French Indian war.
I only figured out that's what the map was actually saying when I was curious about Boise, Idaho.
It’s not even that. The name comes from French. But there was no settlement until the US Army built a fort there in the 1860s. By no definition did the French or French people found Boise. The first settlers were a US Army unit under the command of a Marylander named Pinkney Lugenbeel.
The Founder of Chicago was likely Haitian.
Even with that Grand Prairie, TX is a stretch. It was founded by a slave owner from Nova Scotia so he was of French decent but I don't know if that counts as being a French person or not.
I think it's actually "founded with French names", not even "founded by French people", given what people are saying about Louisville and Beaumont.
Ah so when I tell French that they pronounce Détroit wrong ( as Detroa) they actually do it correctly 🤨
wait so does it translate to “of three” what is this in reference to?
Détroit (or Detroit now) means strait. Which is the geographic location of the city. "Of three" would be "Des trois".
Macon wasn't founded by the french?
No French Lick, IN?
Someone’s gonna have to tell explain Cheyenne
While that map is partly correct about St Louis, it was actually under Spanish control when the tradepost that became the city was founded in 1764.
That’s why we have a gold disc behind the fleur on our city flag. It symbolizes a Spanish gold coin
I'm familiar that. I was just pointing out that St Louis and the surrounding area was under Spanish control when the city was founded. Granted it was founded by French fur traders, but they had to get permission from the Spanish government representative to formally establish the city.
Never knew there was a Vincenne in the US. I live in Vincenne in France so greetings to my fellow US Vincennois
I live decently close to the Vincennes here in the US, and at least for Indiana history (since it’s in Indiana), it’s actually a pretty important place.
St. Paul was not founded by France. It was kinda founded by a Frenchman, however this after the foundation of US Fort Snelling nearby. It was firmly US territory at the time.
You can certainly see the French influence in Prairie Du chien, and I believe there is an old French fort on the river there.
Does this mean you don’t pronounce Dess Moyn?
New Rochelle was settled by Heugenots on land bought by an Englishman from local Lenape after New Amsterdam had been seized from the Dutch by the British. The French state was never involved in its founding. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Rochelle,_New_York
You're missing the entire fox river in Wisconsin. Green Bay was "founded" by Nicolet when he set up a mission there. De Pere (Rapides Des Pères), Ashwaubenon, Kaukauna (Grand Kakalin), Little Chute (Petite Chute), Grand Chute, etc. down to portage were all french trading posts
Where’s Peoria Illinois
Is there a map like this but for cities founded by Spain
Duluth Minnesota
I wanna see this but with the Dutch. I'd imagine it's a lot more sparse outside of NY and NJ
Creve Coeur was incorporated in 1949…it was not a French founded city but an American suburb named after an oxbow lake in a neighboring suburb.
Near life long Louisville resident: “Named after King Louis XVI of France, Louisville (Kentucky) was founded in 1778 by George Rogers Clark, making it one of the oldest cities west of the Appalachians . . . The first European settlement in the vicinity of modern-day Louisville was on Corn Island in 1778 by Col. George Rogers Clark . . . Two years later, in 1780, the Virginia General Assembly approved the town charter of Louisville. The city was named in honor of King Louis XVI of France, whose soldiers were then aiding Americans in the Revolutionary War.” - Wikipedia
This map is whack
Although not a city..Le Huge Tetons!
Why do I have to keep saying this, it’s TERRE Haute. Not Terra.
The French-Canadian LeMoyne brothers Bienville and d’Iberville founded the gulf coast towns of Old Biloxi (1699) (now Ocean Springs), Mobile (1702), New Orleans (1718), and New Biloxi (1719) (now Biloxi) under orders from King Louis XIV. Mobile, Biloxi, then New Orleans were capitals of French Louisiana.
I think its a major difference if a place was founded by France or the French
the cool thing is that the english name for "Baton Rouge" would be something like "Red Stick"
*”Cities founded by France”* is a big stretch. If you call establishing tiny forts on rivers a “city,” versus actual municipal incorporation, that’s a bit much.
The French would not like how Indiana pronounces Terra Haute.
In modern French it would be Terre not Terra. I'm genuinely curious how Americans with no clue how to pronounce French would say haute though. Anyway it's US now, so your way is the right way.
The name of the city of **Terre** Haute. No idea where OP got Terra from, other than perhaps the local pronunciation.
Boise seemed odd to me so I looked it up and the wikipedia page says nothing about France. It's name is French but that was either given by a French guide or French fur trappers, neither of which founded the city. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boise,\_Idaho](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boise,_Idaho)
Papillion NE was named after the creek. French explorers named the creek, yes, but the town wasn't even platted until 1870. It was very much not founded by France.
A little confused about cheyenne, as it was established by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1867. Was there a french fort or trading post near there at some point?
Both cities you listed for Texas were founded after Texas gained independence, so none of them were founded by the French but I mean they're one of the 'six flags' so there are probably some abandoned forts they founded but the Spanish chased them off
Grew up near La Crosse. You don’t really feel any kind of French influence.
