Sylvan sylvanias--or what's in those woods?

In “Ode on a Grecian Urn” Keats addresses in line 3 the “Sylvan historian” who tells a tale of eternal beauty and truth, truth and beauty. On our recent road trip from Berkeley to Seattle, that “Sylvan historian” magically guided Richard and me on a somewhat unplanned sojourn through beauty and truth. We left Berkeley with the plan to drive north. As we headed to I-5, our Sylvan GPS took over. The first part of our trip went through the sere Sacramento Valley fields. Leaving I-5, on a whim we headed east toward the splendor of the Cascades and Mount Shasta, where our rental car chugged as far up the mountain as the paved road.

Our Sylvan Guide then led us up blue highway 97 to Klamath Falls, Oregon, where we set our sights on visiting another truly gorgeous area, Crater Lake. After Crater Lake, we enjoyed even more superb scenery until we hooked back up with I-5 at Eugene. Just south of Olympia, Washington, I noted a road sign for Millersylvania State Park. The unique combination of “Miller” and “sylvania” intrigued me, as I thought of “Transylvania” and its sinister connotations.

I commented to Richard, the neuroscientist, that I have heard of Pennsylvania and Transylvania, but Millersylvania? His response knocked Ms. Be-Worded off her linguistic pedestal.

“Of course, ‘sylvan’ as in the woods.” 

Fascinated, once home I consulted my “American Heritage Dictionary” which defines “sylvan” in its adjectival form as “relating to or characteristic of woods or forest regions”; “located in or inhabiting a wood or forest”; and “abounding in trees; wooded.” The history of the word goes back to the “Latin Silvānus, god of the woods, from silva, forest.” According to dictionary.com, the –ia suffix provides a word-forming element in names of countries.

Then, I thought of as many “sylvanias” as I could and with the help of a very un-sylvanlike guide, Google, I found out the following information.

Sylvania: towns named “Sylvania” exist in both Ohio and Alabama. Portland (Oregon) Community College has a Sylvania campus. (Too bad I did not stumble upon my interest in “Sylvania” until we had driven past that geographic area.) Sylvania also refers to a line of electronics. I discovered that the television in our kitchen is a Sylvania – which has not yet changed colors and lost its leaves!

Millersylvania:  Millersylvania State Park, south of Olympia, Washington, was once owned, not surprisingly, by the Miller family. The family gave the 842-acres of land to Washington State in 1921. In 1935, the Civilian Conservation Corps built the park. Originally, the parcel went by “Miller’s Glade,” but at some point, someone decided that “Millersylvania” (Miller’s Woods) better suited the place. While the name does catch the eye, it does not exactly roll off the tongue.

Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania, as most school children know, was named after William Penn. King Charles II gave the land to Penn as a land grant. Penn wanted to name the land simply “Sylvania.” However, King Charles overruled him, specifying that the name legally be “Pennsylvania,” Penn’s Woods.

Spotsylvania: You will find Spotsylvania County, not in Pennsylvania, but in nearby Virginia off of I-95. Founded in 1721 and named after Alexander Spotswood, the lieutenant governor, Spotsylvania County hosted four major Civil War battles. Most infamously, Stonewall Jackson died by friendly fire in Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania County. Since “Spotsylvania” means “Spots Woods,” why not just name the county after its namesake?

Transylvania: Perhaps the creepiest of the “sylvanias,” with its associations with vampires and Dracula, the name “Transylvania” is seemingly harmless on the surface. The prefix “trans-,“ in this instance “beyond,” coupled with “sylvania,” gets us “Beyond the Woods.” In terms of fairy tales, such as “Hansel and Gretel” or “Little Red Riding Hood,” going beyond the woods can be quite hazardous.

NOTE: On our road trip, we passed through Weed, California, which Steinbeck mentions in “Of Mice and Men.” I deeply regret not stopping and having Richard take my picture in front of the mural which reads “Welcome to Weed” as a souvenir for all of my former 9^th graders who snickered at the town’s name when we studied that novel.