I did not want my road trip between Atlanta and Las Vegas to be confined primarily to Interstate highways. I figured that I could perhaps do something towards unusual or unique — and that is when I decided that I would be visiting every New York in the United States, as I am originally from the city of New York in the state of New York.
Visiting Every New York In the United States.
After curiously doing some cursory research, I was surprised to find out that seven locations within the United States are named New York, according to geotarget.com — and they can be located with Google Maps. I did not include such places as New York Mills in New York — but then again, I do not know how many cities or towns had the name New York in it with any extra words, names, or letters.
With the exception of Florida and the state of New York, every New York in the United States was visited by me on the same road trip between Atlanta and Las Vegas. They are presented in the order in which I visited them. The photographs are the prominent features in this article, as the text will not have much to say.
Included in each subsection is an interactive map so that you can see the proximity of where each place called New York is located, rather than have me explain it in text.
New York, Kentucky
A portion of Kentucky State Highway 802 is also known as New York Road.
The view in the photograph above is toward east on Kentucky State Highway 286.
The view in the photograph above is Kentucky State Highway 802 north of Kentucky State Highway 286…
…as is this view on the west side of Kentucky State Highway 802 north of Kentucky State Highway 286.
The rotting structure has since been demolished and removed.
The view in the photograph above is toward west on Kentucky State Highway 286.
One commonality between all of the places called New York in this article is that none of them have traffic lights. They all have stop signs at intersections.
Here are a couple more photographs of rural western Kentucky.
New York, Iowa
The view in the photograph above is toward west on Wayne County Road J22 — which starts in New York — as it gracefully ambled over gently rolling hills.
The leaves of trees appear to light up from the setting sun when facing due north on Wayne County Road S43.
Wayne County Road S43 turns 90 degrees in New York to head due east. New York Cemetery is located approximately one mile up the road and on the left.
Sunbeams light up the farmland and the hills of southern Iowa.
The view in the photograph above is toward the northeast. The white sign by the National Resources Conservation Service designates a farmstead windbreak to conserve the soil and water in Iowa.
Before going south on 165th — which is a dirt road that starts in New York — heed these official orange warning traffic signs.
New York, Missouri
A unmarked narrow road called Highway 307 south of Missouri State Supplemental Route U meanders its way over the hills.
This unmarked narrow road is also known as Northeast New York Road.
North of Missouri State Supplemental Route U, the road ceases to be known as Northeast New York Road and becomes Missouri State Supplemental Route B.
The view in the photograph above is toward west on Missouri State Supplemental Route U.
A pair of headlights from a lone vehicle coming from due east shines on a darkening Missouri State Supplemental Route U. New York School is on the left.
Several exterior lights of private homes are illuminated as the night sky darkens.
The sun had just set moments before this photograph was taken.
New York, New Mexico
I must commend the Department of Transportation in New Mexico for erecting one of the most professional highway signs which I have ever seen, as it completely conforms and exactly complies with the official Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices of the Federal Highway Administration of the Department of Transportation of the United States.
The aforementioned sign is seen by motorists who exit on the southwest side of Exit 104 of Interstate 40. Turn left to go to Selma; and turn right to visit New York, which appears at the foot of the hill in the background on the left in the photograph shown above.
This is the bustling corner of Bronx Road and Rainfall Road, with Interstate 40 to the northeast in the background.
New York Loop is another way into New York in New Mexico.
Look carefully and you will see Bronx Road and Interstate 40 in the background of the photograph shown above.
New York, Texas
New York Baptist Church is located at 6106 County Road 4334, which is also known as Henderson County Road.
Ironically, a couple named Davis Reynolds and Catherine Tuggle Reynolds came to Texas from Georgia in 1856 and settled in this area with their children, the families of their children, and their slaves.
I would have thought that the founders of this community would have come from New York and not from Georgia.
Adjacent to New York Baptist Church is New York Cemetery, which was established in the 1870s.
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For additional information, two official historical markers from the Texas Historical Commission were erected: one for New York Baptist Church; and the other for New York Cemetery.
This view of Farm to Market Route 607 — with New York Cemetery on the left — faces south southeast.
This view of Farm to Market Route 607 — with the community of New York itself in the background — faces north northwest.
You can get feed, ice, wire products, antlers, and other items at Reynold’s New York Store, who are likely descendants of Davis Reynolds and Catherine Tuggle Reynolds.
New York, Florida
The photograph above shows New York Street facing west from its eastern terminus at Chumuckla Highway.
New Bethel Baptist Church occupies the southwest corner of New York Street and Chumuckla Highway.
This view is of the northwest corner of New York Street and Chumuckla Highway. Because of all of the New Yorkers who head down to south Florida for the winter, I initially thought that a place called New York would likely be located there and not in the western panhandle of the state.
The sun beams down on Santa Rosa County Highway 197, which is also known as Chumuckla Highway. The view in the photograph shown above is facing southeast.
Santa Rosa County Highway 178 continues as Spanish Trail east of Chumuckla Highway and does not carry the designation of New York Street.
This view from New York Street is of the northeast corner of Chumuckla Highway and Santa Rosa County Highway 178…
…and this view from New York Street is of the southeast corner of Chumuckla Highway and Santa Rosa County Highway 178.
The entire length of New York Street is between Chumuckla Highway to the east and Annie Penton Road to the west.
Further west past Annie Penton Road, New York Street becomes a street called Hooterville Lane, which dead ends into some green acres.
The owner of one private residence on the north side of New York street even went so far as to purchase a sign with New York 5th Ave on it, using one of the official highway typefaces used by governments in the United States.
Manhattan, Kansas
Manhattan in Kansas was actually a bonus stop, as I was driving west along Interstate 70 and saw the signs — so I figured, why not take a spontaneous detour?
From the exit, Manhattan was approximately nine miles north on Kansas State Highway 177.
As I did not expect to stop in Manhattan, I did not research what do to in or near what is also known as The Little Apple beforehand — but apparently the most popular destinations are:
- Flint Hills
- Konza Prairie
Like Hollywood in California, Manhattan in Kansas has a sign in the hills.
I passed by Manhattan Town Center — but the city also has a downtown with older buildings.
New York, New York
This New York is the least known of all of the places named New York that were featured in this article; and very little can be said about this New York, as it is an extremely boring place to be with almost nothing to see or do. Yawn. I will just skip this New York and its five burros or donkeys or whatever they are called.
Final Boarding Call
I really enjoyed visiting every New York in the United States — even if the location was little more than a corner with a street or road with the name New York in it. The trip was like exploring a slice of Americana for me. I am considering doing another trip like this — such as perhaps visiting every Brooklyn in the United States, of which supposedly 22 of them exist.
That would mean a slightly longer road trip — and a slightly longer article as well. I have passed by Brooklyn in Australia while driving on the M1 highway on my way from Sydney to Port Stephens, so I know that Brooklyn exists in other parts of the world — but that would be slightly more difficult to do; and it certainly could not be on the same road trip.
In addition to the ones in Kansas and New York, seven other Manhattans supposedly exist in the United States — as well as three places named Bronx and two places named Queens.
What do you think? Would you be interested in reading about another road trip with a series of photographs that is similar to this article?
All photographs ©2017, ©2020, and ©2022 by Brian Cohen.
