What US state do you feel has the most interesting and diverse history?

46 comments

  1. Not sure how we’re defining diverse but South Carolina was the first to secede from the Union but also the first to declare independence from England. Charleston has the second largest historical district in the world behind Rome.

  2. It’s history since the 1840s has been pretty boring, but before that Texas is fairly interesting. It’s been a part of (or the entirety of) 6 different nations as a single polity. That’s where the name of the amusement park 6 Flags comes from: the 6 different national flags which have flown over Texas: Spain, France, Mexico, Texas, USA, and CSA.

  3. Hawaii. Each island had their own leader before they were unified under a single monarch by war. Imagine a Polynesian version of King Arthur, but way cooler, more badass, and actually real. Fascinating history, especially when it comes to their religious beliefs and mythology. They have completely unique stories not found in any other culture.

  4. To me, it’s probably one of the states which was either:

    A: settled first (so a New England state)

    or

    B: a state with well-documented pre-settlement history, because Native history is fascinating and also an important part of local culture.

    If a state has history in both of these ways, you might have 700+ years worth of records.

  6. My home state of New Mexico is home to dozens of Native American communities who settled this land thousands of years ago. We still have ancient cliff dwellings and modern communities today. The Spanish settlement of this area began in 1598 and many communities, missions, cathedrals from that period are still around.

    Different faith communities and ethnic groups have settled this area for centuries, and our state includes oil fields, high plains, desert, mountains, forests, etc. it’s super diverse in both its human and natural landscape.

  7. Probably Texas, California, and Hawaii. Both Texas and Hawaii were independent nations before joining the union. California and I believe either New Hampshire or Vermont also very briefly declared independence.

    Virginia also has a rich colonial history and played a big role during the civil war.

    Utah also has a very unique history starting with the Mormon trail.

  8. I’m biased but Colorado’s is pretty interesting. There’s a ton of ancient settlements here, lots of natural history to enjoy, and there’s some interesting recent history sites like Rocky Flatts or the decommissioned missile silos.

  10. I find my own state’s history interesting, partly because I know so much about it. For states that I know less about, but seem to have an interesting history, I would say New Mexico, Texas, Alaska, and Hawaii.

  11. California is my most interesting (even though my relatives were in Mass since 1620)

    From the precolonial days, the Spanish, and then imagining the most glamous city in the country being accessible only by months long boat trips, by a ship’s journey, interrupted by a hike through guatemala or Panama and then completed with another sea voyage, or a wild trek over the rockies is enough to make it the most interesting to me.

    And if you want diverse it’s hard to get much more diverse than California in the 1850s.

    Spanish rule, Mexican rule, gold rush days, wild west, the earthquake, early Hollywood, Gay history, it has a lot of fascinating aspects.

    (I’m reading Gotham about NYCs history from before it was New Amsterdam and I have to say, that city alone might qualify for your question. So many aspects like different tribes on in the different boroughs battling and wars with the Dutch and it’s revolutionary history to the incredibly post revolutionary history.

    I’d say NYC alone rivals any state when it comes to history.

  13. That is difficult to answer because there is so much diversity in terms of geography, actual history, people, lifestyle, etc. If you’re thinking diversity of people, I’d say N.Y., N.Y. .

  15. Honestly, most of them are pretty interesting and diverse when you dig into it. You can find some pretty crazy stuff almost anywhere. Like North Dakota & Minnesota had a farmer socialist party in charge for a while in the 30s, and Montana had a literal race to Washington DC (who could get there first, not election) for a Senate seat.

    Washington & Utah are pretty fascinating too just from their unique circumstances.

    And that’s setting aside all of the obvious ones like California, Texas, New York, Louisiana, New Mexico, Massachusetts or Pennsylvania.

  18. Virginia, Louisiana, Texas, California, Hawaii and Alaska. They all have a very interesting history; personal interests might bump any one over the others.

  19. No one said New York yet? Massachusetts?

    No slam to other states, but New York is home to the oldest continually inhabited new world city. We tend to think of native Americans in terms of the plain’s tribes (…and those that were forced there) but Europeans were negotiating and making treaties with the likes of the Iroquois nation for very long time. The inspiration of the relationship between the states and the federal government was heavily influenced by the nations of the Iroquois. We have written history and an understanding of the languages of those peoples because Europeans spent so much time mixing with them.

    Over the years New York has been home to Native Americans, Dutch, French, English, Chinese, Irish, German, Italian, Black southerners (as a result of the great migration north), Chinese, and Puerto Rican migrations. I am sure I am missing a few. That is darned diverse and historical.

  20. I think West Virginia has a really interesting history since its admittance, starting with its own secession from Virginia and including its labor wars in the following decades.

  22. Virginia. First one colonized (Jamestown), one of the original 13 states, home of many early Presidents, then there’s the whole Civil War history.

  23. I think New Mexico has to be up there. The oldest evidence of humans in North America was found in New Mexico dating almost 40,000 years ago.

    There are ruins here, like Gila Cliff Dwellings, Bandelier, and Chaco Canyon, that came and were abandoned before the Spanish even got there.

    Some of the longest inhabited communities are here. Taos Pueblo has had people continuously living there for over 1000 years. Acoma has been inhabited for almost 1000 years.

    Along with the many native cultures, it was then a part of Spain, then briefly Mexico, then the US. Santa Fe was the endpoint of El Camino Real and the Santa Fe Trail which facilitated trade between the US and Mexico. For a while, the Santa Fe Railroad was the only train route connecting California and the West with the East.

