It might surprise you how many places across the United States and around the world are named GUTHRIE. Let’s explore them!

ALABAMA

Guthrie Creek, Walker County, Alabama

Many of the early Guthrie settlers in Walker County, AL are descendants of GFG2A-Branch K: Robert & Betsy Guthrie of SC & GA. Two of their sons, Leroy ‘Lee’ Guthrie (1774-1847) and John Guthrie (1781-1869) settled in the Walker County area. Unknown if they are directly responsible for the naming of Guthrie Creek.

Also associated with the Guthrie Creek Mine (coal mine in Jasper, AL).

ARIZONA

Guthrie, Greenlee County, Arizona

Guthrie is a mining town or camp on the Gila River crossing about 59 miles north of Lordsburg. The Arizona Copper Company, which built the railroad there, named it after a Scot stockholder, Guthrie Smith. Also the location of Guthrie Bridge, a historic bridge over the Gila River, and Guthrie Peak (6573 ft), part of the Black Hills, the small northernmost extention of the Peloncillo Mountains in SE Arizona. See Arizona Memory Project.

Guthrie Mountain, Pima County, Arizona

Named after John D. Guthrie, US Forest Service. Overview & Photos.

ARKANSAS

Guthrie Township, Izard County, Arkansas

Named for Grandison Graves Guthrie who was born in Giles County, TN in 1824. He married Mary A Benbrook. Upon his father’s death in 1850, Grandison was bound out by the court to his mother’s brother, Thomas Smith Beal. They went to Greene County, MO. He shows up on the 1850 census for Izard County. His younger brother, Robert Landon Guthrie also came to Arkansas when he reached 18. This family descends from GFG13 – Robert Guthrie 1773-1856TN & Jane Norwood.

CALIFORNIA

Guthrie Creek & Guthrie Creek Beach, Humboldt County, California

A creek in Humboldt County, California named for an early settler, and also associated with Guthrie Creek Beach, an off-the-beaten-path destination near Eureka, CA. A little-known sandy strip with a creek sometimes flowing through the driftwood and sand to meeet the Pacific Ocean. Reportedly a very scenic spot with headlands and cliffs crubling high above the beach.

The earliest Guthrie settlers in Humboldt County were Alexander P Guthrie (born 1826 Randolph County, Illinois), wife Caroline, and family listed in the 1860 census of Pacific, Humboldt, CA. He was a member of the Ell River Masonic Lodge No. 147, in Rohnerville.

No designated parents listed for Alex P Guthrie, so no proven Guthrie Family Group association.

Guthrie, Napa County, California

Guthrie is a former settlement in Napa County, California located along the Southern Pacific Railway halfway between Napa and Napa Junction.

CONNECTICUT

Guthrie Place, New London, Connecticut

The Lighthouse Inn at the top of Guthrie Place was originally the summer home for the Charles Strong Guthrie family of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, then known as “Meadow Court”. Part of a 12-acre estate in 1901. (Source: Historic and Architectural Survey of Guthrie Place, New London, Connecticut)

Charles Strong Guthrie is a descendant of John Guthrie & Abigail Coe of Guthrie Family Group 2A Branch F.

DELAWARE

Guthrie Run, near Glasgow, New Castle County, Delaware

A stream located 4.5 miles from Glasgow, DW. Also called Guthrie Branch. Name origin unknown.

ILLINOIS

Guthrie, Ford County, Illinois

Guthrie is an unincorporated Township/Village in Ford County. Name origins unknown.

Guthrie Station

A stop in Dix Township on the Illinois Central Railroad. 

INDIANA

Guthrie Township, Lawrence County, Indiana

Guthrie Township was the named for one of the most prominent families of the early days. The township was formed in the sixties (1860s), and is bounded on the south by the East fork of White river, on the north by Shawswick and Flinn townships, and on the east by Jackson County. 

Early land entries prior to 1820 include Daniel Guthrie, 1816. This appears to be Daniel Guthrie (1808-1875) & Lucy Weddell. Daniel was a son of Daniel Guthrie 1737PA-1826IN and Jane Flinn. This family is associated with Guthrie Family Group 7.

IOWA

Guthrie County, Iowa

Guthrie County was formed in 1851. Theophilus Bryan, sheriff and later county judge, named it after his friend, Captain Edwin B Guthrie, a commanding officer of a company of Iowa volunteers, who died in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). The county is one of five counties that make up the DeMoine-West DeMoine Metroplex. The county seat of Guthrie County is Guthrie Center.

