New Plymouth streets named after states in America are a result of the developers of a Merrilands subdivision turning to Plymouth in England for inspiration.
Aerial bombardment during World War Two left Plymouth a crippled city. The main shopping centre was obliterated, large areas of densely packed houses in the central areas were razed, and many manufacturing establishments were severely damaged.
Plymouth needed an urgent solution to its post-war housing shortage and prefabricated homes were the answer.
The bulk of the prefabs sent to Plymouth were made by the American motor industry. Such was the number erected in the suburb of Efford that it became affectionately known as "Little America".
For many whose bombed out homes had been little more than slums, these new homes were little palaces. Ergonomically designed, they had two bedrooms, a lounge, kitchen and, most significantly, an indoor toilet.
While most of the prefabs have long gone, some of the street names conferred upon that area, in appreciation of the American help, have remained, including Nevada Close - formerly known as Nevada Crescent.
Having little resemblance to Devonshire, the state of Nevada is located in the southwest of the United States. Two thirds of its 2.7 million population live in Las Vegas. At the beginning of last century Nevada's population was the nations smallest and declining.
Their radical solution was to legalise many types of activities that were illegal in neighbouring California: easy marriage and divorce, casino gaming and prostitution. While that reversed the population trend, and provided a huge tourism industry, it also turned Nevada into the most dangerous state in the United States.
This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.
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