The terms podunk and Podunk Hollow in American English denote or describe an insignificant, out-of-the-way, or even completely fictitious town. [1] These terms are often used in the upper case as a placeholder name, to indicate "insignificance" and "lack of importance". [2]
The word podunk is of Algonquian origin. It denoted both the Podunk people and marshy locations, particularly the people's winter village site on the border of present-day East Hartford and South Windsor, Connecticut. [1] [2] [3] Podunk was first defined in an American national dictionary in 1934, as an imaginary small town considered typical of placid dullness and lack of contact with the progress of the world. [4]
The earliest citation in the Dictionary of American Regional English is from Samuel Griswold Goodrich's 1840 book The Politician of Podunk:
Solomon Waxtend was a shoemaker of Podunk, a small village of New York some forty years ago.
The book portrays Waxtend as being drawn by his interest in public affairs into becoming a representative in the General Assembly, finding himself unsuited to the role, and returning to his trade. [5] It is unclear whether the author intended to evoke more than the place near Ulysses, New York by the name "Podunk". Possibly the term was meant to exemplify "plain, honest people", as opposed to more sophisticated people with questionable values. An 1875 description said:
Sometimes the newest State, or the youngest county or town of a State is nicknamed "Old Podunk," or whatever it may be, by its affectionate inhabitants, as though their home was an ancient figure in national history. [6]
In American discourse, the term podunk came into general colloquial use through the wide national readership of the "Letters from Podunk" of 1846, in the Daily National Pilot of Buffalo, New York. These represented "Podunk" as a real place but one insignificant and out of the way. [7] The term gained currency as standing for a fictional place. For instance, in 1869, Mark Twain wrote the article "Mr. Beecher and the Clergy," defending his friend Thomas K. Beecher, whose preaching had come under criticism. In it, he said:
They even know it in Podunk, wherever that may be. It excited a two-line paragraph there.
At the time, he was living in Buffalo, moving to Hartford, Connecticut in 1871, in a home within 4 miles (6.4 km) of the Podunk River. Elmira, where Twain had lived earlier, is within 30 miles (48 km) of Podunk, New York, so it is not clear to which village Twain was referring.
The United States Board on Geographic Names lists places named "Podunk":
Other areas known as Podunk include:
Allegany County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,456. Its county seat is Belmont. Its name derives from a Lenape word, applied by European-American settlers of Western New York State to a trail that followed the Allegheny River; they also named the county after this. The county is part of the Western New York region of the state.
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 census. Hartford is the most populous city in the Capitol Planning Region and the core city of the Greater Hartford metropolitan area.
The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts, that evolved into one of the first major highways in the United States.
Enfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, first settled by John and Robert Pease of Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 42,141 at the 2020 census. It is bordered by Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, to the north, Somers to the east, East Windsor and Ellington to the south, and the Connecticut River to the west.
Manchester is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. As of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 59,713. The urban center of the town is the Manchester census-designated place, with a population of 36,379 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Manchester, in England.
Marlborough is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It contains the census-designated place (CDP) of Terramuggus. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The town's population was 6,133 at the 2020 census. Marlborough is a suburban and rural community. The local high school is RHAM High School. In 2013, Marlborough ranked third in Connecticut Magazine's biannual ranking of Connecticut small towns. Educationally, RHAM High School, which serves Marlborough, Hebron, and Andover students, is one of the top-ranked regional high schools in the state on the SAT in 2017, and 11th highest-performing school in the state on the test. The town is home to Elmer Theines-Mary Hall elementary school which serves Pre-K through 6th grade. The school scores above state average on standardized testing and student progress.
Colchester is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 15,555 at the 2020 census. In 2010 Colchester became the first town in Connecticut, and the 36th in the country, to be certified with the National Wildlife Federation as a Community Wildlife Habitat.
Rushford is a town in Allegany County, New York, United States. The population was 1,085 at the 2020 census. Rushford is in the northwest part of Allegany County and is northeast of Olean.
East Hartford is a town in the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, United States. The population was 51,045 at the 2020 census. The town is located on the east bank of the Connecticut River, directly across from Hartford. It is home to aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney. It is also home to Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field, a stadium used mainly for soccer and football with a capacity of 40,000 people.
Cuba is a town on the western border of Allegany County, New York, United States. The village of Cuba lies within its borders. The federally recognized tribe of Seneca Native Americans has a reservation on the western town line. As of the 2020 Census, the total population was 3,154.
Area codes 203 and 475 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The numbering plan area (NPA) is mostly coextensive with the Connecticut portion of the New York metropolitan area, and comprises most of Fairfield County, all of New Haven County, and a small portion of Litchfield County.
Route 25 is a 28.59-mile (46.01 km), primary state highway connecting the city of Bridgeport and the town of Brookfield in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Route 25 is a six-lane freeway from Bridgeport to northern Trumbull and a two-lane surface road the rest of the way to Brookfield.
The Park River is a tributary of the Connecticut River in Hartford, Connecticut. It was officially named the Park River in 1892 after Bushnell Park, through which it flowed in downtown Hartford. A local newspaper had advocated for that name rather than the “’Hog River’” name which was then in use. Between 1940 and the 1980s, the 2.3-mile (3.7 km) river was buried by the Army Corps of Engineers to prevent the spring floods regularly caused by increased surface runoff from urban development.
Griswold Airport was a public airport located three nautical miles (6 km) east of the central business district of Madison, a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. It was privately owned by Griswold Airport, Inc. The airport has been closed since the beginning of 2007.
The Podunk Bluegrass Festival is a bluegrass festival established in 1996 and taking place in August each year in Connecticut, United States. The festival features local, regional, and national bluegrass musicians. Besides four days of music on the main stage, the festival hosts band and songwriting competitions, a kid's bluegrass academy, workshops with headlining bands, and separate picking and quiet camping areas.
Podunk is a term used in the United States to represent an insignificant place.
Interstate 84 (I-84) is an east–west Interstate Highway across the state of Connecticut through Danbury, Waterbury, Hartford, and Union.
Rushford is a census-designated place comprising the central settlement in the town of Rushford, Allegany County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 363, out of a total population of 1,150 in the town.
The 2020 United States presidential election in Connecticut was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Connecticut voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, incumbent President Donald Trump, and running mate Vice President Mike Pence against Democratic Party nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his running mate California Senator Kamala Harris. Connecticut has seven electoral votes in the Electoral College.
The Podunk River is a stream in Hartford County, Connecticut. It is a tributary to the Connecticut River.
politician of podunk.
