Curated playlist
State capitals in the United States
- Austin, TexasAustin, Texas, residents physically blocked men sent to carry the capital's documents to Houston.
- Boise, IdahoBoise began in 1863 as a military outpost during a gold rush. Its name is said to mean the woods in French.
- Nashville, TennesseeIn February 1862, Nashville became the first Confederate state capital to fall to U.S. troops.
- Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento raised its whole downtown by building brick walls and filling in dirt.
- DenverDenver was named for a governor who had already resigned. General William Larimer staked the townsite in 1858.
- IndianapolisIn 1970, Indianapolis merged with its county and gained more than 300 square miles overnight.
- Phoenix, ArizonaPhoenix was named for a city rising from an older civilization's ruins.
- Columbus, OhioColumbus, Ohio is named for an explorer who never set foot in Ohio. A state lawmaker admired him.
- Richmond, VirginiaIn 1781, Benedict Arnold's Loyalist troops burned Richmond and Governor Thomas Jefferson fled.
- Oklahoma CityOklahoma City began in a single afternoon in 1889. Some 10,000 homesteaders staked claims on open grass.
- Providence, Rhode IslandIn 1772, Providence men rowed out at night and burned the Gaspee, a British customs schooner.
- Columbia, South CarolinaIn 1786, South Carolina voted 11-7 to name its new capital Columbia. One legislator had pushed for "Washington" instead.
- Trenton, New JerseyTrenton, New Jersey was the capital of the United States for two months in 1784. Congress met at a tavern there.
- Frankfort, KentuckyFrankfort, Kentucky got its name from a pioneer's death at a river crossing.
- BostonOvernight, Americans hauled cannons onto Dorchester Heights, and the British army left Boston.
- Salt Lake CityIn 1997, a newspaper revealed that a county geologist had erased a fault from Salt Lake City's earthquake maps.
- AtlantaAtlanta's chief railroad engineer once said its spot might support one tavern. He was wrong.