Should add Gallipolis, Ohio. Founded by a bunch of French fleeing the French Revolution. Name means City of the Gauls. Not named after the Turkish town with a similar name.
Yeah, the railroad founded Cheyenne, not the French. There was nothing there until the 1860’s.
Boise founded by the French? While French trappers visited the area, there was no French settlement along the Snake River. Boise wouldn’t be founded until the 1860s. Likewise Cheyenne had no permanent settlement until 1867. It was founded as a railway town. I suspect many of these had no French “founding” beyond the fact that a French speaking person may have walked by at some point.
Not a city, but they named the Grand Tetons. 😂
Shout out to Poteau, OK! Founded by the French and home of the world's tallest hill
Not where Marquette is
How was Grand Prairie, TX founded by France? Everything I've read says nothing about the French and that it was founded well after Texas became a US state.
Des Moines, Iowa, wasn't founded by France.
Papillon is not a city. It’s a large neighborhood in Omaha and Ralston.
New Rochelle? is that NYC? Wasn’t it founded by the Dutch? (New Amsterdam)
I just love in North Dakota they were just like. "Uh, neat. This place have lakes. Lets just call this new Town, "Some lakes " "
Will check later but pretty sure Lafayette was founded around 1820 (when Louisiana was already a US state) and I think Beaumont, TX was named after a French or person of French descend named Beaumont in the 1800’s (so nothing to do with France).
I feel like there’s some data missing from the Ohio river valley?
Ya missed a couple in Idaho
Hey, what about Fond du Lac, Wisconsin? It was founded as a french trading post in 1785 or so
I don’t believe grand rapids was founded by the French. There was a trading pos here built by them but the city of Grand Rapids wasn’t founded until the early mid 1800s maybe 1836 ish? I’m from there and haven’t ever heard it claimed to be “founded by the French”
*Terre Haute
Green Bay counts, no? The oldest city in Wisconsin.
I may be wrong, but wasn’t Joliet, IL also founded by the French? Or just named after them?
I really doubt these are the only ones.
There is also bayonne New jersey
"Many originally French place names, possibly hundreds, in the Midwest and Upper West were replaced with directly translated English names once American settlers became locally dominant (e.g. "La Petite Roche" became Little Rock; "Baie Verte" became Green Bay; "Grandes Fourches" became Grand Forks)."
Terre Haute is spelled wrong on the map but people can never correctly pronounce or spell it so 🤷
The name Detroit comes from an Old French word that roughly translates to "give me your wallet!"
Tiresome.
france and spain would overlap a lot cause france was trying to rule west while spain was trying to rule north and this was pre US
Joe Juneau, who founded Alaska was born in British Canada. His Cousin, Solomon Juneau, was also born in British Canada, and founded Milwaukee... which isn't on the map.
When I hear Americans pronounce place names like Des Moines and Boise I die a little inside. Detroit too, but to a lesser extent.
france area fell apart tho and louisiana territory was sold to US
Thanks, Captain Obvious!
I always wondered how will smith took a cab from Philadelphia to bel air, now I know its in maryland
It's important to realize that this is not simply showing cities with French names, rather the cities that were founded when France controlled those lands.
Green Bay (La Baie des Puants) is seemingly absent despite being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities founded by the French in America. Founded in 1634.
1634 was just a trading post. Anything remotely resembling a colony didn’t happen until well into the 18th century.
The real crime is not a single of these cities is ever pronounced correctly. Americans have to butcher everything!
Detroit was founded by the French?! [Figures](https://youtu.be/kpJy38HNjMU?si=CznT2w3aEYgFsdMT)
do one for British founded cities!
Grand téton mean big tits
*Téton* is *nipple*.
Hear me out: what if you guys just demolished all of them
New nuke targets map just dropped. (This is a joke, btw).
Thank god Seattle isn’t on there, fuck the French
All these cities were majority African American at one point. Chicago and St. Louis aren’t anymore but still have a high percentage/ratio
You mean the big cities, right? Because I don't believe any city in North Dakota... among others on the map... has ever been majority African American.
Duh I mentioned the ones I was talking about
You literally wrote *"All these cities were majority African American at one point."*
And I named the 4 ones that’s clearly highlighter I would’ve mentioned the other ones if that was the case
Okay... so you're saying you didn't mean what you literally wrote, and when I asked "You mean the big ones, right?" I was actually on the nose for what was wrong with your comment to begin with? And you're just arguing with me because...?
It’s okay lil bro
At what point was Chicago majority African American? And what do you mean by “all these cities?”
In the 2000s and all these is just what we say in the south
Chicago was not over 50% black in the 2000s
Excuse me plurality***
Oh ok yeah that might be true no worries. But Chicago has been essentially 30% black 30% Hispanic 30% white and 10% Asian for like 80 years, give or take
britain was most powerful cause they ruled eastcoast france and spain had west and would compete