Is There a Town Named Mianus?
Is There a Town Named Mianus?
Somewhere I read or heard about a town named ‘Mianus.’ I am not putting you on. Mianus is the name of the town.
‘I don’t believe it!' was my first thought. So I checked my faithful Giggle, I mean, Google, and learned it is true!
There IS a community named Mianus in the town of Greenwich, Connecticut.
Here is how Mianus got its name. The area and its river are named after Mayn Myannos, the Native American chief of the Siwanoy tribe, a band of Algonquian-speaking people.
Back in 1640, the Siwanoys sold the area they inhabited which is now known as Greenwich to the first English settlers. The price? Lots of wampum.
Note: Wampum was used as money in trading with these new white settlers. Wampum beads were usually ¼ inch long cylinders, with a hole drilled lengthwise to form a tube.
The beads came in two colors: white ones made from a large sea snail called a whelk, and dark purple ones from the quahog – a prized saltwater clam.
Back to Mianus. This community is located in a beautiful river valley at the mouth of Mianus River, a tributary of Long Island Sound.
You can reach Mianus via Interstate Highway 95 by taking Mianus River Bridge which spans Mianus River.
And there are beautiful homes for sale on Mianus Drive and Mianus Road. The children there attend Mianus Elementary School.
This community was featured on the MTV television show, “Jackass,” so the star, actor, Johnny Knoxville, could make several jokes about the town, and ask foolish questions like: “How do you get to Mianus?”
But the joke is on Johnny. The correct pronunciation of Mianus is ‘my-ann-is.’ (laughing)
© Copyright BJ Rakow, Ph.D. 2015. All rights reserved. Author, "Much of What You Know about Job Search Just Ain't So."