Odd or unusual place names

[cristina]

Note: I wasn't sure where to post this...please feel free to move if appropriate.

Inspired by Kerouac’s truly lovely thread about the town of Berck-sur-Mer (“Yuck”) in France, I started thinking about unusual town names I have come across elsewhere.

My first thoughts were about my mother’s heritage. Newfoundland and Labrador should win a prize for offbeat town names, I think (and the rest of Canada has some winners, too [Asbestos, Quebec, Climax, Saskatchewan, Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo-Jump, Alberta, and Pouce Coupe (cut thumb), British Columbia]. But herewith I present a choice few Newfoundland/Labrador winners:

• Bacon Cove (I only included this one for Don Cuevas’ benefit)
• Blow Me Down
• Come By Chance
• Happy Adventure
• Heart's Content
• Heart's Delight
• Heart's Desire
• Herring Neck
• Jerry's Nose
• Joe Batt's Arm
• Lawn
• Little Heart's Ease
• Little Seldom
• Luke's Arm
• Mosquito
• Nameless Cove
• Nippers Harbour
• Noggin Cove
• Paradise
• Robert's Arm
• Snooks Arm
• Tickle Cove
• Toogood Arm
• Witless Bay

Note, Joe Batt’s Arm is a family favorite to make fun of. And apparently there are more than a few towns named after someone’s arm – not sure why, though – the fishing arm? None of us have ever been to Joe Batt’s Arm, though. A favorite (and rather intelligent) cousin and family proudly live in Witless Bay – which is quite beautiful, I think. I hope to report on Witless Bay in a travel thread in 2011.

Oh, and in my wanderings, I discovered that the longest town name in all of Canada is apparently in Newfoundland. It is: Cape St. George-Petit Jardin-Grand Jardin-De Grau-Marches Point-Loretto.

The translation makes no sense, so I feel compelled to research its namesake. Really,I had no idea. And it’s French/German/Italian?! I really have no knowledge of the George of who they speak. Rather unusual. And a bit weird for Newfoundland, since they were part of the UK, and not Canada, until 1957. A long Nordic name, I would have understood.

Moving on, in Arizona, we have our fair share of unusual town names:
Bagdad
Boneyard
Bootlegger Crossing
Bumble Bee
Carefree
Chloride
Floss
Goobertown
Nothing
Show Low (a town of card players, I think)
Strong
Surprise
Three Forks
Tuba City
Two Guns
Why (I love this town name!)


Back to my childhood State of Virginia, we have:
Antlers
Bagdad (another Bagdad!)
Ben Hur
Bosses
Bumpass
Butts
California
Clam
Croaker
Cuckoo
Fourway (2 of them)
Fries
Frogtown
Goochland
Hurricane
Hurt
Kermit
Lick Skillet (seriously?)
Needmore
Nuttsville
Ordinary
Peach Bottom
Short Pump (I actually know the history of this one...it is where the shorter water pump was to be found, way back then...)

Simplicity
Threeway

Do you have any interesting or odd town names to add?

[bixaorellana]

These are wonderful, Cristina! What's amazing about so many of them is that the names didn't get changed later, when the towns grew.

I'd have to really think, but off the top of my head -- my grandmother's home town of New Roads, La. on False River. Also in Louisiana is a Cut Off, a Plain Dealing, and a New Texas.

[bjd]

In southwest France there is a small town called Condom, leading to many photos like this
and, no, I don't know this guy. I just found the picture on the net.

[Kimby]

Embarrass, Wisconsin
Intercourse, Pennsylvania

[cristina]

I also like Truth or Consequences, New Mexico and Knockemstiff, Ohio.

I included the town of Carefree, AZ in my OP. I should mention that it is a fairly upscale, planned community within the Phoenix metro area. The streets names are equally interesting. Some examples:

Ho Hum Drive
Easy Street
Up and Down Place
Languid Lane
Meander Way
Nonchalant Avenue

[joanne28]

There's always Fucking, Austria. Surprise, surprise, English-speaking tourists keep stealing the town signs.

And let's not forget Dildo, Newfoundland and Twatt Island, Scotland.

Yes, my mind is in the gutter. And your point is....?

[fumobici]

While the gutter beckons, Beaver Lick KY.

I like Liberal and Boring in Oregon.

[bixaorellana]

Krotz Springs, Louisiana ~~ easy to imagine how it gets pronounced.

[dahuffy]

Hooker,Oklahoma

[livaco]

Jun 30, 2010 18:36:31 GMT joanne28 said:

There's always Fucking, Austria. Surprise, surprise, English-speaking tourists keep stealing the town signs.

There is a beautiful natural area near where I live that keeps getting its signs stolen by 'stoners'. I have been camping there many times. I have also seen the sign on a few college dorm walls: