If you travel around the United States, you will find a lot of places with common names. One of these names is Owego. There is a Oswego, New York, Lake Oswego in Oregon, Oswego, Kansas, an Oswego Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia.

Who or what was Oswego?

The other strange name I have seen a few times is Gelena.

There is the Gelena Trail in New Denver, BC. and I believe there used to be a town north of Pittsburgh called Galena during the oil boom. I think the family were oil tycoons of the day but is it is the same family, you have to wonder how they had such an impact way out north west.

 

Native Americans - Osage Nation
Oswego is located on the site of an Osage village called No tse Wa spe, which means "Heart Stays" or more loosely translated, "Quiet Heart.

 

Native Americans - Osage Nation
Oswego is located on the site of an Osage village called No tse Wa spe, which means "Heart Stays" or more loosely translated, "Quiet Heart.

That explains Oswego, KS. What about New York (looks like that tribe never to the New York region but was invaded from there) and Lake Oswego in Oregon? Oswego, New York was originally Ft. Oswego. Don't know if the British would have named a fort after a tribe.

The Oswego Hotel in Victoria, BC?

 

Once a name is used anywhere, it becomes a target of being lifted by anyone from anywhere that likes it. Not too surprising that someone in Victoria, BC that is aware that Oswego means "Heart Stays" might get the notion to name their new hotel after it and possibly even build up a brand around it. We have all kinds of restaurants, hotels, and businesses that are named using words from some African tribe that never had any presence of any kind anywhere near here.

 

The other strange name I have seen a few times is Gelena.

Galena is an extremely widespread mineral and the most common ore material for lead. The mineral is also rather pretty and the word has a generally pleasing sound to it, so not surprising at all that lots of places would use it as a name.

Galena is also an important ore for silver and it is a semi-conductor. The original "cats whisker" diodes were often made using galena crystals.

 

Once a name is used anywhere, it becomes a target of being lifted by anyone from anywhere that likes it. Not too surprising that someone in Victoria, BC that is aware that Oswego means "Heart Stays" might get the notion to name their new hotel after it and possibly even build up a brand around it. We have all kinds of restaurants, hotels, and businesses that are named using words from some African tribe that never had any presence of any kind anywhere near here.

Fort Oswego was likely in existence long before Oswego, KS.

Fort Oswego 1727
Looks like Oswego, KS was established around the 1800s. Which gets its name from the Native Americans in the region!

 

Galena is an extremely widespread mineral and the most common ore material for lead. The mineral is also rather pretty and the word has a generally pleasing sound to it, so not surprising at all that lots of places would use it as a name.

Galena is also an important ore for silver and it is a semi-conductor. The original "cats whisker" diodes were often made using galena crystals.

Yes! That is where I heard it before. And the Galena Trail in New Denver is right near an old silver mine.



And there was Galena Oil company here is Pennsylvania. I wonder if they got their start in silver?

 

Yes! That is where I heard it before. And the Galena Trail in New Denver is right near an old silver mine.

View attachment 130289

And there was Galena Oil company here is Pennsylvania. I wonder if they got their start in silver?

Nope, lead sulfide (galena) was a lubricant additive for gear oil around 1900. Now mostly replaced by molybdenum sulfide for heavy duty service and oregano-zinc sulfur compounds for lower priced and less demanding applications.

Then came the whole "anti-knock" tetra-ethyl lead era for "leaded" gasoline - I think that started in the 1920s (and only stopped completely in the 1990s according to a friend in the industry - for certain high-compression military engines.

 

Nope, lead sulfide (galena) was a lubricant additive for gear oil around 1900. Now mostly replaced by molybdenum sulfide for heavy duty service and oregano-zinc sulfur compounds for lower priced and less demanding applications.

Then cam the whole "anti-knock" tetra-ethyl lead era for "leaded" gasoline - I think that started in the 1920s.

Also, the lead acid battery was already known by 1860 or so for special applications (mainly scientific research).

Most important, lead oxide (from galena) was a paint additive (whitener) to make it opaque to lower layers but bright white and possible to mill into a super fine particle that reflects light (now replaced by Titanium dioxide).

 

Lead Oxide also used in machining and press operations until around 1980.
Max.

 

Lead Oxide also used in machining and press operations until around 1980.
Max.

And lead type in printing. Lead in plumbing, lead in solder...

And the old phrase, "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink". (Got ya!).

 

Lead in plumbing,
.

Plumber from the French Plomb element Pb - Lead!
Max.

 

There’s both an Oswego and Galena in Illinois. The latter is better known, and was the home of U. S. Grant.

 

Nope, lead sulfide (galena) was a lubricant additive for gear oil around 1900. Now mostly replaced by molybdenum sulfide for heavy duty service and oregano-zinc sulfur compounds for lower priced and less demanding applications.

Then came the whole "anti-knock" tetra-ethyl lead era for "leaded" gasoline - I think that started in the 1920s (and only stopped completely in the 1990s according to a friend in the industry - for certain high-compression military engines.

It hasn't quite stopped. Aviation gasoline (100LL or 100 octane Low Lead) is still the dominant fuel used by piston-engine aircraft and is the only remaining leaded transportation fuel in the U.S.. While 100LL has less lead than earlier fuels, it has more lead than automotive gasoline ever dreamed of having. No safe alternative has been found, but they are very actively looking. There's an initiative whose goal is to identify a suitable lead-free avgas by 2018, but I wouldn't hold my breath (unless you too close to an aviation engine, of course).

 

It hasn't quite stopped. Aviation gasoline (100LL or 100 octane Low Lead) is still the dominant fuel used by piston-engine aircraft and is the only remaining leaded transportation fuel in the U.S.. While 100LL has less lead than earlier fuels, it has more lead than automotive gasoline ever dreamed of having. No safe alternative has been found, but they are very actively looking. There's an initiative whose goal is to identify a suitable lead-free avgas by 2018, but I wouldn't hold my breath (unless you too close to an aviation engine, of course).

DuPont (now known as Chemours) just shut down their sodium metal plant in Niagara Falls, NY with some permission from the US military because sodium was a raw material to make tetraethyl lead (TEL). Without US-made sodium metal, they must either be importing the Sodium (France or China) or importing the finished TEL. Either way, not a good supply chain for the US military.

 

If you travel around the United States, you will find a lot of places with common names. One of these names is Owego. There is a Oswego, New York, Lake Oswego in Oregon, Oswego, Kansas, an Oswego Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia.

Who or what was Oswego?

The other strange name I have seen a few times is Gelena.

There is the Gelena Trail in New Denver, BC. and I believe there used to be a town north of Pittsburgh called Galena during the oil boom. I think the family were oil tycoons of the day but is it is the same family, you have to wonder how they had such an impact way out north west.


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View attachment 130287

@spinnaker

I think you get the "Random-Question-of-the-Day Award"

 

DuPont (now known as Chemours) ...

Chemours, a Dupont spinoff... would be a better way to say that. My wife is a Dupont employee and you raised my eyebrow when you suggested that Dupont is now under a different name. It's not, of course.

 

Chemours, a Dupont spinoff... would be a better way to say that.

The sodium plant, formerly DuPont, was spun off as Chemours. Chemours closed the sodium plant

My wife is a Dupont employee and you raised my eyebrow when you suggested that Dupont is now under a different name. It's not, of course.

Not yet. It will be under a new name by the end of August. Dow.
.

 

It will be under a new name by the end of August. Dow.
.

DowDupont