Horse Heaven Hills

[Sam Talley]

I am fascinated with how places get their names. Horse Heaven Hills is a long range of rolling hills in Eastern Washington. The highest hill is over 4,000 feet. There are many fossilized skeletons of prehistoric bison, mammoths, and early horses there, indicating the area with its knee deep grasses has been a grazing range for thousands of years. In 1881, a certain settler always described the area by saying “this is certainly a horse heaven”. And the name stuck.

I am wondering what some other areas have been given romantic names by the settlers.

[Stan H]

I thought this was going to be about Horse Heaven Hills wine,,, it is one of the best, for the price, we have found.

 

I tink the name actually came from the lush, high grass that used to grow there, but I have also heard the Yakima gave that name to it because of seeing wild horses running on the hills.

 

Either way, it is a cool name and a great area.

 

[Sam Talley]

According to Wikipedia James Gordon Kinney, an early pioneer, is credited with officially naming the Horse Heaven Hills in 1881.

[Sue Cauhape]

Sam, don't know of any "romantic" place names, but Stovepipe Wells in the middle of Death Valley conjures images of ingenuity. Verdi, NV is possibly the greenest place in the state. And Hope Valley, CA proved to be a much easier route over the Sierra Nevada than the dreaded Donner Pass.

[Sam Talley]

To Janice:

Comment by Sam Talley 3 minutes ago

 Madam, I don't know why you are so bitter and aggressive; and I hate to waste other's time, but I will just to appease you. I know you are smarter than I will ever be, but please let a simpleton like me join in. They did not require an intelligence test when I joined. God bless you.

I said "I am wondering what some other areas have been given romantic names by the settlers".

What I was wondering was if others had knowledge of similar neat places where names came from yesteryear.

[flboots]

Sam you make a good point with names.  There is South Pass, the gate way over the Rockies, But I never heard of a North Pass.  Is there one?  Just like there is Greenland which is icy, and Iceland which is green.  Lots of places are name for something thats there.  Also lots of places are named for the opposite.

[Sue Cauhape]

Janice, what ever in the world has Sam done to you to anger you. You can't even apologize without your middle finger raised. We all appreciate your contributions and stories posted to this website, but gees, give the man a break.

[Sam Talley]

Thank you Sue. I was starting to think this was a closed group which did not want outsider’s contributions. I’m sure Janice has her personal reasons for striking out. I hold no animosity towards her. Also, I know my sentence composition is less than perfect, so I ask Janice to not point out each error.

My limited knowledge of the Western development is mostly about western Washington which is a little different than a lot of other areas. For example, most of the pioneer’s traveling and homesteading was determined by river boat accessibility. Our spaces  and valleys still have a lot of the old homesteads scattered along the rivers. I hope to share some of this in the future.

I know some members of this group will wonder why I ask some questions about other areas. It’s because I haven’t been exposed to so many VERY knowledgeable people as those in this group and I think “here’s my chance to learn. Thanks again.

[Flying R]

Sue and Sam you two are new to the site . Please let me explain. This is Janice's pattern. She starts making small comments and soon she starts commenting on everything. She becomes an expert on everything(Google bar). She will then embarrass herself by attacking someone and leave the site and wait awhile and come back under another name. Then when as she gets her confidence she will change her name back and the pattern starts all over again. Both of you have contributed greatly to the site so don't let Janice's behavior run you away. I think Sam's questions spur conversation and that's good for the site. Now I will set back and wait for my attack... 

[Sue Cauhape]

Thank you Flying R for your background on Janice. She's a scrappy lady with lots of passion and lots to contribute. Same holds true for Sam. 

Sam, I look forward to reading what you have to say about Washington homesteads. So much that is written about the West centers in the Southwest, Texas, and Montana/Wyoming. The Northwesterners and the Californios sort of get lost in the shuffle. So, write away, Sam, and don't worry about your sentence structure. The story's more important than the delivery.

And Janice, I want to hear more of your great stories of like on the ranch.

[Stan H]

And I still think Horse Heaven Hills is a pretty good wine,,,lol

 

I lived in Eastern Washington for 25 years. It has a lot iof rich history, going back to the Whitmans and the Palouse Wars.

 

Hopefully, Sam will share some of that history with us.