    It was a part of Route 66 which has been a big part of American culture even today, and helped facilitate migration out West in the early-mid 1900s.

    New Mexico has also been a hub for science. It was a major part of the Manhattan Project, and was the site of the first ever detonation of an atomic bomb. Los Alamos and Sandia National Labs are both still very important DOE labs.

    I think there’s definitely a case to be made that it’s one of the more diverse and interesting histories, along with other parts of the Southwest, California, Texas, Hawaii, etc.

  28. Louisiana

    – Native American Tribes; French, Acadians, Civil War, etc, etc, etc. The mouth of the Mississippi has been the central point of a lot of history.

  30. Going to be copying much of this info from Wikipedia but just wanted to get the story right:

    I’m not going to say that Kansas gets the #1 spot by any means, but the story of Bleeding Kansas is pretty interesting – we had a state-level civil war over the legality of slavery, beginning with the organization of the Kansas territory in 1854.

    Slaveowners from Missouri migrated to the Kansas territory in an attempt to secure its admission to the Union as a slave state, but this was motivation for Northern abolitionist movements to move into the Kansas territory in order to prevent the success of the slaveowners. There were 56 confirmed political killings, and it’s believed that number could be as high as 200!

    It is now seen as a prelude to the American Civil War.

  31. I think Louisiania has a pretty interesting and unusual history compared to many other states. It was controlled by France, Spain, and the US at different points, and its geostrategic importance has made it a pretty vital part of the national landscape. Lots of african, french, spanish, english, and carribean influences in New Orleans.

  35. Definitely not mine, but I would say New Mexico, Texas, California, or one of the 13 originals

  37. New Mexico, one of the oldest settled areas in the US (Chaco Canyon) a full of a history of rebellion of native Americans, defeating a Texas invasion and that was before statehood!

  40. I mean PA has entire towns devoted to history like Gettysburg or otherwise historic locations with rich history and museums from pre-colonial (like with the cave systems that native Americans used), to revolutionary era, like Philly. To the industrial era with Pittsburgh.

    If you like American history you cant go wrong here. And DC is a short drive for even more history.

  41. Texas’s revolution had a profound cultural effect that I don’t think any state shares other than Hawaii, and even then it’s different. Texas remembers it’s revolution in the entire cultural identity of the state. Everyone remembers the Alamo and even non Texans can tell you what it was. It led to a wave of patriotism around being Texan that still stands to this day. It’s in advertisements, it’s in brands, Texas has had unique music, fashion, and attitudes. Perhaps it’s lost some of its cultural prestige and luster in the last decade, but the Texas revolution was a cultural victory as much as it was a physical one! There’s no other state that has the audacity to fly their flag higher than the American one.

  42. I know Ohio gets a lot of meme hate but it should garner more respect. Most presidents, invented flight, won the Civil War(Grant, Sherman, Stanton), a ton of astronauts, manufactured us to victory in two world wars, and set a river on fire.

  43. North Carolina is home to the first English settlement and one of the oldest American mysteries in the Lost Colony, it has some of the most varied geography of any state, is where Venus fly traps are from, along with Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Texas Pete hot sauce, Nina Simone and Michael Jordan. It’s home to one of the countries best higher ed systems, and has some of the best college basketball and baseball in the country. The Appalachian Trail runs through the western part of the state, which also has the highest peak east of the Mississippi. NC contributed a ton of soldiers to both sides of the civil war, had a nuclear bomb dropped on it during WW2 (lol) and it’s is the home to the first airplane flight in history and best BBQ in the country. NC has some of the best golf in the country, and you could theoretically ski and surf in the same day if you woke up really early and didn’t mind a long ass drive and a cold swim. One of NC’s eastern counties has the highest black bear concentration in the US, and it grows like 70% of the US’s sweet potato supply.

    Can’t think of any other fun facts off the top but that seems pretty solid.

  44. Definitely one that has changed hands between various colonial powers in its history; California, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida all stand out as having many more interesting chapters in their history compared to most states

  45. I would say Hawaii for sure. But right now, Nevada is holding the record for Oldest Human Mummy in the world, a Native American was found in Fallon in the 1940s, called the Spirit Cave Mummy. It’s nearly 10,000 years old. The Egyptian mummies are less than half that. This Mummy really threw a lot of scientists and anthropologists for a loop, but Radiocarbon dating and DNA analysis proved its age and that it is related to Native American ancestors of the area. This person would have died around 7400 B.C.!!!!

    In some Native American cultures like this one, caves are seen as entrances to the Underworld. The conditions in the cave sometimes allows for mummification which is what happened here. The remains were given back to the care of the appropriate Native American tribe of their descendants for a new funeral and reburial in a safe place. A surprisingly wholesome end for a person who was disturbed in their rest and their resting place turned into a kitschy tourist attraction for many years.

  46. Interesting is subjective. But as far as diverse, I’d have to say New York.

    It was the gateway for millions of immigrants for decades. And New York City has long been, arguably, the most cosmopolitan city in the world. It is also [inarguably](https://www.mapsofworld.com/answers/world/city-speaks-languages/#) the most linguistically diverse city in the world. Its history goes all the way back to before the founding of the country. And you can (unwittingly) encounter millionaires traveling the subway alongside homeless people and everyone in between.

    The state also has the typical urban/rural diversity and has an international border.

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