Dale’s Daily Data: Unusual Town Names

I love looking at maps.  Just picking out a state and looking at some of the more unusual names of towns and villages.  Behind every one of those names is a story.  Here are some of them.

Tarzan, TX honors the fictional character who lived in the jungle among the apes.  Further west you’ll find Tarzana, CA.  It’s where Edgar Rice Burroughs lived when he wrote those great jungle books.  

Fonda, NY was originally an American Indian village.  The Dutch arrived in the 1700’s and in1851 it was named for one of the original Dutch founders.   You may know the names Henry, Jane and Peter Fonda.  It’s where the acting family originally came from.

The rural community of Ding Dong, TX is located in the middle of Bell County.

Hippo, KY was named after the husband of the woman who ran the first post office there.  Because he complained all the time, the man was called ‘Hippo’ – not after the animal, but it was a common Southern nickname for a hypochondriac.

Magnet, TX was named in the hope that it would “attract” people.

Sunrise, FL was originally named ‘Sunset’ and was planned as a retirement community.  The developers found out pretty quick that retirees don’t like to be reminded that they are in the ‘sunset’ of their lives, so a more optimistic name was chosen.

Frostproof, FL was originally Keystone City. The Post Office asked the residents to find a new name to avoid confusion with a town in northern Florida named Keystone Heights.  Although a few freezes have hit the area throughout the years, generally it’s not hard enough to damage the precious fruit trees and citizens are quick to remind a smart aleck that the town was not named ‘Frostfree!”

Rome, GA is named because the town was designed across seven hills, just like the ancient city of Rome.

Altus, OK once had a different name and a different location.  When the town was destroyed by a flood, the residents decided to rebuild the town on safer ground and renamed the town Altus,  Latin for “high.”

Half way between Pine and Cornucopia, Oregon you’ll find the town of ‘Halfway’.

Peculiar, MO was named by the Postmaster after the town’s fathers told him, “We don’t care what you name it as long as it’s sort of peculiar.”

Christmas, FL is midway between Cocoa and Orlando.  There's not much there expect for a few stores, a game preserve, an alligator farm, and a fort. The fort was built by the U.S. Army to protect settlers from attacks by Seminole Indians.  The fort was completed on Christmas Day of 1837, so it was named Fort Christmas. The town gets its name from the fort.

SOURCE: travelpod.com