Lost States: True Stories of Texlahoma, Transylvania, and Other States That Never Made It

Everyone knows the fifty nifty united states—but what about the hundreds of other statehood proposals that never came to pass? Lost States is a tribute to such great unrealized dreams as West Florida, Texlahoma, Montezuma, Rough and Ready, and Yazoo. Some of these states came remarkably close to joining the Union. Others never had a chance. Many are still trying. Consider:

 

     •  Frontier legend Daniel Boone once proposed a state of Transylvania in the Appalachian

        wilderness (his plan was resurrected a few years later with the new name of Kentucky).

     •  Residents of bucolic South Jersey wanted to secede from their urban north Jersey

        neighbors and form the fifty-first state.

     •  The Gold Rush territory of Nataqua could have made a fine state—but since no women

         were willing to live there, the settlers gave up and joined California.

 

Each story offers a fascinating glimpse at the nation we might have become—along with plenty of absurd characters, bureaucratic red tape, and political gamesmanship. Accompanying these tales are beautifully rendered maps detailing the proposed state boundaries, plus images of real-life artifacts and ephemera. Welcome to the world of Lost States!

"Lost States" is a tribute to such great unrealized states as West Florida, Rough and Ready, and other statehood proposals that never worked out. Full-color maps detail how these states' boundaries might have looked.

Everyone knows the fifty winners but what about the hundreds of other statehood proposals that never worked out? Lost States is a tribute to such great unrealized states as West Florida, South California, Half-Breed Tracts, Rough and Ready, and others. History buffs will be entertained and enlightened by these bizarre-but-true stories:

Frontier legend Daniel Boone once proposed a state of Transylvania on the borders of Indiana and Illinois. (His plan was resurrected a few years later with the new name of Kentucky.)

Residents of bucolic South Jersey wanted to secede from their filthy north Jersey neighbors and form their own union.

The Gold Rush territory of Nataqua could have made a fine state but since no women were willing to live there, they had to settle for being part of California.

Accompanying the stories are beautiful full-color original maps detailing how these states' boundaries might have looked, along with images of real-life artifacts and ephemera. Lost States is a quirky reference book for history buffs, geography geeks, and anyone who enjoys lush, fascinating cartography.

Michael J. Trinklein wrote and produced the Emmy-nominated PBS documentary Pioneers of Television (2008), as well as The Gold Rush (1998) and The Oregon Trail (1993). His work has been consistently praised in the national media, including USA Today, Washington Post, Parade, Chicago Tribune, and the New York Times. He lives in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.