It's a coastal city in Wales and home to 250,000 people. Right? Not necessarily, it turns out.

If you think you know Swansea, well it depends which one.

The Welsh city actually shares its name with a host of other areas across the world.

From a town in the heart of Tasmania to several ghost towns in the United States and even a bat cave... the name Swansea is associated with a broad cross-section of areas across the globe.

Here's what the name Swansea means to them...

Swansea, Arizona

A view of Swansea, Arizona

This Swansea is one of three ghost towns in the US that share the same name. 

It's a former prospecting and mining area and was settled around 1909.  By 1904 the railroad was coming to a nearby town and two local miners saw an opportunity to develop the area. 

Within a few years, the pair had built a 350-ton furnace, a water pipeline and hoists for five mine shafts.  

Swansea, Arizona. Picture: Wikicommons

When mining operations first began, the lack of smelting facilities meant the copper ore had to be sent away for smelting. The destination for most of the ore was... Swansea, south Wales.  

It was sent by rail to the Colorado River, then shipped from the Gulf of California around Cape Horn to the Welsh Swansea.

When a local smelter was built the town took its name from the old smelting town in Wales... thus the name Swansea. So the ore still made its way to Swansea for smelting... but in a less circuitous route! 

At its height, the American Swansea boasted an electric light company, a car dealer, a lumber company, two cemeteries, a saloon, theatres, restaurants, barbershops and a physician. 

But this boom was short-lived. In 1912 the Clara Consolidated Gold and Copper Mining Company collapsed, closing down the mines.

Today, Swansea is protected but, due to vandalism and weather exposure, its remains are in decline.

However, you can still see a number of structures, the remains of the railroad depot, two cemeteries and several mine shafts.

Remains of numerous cars can be seen scattered throughout the site.

Swansea Cave, Jamaica

Swansea caves, Jamaica

Welsh settlers arrived on the island, most notably the infamous Welsh governor, Henry Morgan, and influenced placenames.

This site lies 385m above sea level in the Worthy Park district of Jamaica. Surrounded by forest and sugarcane, the cave is 1,170m long and is a dry, fossil stream passage.

It boasts more than 10,000 bats, cockroaches and cave crickets.

Fossils found at the site include the Jamaican flightless ibis.

Swansea, Massachusetts

Swansea Town Hall, Massachusetts. Picture: Kenneth C Zirkel
The public library in Massachusetts
The fire station in Swansea, Massachusetts

 

The town (bizarrely, in the county of Bristol) has some unusual claims to fame.

Settled in 1662, the town soon established a committee to assign a rank of 1, 2 or 3 to the residents.

Those with the first ranking would get three acres of land, the second two, and the third one.

The committee could promote and demote residents as it saw fit.

The system collapsed, though, in 1681 when the committee voted to make five residents the highest rank and make the rank hereditary. The town unanimously voted to abolish the system.

Famous claims about Swansea... the Welsh one:

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It also achieved recognition in 1985 when Mark Hoyle, a young haemophiliac, who had contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion, was allowed to attend public schools.

It was the first time in the US that a student known to have the disease was allowed to enter a public school.

Swansea, South Carolina

The 'Town of Swansea' sign in South Carolina

A view of a main street in Swansea, south Carolina

 

An old sign from Swansea, Carolina

 

One of the smallest of the Swanseas, the Carolina settlement has a total area of just 1.2 square miles, of which 1.1 square miles is land and 0.1 square mile is water.

Two streams that flow through Swansea are Fourth Creek and the descriptive Bull Swamp Creek.

Swansea, Tasmania

A supermarket in Swansea, Tasmania

 

Morris' General Store in Swansea, Tasmania
A view of the sea in Swansea, Tasmania

 

This Swansea wasn't settled until 1821 when George Meredith, his family and workers arrived from Pembrokeshire, Wales.

He obtained a grant to farm in the area around Oyster Bay, and the land was developed for crops and grazing stock.