The 1840 Census lists Edwin Guthrie at Ford Madison, Lee County, Iowa Territory.
Household: 1M 30-39, 2M & 1F 20-29, 1M 1-14

The only other Guthrie listed in the Iowa Territory in 1840 is a James Guthrie, age 30-39, living in Township 65 in Lee County.

The Fold3 site includes a letter written by a Samuel Guthrie of Sackett Harbor, NY on 27 Oct 1847 to the Adjutant General of the US Army inquiring about the status of Captain Edwin Guthrie of the 15th Regiment of US Infantry Co. K stating that he had heard rumors that Edwin Guthrie was severely wounded.

(Samuel Guthrie, born in 1782 Brimfield, Massachusetts, was famous for his discovery of chloroform, and was a chemist, inventor, and physician. His wife was Sybil Sexton (1788-1840). They were Edwin Guthrie’s parents. Samuel Guthrie died in Sackett’s Harbor in 1848, only a year after Edwin’s death, at the age of 66. Edwin had married Adaline Jewett in 1827, and they were the parents to two sons: Southwick and John W Guthrie. 

The Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army (Fold3) lists:
Guthrie, Edwin. NY Iowa. Capt inf 8 Mar 1847; 15 inf 9 Apr 1847; died 20 July 1847 of wds recd 20 Jun 1847 in action at La Hoya Mex.

“Captain Edwin Guthrie of Fort Madison and Major Frederick Mills of Burlington raised an independent company of one hundred men, which was accepted and became “Company K” of the Fifteenth Unites States Infantry. The company became part of General Winfield Scott’s army, taking part if the capture of Veracruz, the Battle of Churubusco, the occupation of Mexico City and many other engagements. Both Captain Guthrie and Major Mills were killed in action, Guthrie at Churubusco and Mills at Mexico City.”

This Guthrie family descends from Guthrie Family Group 2A Branch F – The Descendants of John Guthrie & Abigail Coe.

KANSAS

Guthrie Mountain/Guthrie Mound, Bourbon County, Kansas

John R Guthrie was hanged 5 Feb 1860 on a small mountain or mound in the NW corner of Bourbon County. It was a turbulent time when Kansas territory was a battleground between Free-State and Proslavery supporters, and the difference between a lynching and a legal hanging could be a matter of opinion. Several versions of the story exist. Regardless, Guthrie was hanged by several men high upon the hill which now bears his name. Guthrie mound is located on the Little Osage Rivery one and one-half miles south of Mapleton. (Source: Guthrie Mound and the Hanging of John Guthrie, bu Ronald Lee Cobb)

Unknown family connection.

KENTUCKY

Guthrie, Todd County, Kentucky 36.648, -87.166

Located on the KY-TN border, Guthrie was named after James Guthrie, the former US Senator from KY and one time president of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad at its founding in 1867. Guthrie was formally incorporated by the state assembly in 1876.

James Guthrie (5 Dec 1792 – 13 Mar 1869) was born to General Adam and Hannah (Polk) Guthrie near Bardstown, Nelson County, Kentucky. He studied law and commenced practice in Bardstown. He was elected to the Louisville Board of Trustees. In 1827, he was elected to represent Jefferson County as a Democrat to the Kentucky House of Representatives, and later in 1831 was elected to the Kentucky Senate. President Franklin Pierce appointed Guthrie as the Secretary of the Treasury in 1853, and he soon became the most influential member of Pierce’s cabinet. 

There is no participant in the Guthrie Y-DNA Project representing the lineage of Adam & Hannah (Polk) Guthrie, so there is no difinitive link to any Guthrie Family Group.

LOUISIANA

Guthrie, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana

The people of Guthrie refer to themselves as Guthrians. I could not find an origin story for this Guthrie connection.

MICHIGAN

Guthrie, Washtenaw County, Michigan

Name origins unknown.

Guthrie Lake, Otsego County, Michigan

Name origins unknown.

MINNESOTA

Guthrie, Hubbard County, Minnesota

The township was named for railroad builder Archibald Guthrie. The population during the 2000 census was 436. 

Archibald Guthrie, born 25 Dec 1844, was the son of James and Margaret (Reid) Guthrie. His father was a native of Paisley, Scotland and came from Glasgow, Scotland to Canada in 1820. They settled in Lanard, Ontario. (Source: History of St Paul and Vicinity (Vol.3), by Henry Anson Castle)

There is currently no participant representing this Guthrie line in the Guthrie Y-DNA Project. 

