Just in case there are doubters, I quote from the online History of Houston county http://www.rootsweb.com/~gahousto/History.htm : >At its formation in 1821, the county was named Houstoun in honor of >Governor John Houstoun by act of the General Assembly (it is not known >when or why the second letter "u" was dropped from the spelling). >Residents are quick to correct its pronunciation by the unknowing, from >the familiar "hugh-ston" of Texas fame to that as it should be, "house - >ton". > :-)