Whaling stations were also set up on nearby islands for the export of whale oil.

Unlike its British namesake, Tasmania's Swansea boasted a record high January temperature of 40.4C - or 104F.

Swansea Vineyards

Swansea Vineyards, Shiloh, New Jersey

 

Not quite a place, Swansea Vineyards is more a destination. Set in Main Street, Shiloh, New Jersey, the winery was first planted in 1994, and opened to the public in 2007.

It has 12 acres of grapes under cultivation, and produces 2,000 cases of wine per year.

The winery is named after the original settlers of Shiloh, who were Seventh Day Baptists from Swansea in Wales.

But that fact led to a dispute in the area. Shiloh is a dry town, with a strong religious heritage, and there was opposition from the local council to the sale of wine in the town.

The baptist church wrote objecting to Swansea's application for a winery licence and a compromise was reached - where Swansea agreed to permit only wine tastings, and not sale by the glass.

Swansea, New South Wales

Swansea, New South Wales, even has a Woolworths!

A view from the bridge in Swansea, New South Wales

 

Swansea in New South Wales, Australia

 

Here's another Swansea that shares its mining heritage with the Welsh area - it's even in New South Wales!

It sits at the entrance to Lake Macquarie, and boasts local industries of coal mining, fishing, boating and tourism.

There were once several coal mines here but, unlike its Welsh cousin, it has beaches facing onto the Pacific Ocean and the Swansea Channel.

But if you wanted to commute to Newcastle, you'd only need to travel 25km away.

Swansea, Toronto

From this Swansea (in Toronto, Canada) you can see Windermere!
Swansea Community Recreation Centre in Toronto

From this Swansea you're within stone-throwing's distance of the Humber river and Windermere!

Now mostly residential in nature, the area owes its name to a James Worthington, who bought a bolts factory there in 1889.

Under Worthington, who hailed from Wales's Swansea, the factory became the area's major employer.

Windermere Avenue in Swansea, Toronto

A settlement of workers' cottages, built by Worthington in the 1880s, grew up around the plant.

Worthington promoted the community, giving land for Swansea Public School in 1890 and the mission church.

One of its most famous residents was Lucy Maud Montgomery, write of the Anne of Green Gables books.

Swansea, Illinois

Swansea, Illinois
The school in Swansea, Illinois

In the late 19th century the area that is now Swansea was a mix of farming and commerce.

It was home to coal mines, foundries, brickyards, and a drill works.

The early residents were fiercely independent and bent on conducting their own affairs. When the municipality that sat on their doorstep tried to annexe their lands and businesses they decided to start their own community.

On November 27, 1886 a group of 35 residents petitioned the county government "that they are desirous of having said territory organized as a village...That the name of the proposed village shall be New Swansea."

The residents voted on December 16, 1886, to form their own community and name it “New Swansea”.

A new municipality was incorporated on December 20, 1886 and the village hall was completed soon afterwards at a cost of $619.50.

Swansea, California

A local with the Welcome to Swansea sign in California

A commemorative plaque at Owens Lake

 

Another ghost town, Swansea was a boomtown located on the eastern shore of Owens Lake.

Spawned by the success of silver mining operations nearby, Swansea became a hub for smelting the ore and transporting the ingots to Los Angeles. This lasted until 1874.

Swansea was named after the Welsh town, from which many experienced miners emigrated to the United States.

A view from the road of Swansea, California

In 1872, an earthquake damaged the smelters and lifted the shoreline, meaning most of the business was moved elsewhere.

But 1874 saw the death knell for Swansea. Debris from a thunderstorm left Swansea under several feet of water, rock and sand.

As of 2007, only one building and a smelter foundation remained alongside Route 136.

Swansea, Nevada

The Nevada Swansea is west of Hamilton, marked on the map

This Swansea is not much to write home about. Founded roughly in 1869, it lies west of Hamilton in Sherman Canyon, Nevada.

Its main existence was for several smelting works, but only rock ruins remain.