When South New Jersey Wanted To Become Its Own State
Today in 1980, six counties in southern New Jersey voted on whether they should strike out on their own and become a separate state of South Jersey. And five of those counties actually voted yes!
There Was A Movement To Make Sicily Part Of The US
On this day in 1943, an interesting headline in the New York Times: “Sicily Vying With Hawaii To Become 49th U.S. State.”
Instead Of West Virginia, The US Could Have Had The State Of Westsylvania
Today in 1863, West Virginia became a state - though back in the 18th Century, there were several efforts to meld this land with parts of Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Maryland and create an entirely different entity called Vandalia or Westsylvania.
There Was Almost A State Called Franklin In Eastern Tennessee
It's a complicated story, but part of what is now eastern Tennessee was once part of western North Carolina - and today in 1784, they tried to break away and form their own state, called Franklin.
The US Almost Had A 49th State Called Absaroka
In 1939 some ranchers in the West proposed taking parts out of Wyoming, South Dakota and Montana and creating a new state, called Absaroka. It never won approval from Congress but it did have its own license plates and beauty pageant.