America has long been characterized by individuals and communities who strive to carve out their own unique paths. This is evident in the country's 50 states, each with its distinct government and cultural identity. While there are still aspirations for locations like Washington, DC, or Puerto Rico to join the ranks of statehood, other proposed states from America's history haven't come to fruition. This passage explores 5 such would-be states from the nation's past.
So what other states might have been if these proposals had succeeded?
Transylvania
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The people of Central Kentucky are well-acquainted with Transylvania, but not in the sense of being the home of Count Dracula. When the pioneer Daniel Boone crossed the Cumberland Gap into what is now Kentucky, he established a fort called Boonesborough. His hope was that this fort would one day become the capital of the 14th state, which was given the name Transylvania in the 1770s. However, Virginia claimed ownership of the land and was unwilling to let it break away. Congress also didn't look too favorably upon the idea, so the proposal was ultimately shelved. Several years later, the region did indeed become a state but it was named Kentucky instead. The original Transylvania name lives on, though, in the form of Transylvania University, which was founded in 1780 as the first college west of the Allegheny mountains.
Forgottonia
Source: Google Search
In the early 1970s, what began as a playful publicity stunt blossomed into a grassroots campaign that helped to draw attention to the rural regions of Illinois. Local business owners in western Illinois were frustrated by the lack of attention their area received from the state government, particularly when it came to inadequate investment in transportation infrastructure. As a result, they proposed the creation of a new state called Forgottonia, encompassing 16 counties. The organizers recruited a theater student to serve as their governor, designated the small town of Fandom as the state capital, and declared their intention to secede and seek foreign aid. The movement gained some traction for a brief period but ultimately faded out by 1972. However, the efforts of the Forgottonia campaign may have had a lasting impact, as Amtrak later established a train route through the area, suggesting that this once-forgotten region wasn't entirely forgotten after all.
Texlahoma
Source: Google Search
Decades before the residents of western Illinois felt forgotten by their representatives, the people in the Texas panhandle experienced a similar sentiment. By the 1930s, automobiles had become more affordable and were more common on American roads. These vehicles were particularly useful for traversing the vast open spaces of the West, including Texas and Oklahoma, as long as the areas they passed through had decent infrastructure. Unfortunately, that was sorely lacking in the panhandle of Texas and neighboring western Oklahoma.
In response to this issue, a proposal emerged to create the 49th state, combining 23 Oklahoma counties and 46 Texas counties into Texlahoma, with the capital located in Amarillo. The residents believed that having their own statehood and legislature would grant them better access to improved infrastructure and essential services. The proposal even garnered the support of then-Vice President John Nance Garner. Ultimately, the plan was dropped, with some suggesting that the proud Texans were reluctant to give up their Lone Star identity.
Absaroka
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In 1939, a street commissioner named A. R. Swickard from Sheridan, Wyoming, declared himself the governor of Absaroka, a region spanning parts of Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota. At the time, the Federal Writers' Project was exploring the country in search of local stories and this little-known local oddity captured the national imagination.
Although the proposal for Absaroka to become a new state never reached any of the state legislatures involved, a Miss Absaroka beauty pageant was held, and Absaroka license plates were produced. Organizers even claimed that the King of Norway visited the region during his time in Montana. Ranchers and farmers in the area might have supported the proposal, especially given the recent droughts and a lack of federal aid, but with the outbreak of war overseas, their attention quickly shifted to patriotism. By the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the idea of secession and the future of Absaroka had faded completely. If not for this turn of events, visitors to Mount Rushmore might have found themselves in the state of Absaroka instead of South Dakota.
Jefferson
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There have been several attempts over the years to establish a US state named after the Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson, though none have ultimately succeeded. In 1859, a group of miners proposed the Jefferson Territory in western Kansas, which later became the state of Colorado. 2 other Jeffersons were also suggested in Texas on different occasions, while a 4th was proposed in Northern California. However, like the case of the proposed state of Absaroka, these plans for new states were halted after the outbreak of World War II.
Despite the lack of a state bearing Jefferson's name, there are still residents in Northern California and Southern Oregon who continue to hold out hope for the creation of a breakaway state called Jefferson, with Redding as its capital. These supporters have even designed a distinctive Jefferson flag, featuring a gold mining pan on a field of green, with 2 X's on the pan symbolizing their abandonment of their current state affiliations.
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