MISSOURI

Guthrie Township, Callaway County, Missouri

Guthrie was originally establised 26 Sep 1872 by B.S.Bigbee and named in his honor, but the name was changed in 1874 to honor two brothers who were prominent settlers in the community: Samuel N, and John Guthrie. (Ovid Bell; Eaton, p. 268; HIST. CALLAWAY, p. 161) 

Guthrie Township is one of eighteen townships in Callaway County, Missouri. As of 2010 census the population was 604. It covers 19.65 square miles and contains no incorporated settlements.

The two Guthrie brothers were sons of Samuel Taylor Guthrie, born 1793 to Robert & Mary (Taylor) Guthrie in Madison, Kentucky, was living in Callaway County, Missouri by the 1830 census. He is buried in Guthrie Cemetery, Guthrie, Callaway, MO, having died in 1872. This family descends from Guthrie Family Group 2A Branch B.

NORTH CAROLINA

Guthrie, Forsyth County, North Carolina

Guthrie is located in the Winston-Salem metro area of Forsyth County. The community was named for Jackson Guthrie, a local tobacco grower and settler.

Guthrie Point

A cape located in the Swansboro quad area of Carteret County, NC on Taylor Bay and across from the Goose Creek Shoals.

NORTH DAKOTA

Guthrie, McHenry County, North Dakota

This was a Great Northern Railroad station founded in 1910 on the Surrey cutoff line in the northeast quarter of section 10-152-76, Strege Township, five miles north of Drake. It was named for Archibald Guthrie, head of the Saint Paul, Minnesota firm doing the grade work during the construction of this line. For a few years GUTHRIE became a thriving little settlement, claiming a population of 100 as late as 1930. The post office closed June 30, 1946 with mail to Drake, although a population of 24 was reported here in 1960, and it remained on most maps into the 1970’s.

Archibald Guthrie, born 25 Dec 1844, was the son of James and Margaret (Reid) Guthrie. His father was a native of Paisley, Scotland and came from Glasgow, Scotland to Canada in 1820. They settled in Lanard, Ontario. (Source: History of St Paul and Vicinity (Vol.3), by Henry Anson Castle)

There is currently no participant representing this Guthrie line in the Guthrie Y-DNA Project. 

OHIO

Guthrie, Lawrence County, Ohio

Unknown name origins.

OKLAHOMA

Guthrie, Logan County, Oklahoma 35.879, -97.425

Orinated in 1887 as a railroad station called Deer Creek and later changed to honor jurist John Guthrie of Topeka, Kansas. At noon on 22 April 1889, President Benjamin Harrison’s “Hoss Race” or Land Run of 1889. During the six hours that followed about 10,000 people settled in what became the capital of the new Territory of Oklahoma. Guthrie quickly grew into a modern city, and was officially named the capital of Oklahoma in 1907. By 1911, Oklahoma City had become a hub for several major railroads, and a vote was taken to move the state capitol to that location. The Guthrie Historic District is a US National Historic Landmark. (Source: Wikepedia)

Judge John Guthrie, born 2 July 1829 in Switzerland County, Indiana, was a son of William Guthrie (1800-1855) and Margaret Japp. His father William Guthrie was born in Perth, Scotland and Educated in Glasgow and at the University of Edinburgh. His mother, born in Ayershire, Scotland, had immigrated to Indiana as a child. John had a common education, but advanced through study. During his career, he enjoyed success as a farmer, teacher, soldier, political leader, and political economist. He served three successive terms in the Kansas State Legislature, and was narrowly edged out as a candidate for governor in 1876. (Source: The United States Biographical Dictionary)

A descendant of John Guthrie’s brother, James (1840-1888), is a genetic match for Guthrie Family Group 12.

PENNSYLVANIA

Guthriesville, East Brandywine Township, Chester County, PA

There is not much online about the founding of Guthriesville, PA, but the town is associated with GFG2A – Branch I descendants. The Guthriesville General Store, often known today as Mama Lena’s, is one of the oldest mercantile businesses in Chester County. Built in 1869, it served as a grocery store, luncheonette, and pizza parlor over the years. The William Guthrie building on the hillside next to the Guthriesville Plaza, also built in a Gothic Revival style, is the second oldest building in the village, originally constructed in 1805 and enlarged and altered in 1830.

