I think most of the time it’s just a contrivance to make a place sound fancier. Washington Heights sounds fancier than calling it Washington Drainage Basin. It really doesn’t usually have anything to do with the actual elevation of the property.
Brickton definitely lacks much charm as a town name. Most of Utah (where I am) could be called Granitetown for all the granite dug up and used in buildings here. There’s a huge quarry where they used to dig up building material, now it’s a very fancy and upscale area that costs mega $$ - just to live next to a big pit in the ground.
I think most of the time it’s just a contrivance to make a place sound fancier. Washington Heights sounds fancier than calling it Washington Drainage Basin. It really doesn’t usually have anything to do with the actual elevation of the property.
there is a town in illinois that was called brickton because chicago brick was dug up there. Now its a hoity toity suburb called park ridge.
Brickton definitely lacks much charm as a town name. Most of Utah (where I am) could be called Granitetown for all the granite dug up and used in buildings here. There’s a huge quarry where they used to dig up building material, now it’s a very fancy and upscale area that costs mega $$ - just to live next to a big pit in the ground.
Washington Heights in NYC, at any rate, is physically high in elevation, and it’s not a particularly fancy area at all.