I’M JUST CURIOUS: Unusual names for U.S. communities

by Debbie Walker

Being from Maine we are accustomed to some hard to pronounce names of towns, rivers, etc., due to the Native American historical names as are many other states residents. Yesterday we came across some other ‘uncommon’ names. What follows are ones I found last night on the internet:

The name that started my search is the little town of Two Egg, Florida. It has about 1,100 two-person households. Two Egg had a store where folks would come and trade farm products for other foods such as “two eggs worth of sugar” could make the difference of surviving or not.

The history is on the computer as are the others you will see here.

How about Soda Springs, Idaho? The name comes from having many carbonated springs in the area. Just imagine, you get to go to the creek to get your soda fix for the day. Wonder if Pepsi or Coke ever investigated this.

Cut and Shoot, Texas – The name refers to a confrontation that took place in 1912 and almost came to violence.

Hooker, Oklahoma, was named for the man, a ranch foreman named John “Hooker” Threlkeld. Some residents like to say, “It is a location, not a vocation”.

Screamer, Alabama. One version of the name is they could have been referring to the sounds of the wood’s animals at night.

No Name, Colorado. It was meant to be a temporary solution but became a thing of pride. It’s population of about 200 people opted to keep the name. It is located near No Name tunnels, No Name Creek and the No Name hiking trail.

Corner Ketch, Delaware. It appears to have been named for a local rough and tumble bar. The drinkers were so quarrelsome that the residents would warn strangers, “They’ll ketch ye at the corner.”

Slickpoo, Idaho. It barely qualifies as a town but was once a bustling village. It was gifted to the folks by landowner Josiah Slickpoo.

Bugtussle, Kentucky. This one surprised me. I had heard of it but thought it was just someone’s funny idea of a name. Maybe it really was but there is a story. They say years ago when someone brought in workers for the harvest they would sleep in the barn – on hay that was infested with Doodlebugs. It is said the workers stayed so long that the bugs grew big enough to “tussle” for the prime napping spots.

Maine even has a spot in the long list of funny names. Burnt Porcupine is the name of a sister island to Bald Porcupine, Long Porcupine and Sheep Porcupine. They are near Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.

Hell, Michigan. I had a client (my real estate years) once who came from there! Some rude woman didn’t want us on ‘HER’ road (it wasn’t hers). She hollered to tell us something about “When Hell Freezes Over”. He quietly told me that ‘Hell, does indeed freeze over but this is the wrong time of the year’.

I am just curious if you will search out some of the funny and bizarre names, there are many more. If you want to share a story with me or have comments just send them to me at DebbieWalker@townline.org Thanks for reading!