Guthrie’s Run

Guthrie’s Run flows into the Allegheny a few miles north of Kittanning, PA. Named for Capt. William Guthrie (1751-1828), Pennsylvania’s last state paid frontier ranger, who was killed there when his wagon strayed off a high bridge over that creek. (GFG2A – Branch B)

TENNESSEE

South Guthrie, Montgomery, Tennessee

Located directly south across the KY-TN border from Guthrie, KY. During the Jim Crow era, South Guthrie was the African-American community associated with the predominantly white city of Guthrie, the state line forming a dividing line between the races.

TEXAS

Guthrie, King County, Texas 33.621, -100.323

Ninety-six miles east of Lubbock, Guthrie’s history began in 1883, when the Louisville Land and Cattle Company in Louisville, Kentucky purchased several hundred acres in what later became King County. Named after Louisville Land and Cattle stockholder W.H. Guthrie of Kentucky, the community’s townsite was platted in 1891 by A.C. Thackitt, who had built Guthrie’s first residence. 

No proven Guthrie Family Group connection. Need to identify W.H. Guthrie.

The 1850 census lists a WH Guthery, born c1828VA, living in District 1, Calloway County, KY, in the home of a PF Waterfield, 42, and family. Both are listed as farmers.

WEST VIRGINIA

Guthrie, Kanawha County, West Virginia

An unincorporated community in Kanawha County, WV included in the Sissonville area. Confirmation is needed, but this community may be named for the family of James Guthrie (1775-1850) who settled in this area of Virginia about 1798 West Virginia statehood. We do have several participants from our Family Finder Project representing James G Guthrie’s line, but no member in the Y-DNA Project. Some genetic clues suggest this line might be associated with GFG3A, but the theory remains unproven at this time.

WISCONSIN

Guthrie, Waukesha, Wisconsin

An unincorporated community located in the town of Vernon in Waukesha, WI. Most likely named for William and Sarah (Neill) Guthrie or relations who lived in Vernon Township. William was born on 28 Jan 1814 in Hebron, Washington County, New York. He and his wife Sarah Catherine Neill raised a large family and moved to Vernon Township sometime between 1850 and 1860. We have participants in the Y-DNA and Family Finder Projects. This family is associated with Guthrie Family Group 6.

WYOMING

Guthrie Post Office, Converse County, Wyoming

The Guthrie Post office was established in Feb 1895 with Isabel M Guthrie (Mrs. Silas Albans Guthrie) as its first postmaster. It was discontinued on 15 Oct 1902 afterwhich its mail was handled by the Labonte Post office.

Silas Albans Guthrie (1847-1923 was a son of Isaac Frazier Guthery Sr & Rachel Frederick, and a great-grandson of John Guthery & Lydia Baldwin of Guthrie Family Group 2A.

CANADA

Guthrie, Oro-Medonte, Simcoe County, Ontario

Guthrie is a community within the township of Oro-Medonte in south-central Ontario, on the NW shoes of Lake Simcoe in Simcoe County. Unknown name origins.

Guthrie Point

Found in New Brunswick, Canada and Manitoba, Canada

NEW ZEALAND

Guthrie is located in the North Island of New Zealand between Rotorua and midway between Taupo and Tokoroa.

SCOTLAND

Guthrie, Forfarshire, Angus, Scotland

GUTHRIE, a parish, in the county of Forfar, 8 miles (N. W.) from Arbroath. This place confers its name upon the very ancient and distinguished family of the Guthries.

Guthrie Castle, Forfarshire, Angus, Scotland

Guthrie Castle is a castle and country house in Angus, Scotland. It is located in the village of Guthrie, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) east of Forfar, and 29 kilometres (18 mi) northeast of Dundee. The castle dates back to the 15th century, although much of the present building is of 19th-century origin. Guthrie Castle comprises a tower house, originally built by Sir David Guthrie (1435–1500), Treasurer and Lord Justice-General of Scotland, in 1468. The Guthrie family later built a house beside the tower. In 1848, the two were linked by a baronial style expansion, to designs by David Bryce. The historic keep remained in the Guthrie family until 1983, with the death of Colonel Ivan Guthrie. Daniel S. Peña, Sr., an American businessman, purchased Guthrie Castle in 1984. Peña restored the castle to its 19th-century condition, and built a golf course within the estate in 1994/95. In 2003, the castle and its grounds were opened to the public, for wedding parties, corporate functions and for group bookings.

The Guthrie Family Group associated with the builders of Castle Guthrie is Guthrie Family Group 1A, who have a genetic match to a descendant of the Guthries of Craigie, who are historically linked to the Guthries of Guthrie.