New England Street Names
Just a few of Bath’s street names. Notice any patterns?
New England Street Names
Bath, Maine is home to the iconic corner “Front and Centre” - but what else?
A tour participant recently asked why all the same street names pop up in all New England towns. The Greenwich Historical Society says there are 12 categories of street names, like: states, buildings, nature, and the catch-all, random. (I love categories!) How many of the 12 do you see represented in the photo collage of Bath street signs pictured above?
This write up about Bath on Maine’s Memory Network, by (Bath historians) Peter Goodwin and Robin A.S. Haynes, offers a detailed overview of the development and evolution of some of the streets in Bath’s downtown.
In researching and clicking around, I also found the following sources interesting, about all U.S. streets, not just those in New England. Learn about different regional trends for example, there are more Magnolia Streets in the south (surprise!):
Most Common Street Names, National League of Cities (The #1 most common street name? Bath doesn’t have it.)
We Counted Literally Every Road in America. Here’s What We Learned. The Washington Post, 3/6/15
