Holy Geography, Batman

Mar 1 18:51 UTC 2006

On February 27th, the King County county council voted to change the county
logo from a crown to a likeness of MLK, Jr.  Their primary motivator was that
Washington State's flag uses a likeness of George Washington and the City of
Seattle uses a likeness of Chief Seattle.  MLK Jr. was a great civil rights
icon and remains so to this day but he was also a minister.  I asked my friend
in San Diego how he felt about that fact and if it would be an ACLU target.
He said "Hey...half my state is named after Catholic saints and the state
capital means "Holy Sacrament"(Sacramento.)

response 2 of 19:

Mar 1 19:05 UTC 2006

What other cities, counties or states have logos/seals depicting a person 
from the past century after whom the city, county or state is not named?

From the Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History:

"King County was originally named in 1852 for William Rufus DeVane King, a 
Southern slave owner and America's shortest-lived Vice President. More 
than a century later, County Councilmembers Ron Sims and Bruce Laing 
argued that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would make a better 
eponym. Their colleagues agreed on February 24, 1986."

Looks like a little rewriting of history.....