What are some US city names that contain a hyphen or an apostrophe or any other special character?

Answer 1

• Winston-Salem, NC

• Wilkes-Barre, Pa

• Fuquay-Varina, NC

• Sedro-Woolley, WA

• Coeur d'Alene, ID
• Dover-Foxcroft, ME
• O'Fallon, IL
• Apparently more than one city with the same name can exist within a state such as Albion, NY This may have implications where the county in parentheses may appear in the name. This information needs verification.
• Abbreviations as the most common spelling and perhaps even the legal name can appear in city names which results in a period being used:
  • Sault Ste. Marie, ON
  • St. Charles, IL

Answer 2

The Domestic Names Committee of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names doesn't like apostrophes. There are now only five place names in the whole of the US that use the possessive apostrophe.

• Martha’s Vineyard, MA
• Ike’s Point, NJ
• John E’s Pond, RI
• Clark’s Mountain, OR
• Carlos Elmer’s Joshua View, AZ

See: Theres a Question Mark Hanging Over the Apostrophes Future. [sic: Theres]

Its Practically Against the Law to Use the Mark in a Places Name; Sorry, Pikes Peak

By BARRY NEWMAN, The Wall Street Journal, posted May 15, 2013 10:30 p.m. ET

Hyphens in US Cities include:

• Dover-Foxcroft, Maine: created in 1922 by the merger of towns Dover and Foxcroft
• Elko New Market, Minnesota: created in 2006 from a merger of bordering cities Elko and New Market.
• Helena-West Helena, Arkansas: created in 2006 by the merger of the former cities of Helena and West Helena
• La Cañada Flintridge, California: created from unincorporated areas called La Cañada and Flintridge
• Leo-Cedarville, Indiana: created by the merger of Leo and Cedarville
• Lexington-Fayette, Kentucky: the official name of the merged city of Lexington and county of Fayette
• Little River-Academy, Texas: created from the merger of Little River and Academy in 1980
• Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina: created from the merger of Fuquay Springs and Varina
• Pico Rivera, California: created from unincorporated areas called Pico and Rivera
• Melcher-Dallas, Iowa: created by the merger of the cities of Melcher and Dallas in 1986
• Miami-Dade County, Florida: The governments of Dade County and its largest city, Miami, have been merged since 1957, but the county did not take its current name until 1997, when county voters passed a referendum to that effect.
• Milton-Freewater, Oregon: created in 1951 from the merger of Milton and Freewater.
• Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska: Named for Matanuska River and the town of Susitna.
• More than half of the land area of Alaska is within the Unorganized Borough which is administered directly by the state. Therefore, the United States Government considers the census areas within the Unorganized Borough to be county-equivalent entities. Four of these have double (or triple) names:
  • Prince of Wales – Hyder Census Area
  • Hoonah–Angoon Census Area
  • Valdez–Cordova Census Area
  • Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area
• Norwood Young America, Minnesota, formed in 1997 when the cities of Norwood and Young America merged.
• Sedro-Woolley, Washington, formed in 1898 from towns Sedro and Woolley
• Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, created in 1969 by the incorporation of the former communities of Soddy and Daisy, plus some surrounding areas
• Texarkana, on the border between Texas and Arkansas, and near the triple point of those two states with Louisiana
• Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 1913 merger of the towns of Winston and Salem.
• Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, named after British Parliamentarians John Wilkes and Isaac Barré who were sympathetic to colonial concerns

Answer 3

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Lee's Summit, Missouri

Answer 4

Willed-barre