TIP #464 - OH THOSE FUNNY SETTLERS - HOW THEY NAMED OUR TOWNS, PART 1 I have decided that our early settlers had a sense of humor! Despite the rigors and dangers of the earlier days, they had to take time to laugh; you can tell it from some of the town names! I've lived in 5 states and each state seems to have their own way of picking town names. Most are named for early families there, Indian tribes, famous people, girl's names .... but Kentucky, while having all of these, have their own way of picking names for their towns and communities. Now, I am not ridiculing any of them; if you live in one of these communities, or your families did, I just find it extremely interesting; I'm not picking on you! I'll return to the more serious posts in a week or so (continuing the WW II deaths), but for a little break, thought I would see if you agree that my 84 top favorites bring a smile to your lips too. I am totally indebted to Robert M Renick for his "Kentucky Place Names" book. There are many more that could be picked but these just hit my fancy! 1. Acorn, Pulaski Co. J. N Mayfield was struck by a falling acorn while thinking about possible names for their community. Or he was feeding acorn to his hogs; whatever the cause, Acorn sounded likely a really nice name. 2. Bachelor's Rest, Pendleton Co. Named for the bachelors who sunned themselves on benches in front of a local store. I wonder if the ladies of the day knew about this place? 3. Beefhide, Pike and Letcher Cos. According to some stories, a Civil War patrol had camped on a nearby creek, had killed some local livestock and eaten all the beef. 4. Black Gnat, Taylor Co. This one ranks high on my list; according to tradition a local schoolhouse was being painted in the late 19th century but by the time the painting was finished, it was covered by blackgnats. Sounds logical to me! 5. Blue Moon, Floyd Co. We've all heard the expression, "once in a blue moon". This town was named for a brand of perfume that a school teacher's daughter had received for Christmas. I wonder how often people visited this town? Once in a blue moon maybe? 6. Bugtussle, Monroe Co. Another of my favorites, this town was named for an abundance of doodlebugs. Can you envision the townfolk tussling with the doodlebugs? 7. Chisken Bristle, Metcalfe Co. This lovely name was changed to Savoyard , can one wonder why? It had reportedly been named Chicken Bristle for the practice of leaving pin feathers or bristles on the chickens when killed and prepared for customers by an early stagecoach inn there. 8. Butterfly, Perry Co. Ok, this one is obvious. Mose C Feltner, the post master saw a lot of butterflies passing by and being a romantic, picked this as the town name. 9. Buzzard Roost, Nicholas Co. This town changed its name to Sprout but was first named by a drummer who was passing through the area one day and saw a lot of local men sitting in a line on a whitewashed fence. They were all dressed in dark black suits and hats, passing a jug between them. He commented that it looked like a row of buzzards. 10. Canoe, Breathitt Co. Good logical reason for this name. The nearby creek's water got so low that someone's canoe couldn't be floated out and was abandoned. 11. Cheap, Greenup Co. No, the prices weren't cheap there, nor the people, but this village was named for a blind Methodist preacher named John Cheap. It was later changed to Flatwoods. 12. Crackers Neck, Elliott Co. There were two communities with this name, the one in Elliott Co had its name changed to Newfoundland. Any guesses as to why it was called Crackers Neck? It was an expression given to partisans in local fights to his champion to "crack the neck" of his opponent. 13. Democrat, Letcher Co. This town, which will be referred to again, had several names. Rather than being a Democrat settlement, it was so named for alone Democrat in an entirely Republican community. 14. Dwarf, Perry Co. This was a very small town I guess! It was named for one of the Combs brothers, Jeremiah, who was called "Short Jerry". 15. Eighty Eight, Barren Co. Several stories as to this town's naming exist but most agree that it came from the postmaster Dabney L. Nunnally who didn't write to well. When it was time to pick a name, he wrote "88" because everyone could read that. Another tradition is that it was so named because it was 8.8 miles from Glasgow KY 16. Equalization, Lewis Co. Later known as Burtonville, I assume one had to have a good sense of balance to live here. The name Equalization came before the Civil War and had many possible reasons. Some say four citizens built their home exactly alike along a roadside. This was to indicate that all men were born free and equal. 17. Factory, Butler Co. Named for a one time local ax handle factory. 