Duplicative college town/city names

Below is my list of duplicative (or repetitive) college city and town names.  I was actually surprised how many there are, but the list is likely incomplete. If you know of any additions, please feel free to pass them along.

One obvious historical trend is that collegiate communities in the United States have been named for well-known collegiate communities in the United Kingdom. Cambridge, Durham, and Oxford being the best examples. This makes sense as much of the United States was first settled by emigrants from Great Britain. In addition, when a place becomes a respected center of higher education, imitation is not only the sincerest form of flattery, but also an excellent way associate/brand a younger community as a similar place of knowledge and learning.

  • Ashland, Ohio (Ashland University) and Ashland, Oregon (Southern Oregon University)
  • Athens, Georgia (University of Georgia); Athens, Greece (National University of Athens); Athens, Ohio (Ohio University); and Athens, West Virginia (Concord University)
  • Bangor, England (University of Bangor) and Bangor, Maine (Husson University)
  • Bloomington-Normal, Illinois (Illinois State University) and Bloomington, Indiana (Indiana University)
  • Bowling Green, Kentucky (Western Kentucky University) and Bowling Green, Ohio (Bowling Green State University)
  • Cambridge, England (University of Cambridge) and Cambridge, Massachusetts (Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
  • Columbia, Missouri (University of Missouri) and Columbia, South Carolina (University of South Carolina)
  • Columbus, Georgia (Columbus State University); Columbus Mississippi (Mississippi University for Women); and Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State University and Capital University)
  • Durham, England (University of Durham); Durham, New Hampshire (University of New Hampshire); and Durham, North Carolina (Duke University and North Carolina Central University)
  • Fayetteville, Arkansas (University of Arkansas); Fayette, Iowa (Upper Iowa University); Fayette, Missouri (Central Methodist University); and Fayetteville, North Carolina (Fayetteville State University)
  • Florence, Alabama (University of North Alabama) and Florence, South Carolina (Francis Marion University)
  • Hanover, Indiana (Hanover College) and Hanover, New Hampshire (Dartmouth College)
  • Kingston upon Hull, England (University of Hull and University of Lincoln); Kingston, Ontario (Queen’s College); and Kingston, Rhode Island (University of Rhode Island)
  • Lexington, Kentucky (University of Kentucky and Transylvania University) and Lexington, Virginia (Virginia Military Institute and Washington and Lee University)
  • London, England (numerous colleges) and London, Ontario (University of Western Ontario)
  • Madison, South Dakota (Dakota State University) and Madison, Wisconsin (University of Wisconsin)
  • Moscow, Idaho (University of Idaho) and Moscow, Russia (numerous colleges)
  • Oxford, England (University of Oxford); Oxford, Mississippi (University of Mississippi); and Oxford, Ohio (Miami of Ohio)
  • Pittsburg, Kansas (Pittsburg State University) and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, and Carnegie-Mellon)
  • Richmond, Indiana (Earlham College); Richmond, Kentucky (Eastern Kentucky University); and Richmond, Virginia (University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University)
  • West Lafayette, Indiana (Purdue University) and Lafayette, Louisiana (Louisiana-Lafayette)
  • Williamsburg, Kentucky (University of the Cumberlands) and Williamsburg, Virginia (College of William and Mary)

Sources: Personal knowledge and en.wikipedia.org

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4 Responses to Duplicative college town/city names

  1. Ron Melin says:

    Stretching it a little to the “county” level
    Humboldt County Ca., HUMBOLDT STATE UNIVERSITY, Humboldt Saskatchewan, Carlton Trail Regional College

    Like

  2. Georg Urban says:

    Bangor is not in England, it’s in Wales.

    Like

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