West North Carolina... or Griffith

Are you ready for the new state of West North Carolina? Yesterday Ashville Citizen-Times columnist John Boyle officially launched the movement to make a new state from counties in western North Carolina. His reasons are the usual stuff—people in the faraway capital just don't seem to care about the hinterlands. Boyle waxed eloquently, "I say we yearn to be free, to shuck the yoke of oppression that Raleigh has kept clamped on our necks for two centuries." That's all fine and good, but here at Lost States, we say you don't have a movement until you have a map! So we took Boyle's description and made one (above). Boyle's next hurdle, (as regular readers know) is to come up with a catchy name. "West North Carolina" is a mouthful. He could take inspiration from the nearby State of Franklin proposal that almost succeeded 200+ years ago, just across the border from Asheville (in what is now Tennessee). Last time I checked, we still don't have a state named "Franklin," so that could work.  Or if the new state really wants to get attention, they should honor the region's most-famous son: Andy Griffith. The 51st state of "Griffith"...now there's an idea that will get attention.