18. Fishtrap, Pike Co. This was thought to have been named for the local method of catching fish by trapping them. 19. Frog Level, Todd Co. Later known as Sharon Grove, this place had a lot of frogs. The land is low and swampy. Can you imagine a new bride writing her parents and talking about the wonderful place she and her groom had moved? "Mama and Papa, we're living now in Frog Level, and the croaking of the frogs is soooooo romantic!" 20. Goldbug, Whitley Co. A political background on this name, this was the name given the supporters of the gold standard in the presidential election of 1896. 21. Goosehorn, Barren Co. Now a lovely community named Hiseville, Goosehorn was named by Harve Jameson, a resident of the area. He just came up with the name and it satisfied all the neighbors. Did you ever see a goose with a horn? 22. Gravel Switch, Marion Co. I could think of a funnier reason for naming this town but it referred to a large gravel deposit used by the L&N to supply its rail beds. I can picture instead of a frightened child running from his father so he wouldn't be spanked by a gravel switch! 23. Hardmoney, McCracken Co. This might have been thusly named for a political controversy of this time over the use of gold backing for paper money. Another tale has John H Balance, the post master mounting his first dollar he'd ever earned as the hardest money. 24. Hardscratch, Adair Co. Later known as Glen's Fork, this town was possibly named for the difficulty of earning a living in this area. 25. Headquarters, Nicholas Co. Many think this name came from it being a meeting place by Indians from southern Ohio after their hunting trips to Kentucky, or a corruption of the word "headwaters." 26. Heart's Delight, Daviess Co. Later known as Knottsville, no explanation is found for its previous naming, but it certainly pleased the people who lived there. 27. Highway, Clinton Co. Named by a local preacher who opened his Bible to Isa 35:8 28. Hi Hat, Floyd Co. The trademark of the Hi Hat Elkhorn Mining Co. 29. Hippo, Floyd Co. Local resident, Bee Madison Craft complained all the time and the town was supposedly named for his complaining. 30. Honeybee, McCreary Co. Sorry, but not much imagination on the part of Jasper M Harp, postmaster here. A honeybee flew by while he was thinking. Ok. 31. Hot Spot, Letcher Co. I guess if you can't afford to go to Hot Springs, Arkansas, you might consider going to a Hot Spot. John A Webb and David Hayes had the Hot Spot Coal Company in this area. 32. Ice, Letcher Co. I assume if you don't like a hot spot, you can go a few miles in the same county to Ice. This was also a coal camp and in 1897, when the post office was established, the route was jammed with ice. Bingo! 33. Jugornot, Pulaski Co. At one time local people supposedly did a thriving business producing and selling moonshine. They would charge one price if customers brought their own containers, but charged more if they had to provide the container. They would ask "jug or not". There are other stories also. 34. Kettle, Cumberland Co. One of the stories has this community named in the 18th century for the prospectors who came there and worked until dark. They would pitch their tent on the banks of the creek, spread out their bedding and stacked their cooking vessels up. One of the men had a nightmare of having spent the night with a kettle on his head. 35. Lick Skillet, Logan Co. Speaking of cooking utensils, Lickstillet acquired its name about 1810. There was a rock of the creek that looked exactly like a skillet, worn into that shape by a spring and the deer licking it. 36. Loafersburg, Green Co. Later known as Pierce, it was founded in the early 19th century by a Brewer family who had a legal distillery here. It was also called Loafersburg for the residents who could be seen whiling away the hours in front of a local store. I wonder if they ever met the men at Bachelor's Rest or Buzzard Roost? 37. Mashfork, Magoffin Co. Ogie Williams is to blame for this name. He thought of the soggy and marshy land in that area where hogs would be turned loose to feed on mash. 38. Merry Oaks, Barren Co. Our family, when seeing this community the first time, nicknamed it "Happy Trees", but of course it was named for a large oak tree there and also for a large English race track, a pastime Merry Oak's citizens also enjoyed. 39. Miracle, Bell Co. No, nothing miraculous happened here (that's been recorded at least!), this was named for the Miracle family. 40. Mistletoe, Owsley Co. While named for an abundance of mistletoe that grew here, citizens of Bachelor's Rest hopefully didn't visit here! Next week, we'll continue our pilgrimage among the little towns of Kentucky with a little more unusual name! (c) Copyright 24 Oct 2003, All Rights Reserved. Colonel Sandi Gorin SCKY Links: http://www.public.asu.edu/~moore/Gorin.html SCKY surname registry sites: http://www.rootsweb.com/~kyclinto/reg.html http://www.rootsweb.com/~kyclinto/forms/SCKYreg.html Gorin Publishing: http://ggpublishing.tripod.com/