The origin of the term Empire State is steeped in obscurity.
George Washington referred to New York as "the seat of empire" in a letter
to New York City Mayor James Duane on April 10, 1785.  Some historians
claim that the term was inuse by 1819, but there is no specific evidence
for this.  The term was certainly in use by the time the Erie Canal was
completed and gained much wider currency in the years after the Civil War.
        Perhaps the best answer and the explanation of why there is no
better answer was provided by Paul Eldridge in a book title CROWN OF
EMPIRE: THE STORY OF NEW YORK STATE (New York, l957): "Who was the merry
wag who crowned the State [as the Empire State?]  New York should
certainly raise a monument to his memory, but he made his grandious
gesture and vanished forever."
        (This is about the same kind of question as how New York City came
to be known as the Big Apple.
There is no easy answer.)


Milton M. Klein                       |   phone: (423) 974-2806
University of Tennessee, Knoxville    |   email: [log in to unmask]



On Sat, 30 May 1998, Marcos Paz wrote:

> i am a student in new mexico learning about new york history.
> can anyone tell me why new york is called "The Empire State".
>
> thanks
> marcos paz.
>