Have You Ever Been to Deadhorse, Alaska?

Do to the amazing response to my previous list of obscure names for towns in the United States; I have determined to compile another one. This one will not be compiled in descending order nor should it be taken as a top ten list but merely a list of ten more humorous names for American towns.

Deadhorse, Alaska. Deadhorse, Alaska sits on Alaska’s North Slope and primarily consists of facilities to provide services to the oil companies’ employees working in the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay and sits at the terminus of the Dalton Highway. The population can range from 50 people to 3,000 depending on the time of year. The name seems to have originated from one of the early trucking companies hauling goods to Prudhoe Bay in the 60’s and 70’s, the company’s name was “Dead Horse Haulers”.

Horneytown, North Carolina. Horneytown, North Carolina is located to the east of Winston-Salem and to the east of Greensboro, North Carolina. This suggestively titled town got its name from the Horney family who settled there following the Civil War.

Dickshooter, Idaho. Dickshooter, Idaho can be found in the southwest corner of the state in Owyhee County, an area famous for its outdoor activities. The town got its name from the first man to homestead there, Dick Shooter.

Tightwad, Missouri. Tightwad, Missouri can be found in western Missouri and has a population of around 60 people. The name seems to stem from an incident in which a local store merchant overcharged a customer fifty cents for a watermelon, where do people come up with this stuff?

Possum Trot, Kentucky. Possum Trot, Kentucky is an unincorporated town in southwest Kentucky near Paducha. I cannot, however, find a story that references how this place got its name.

Bill, Wyoming. Bill, Wyoming is located in eastern Wyoming whose population has recently jumped from 5 to 11 due to the oil and gas boom that northeastern Wyoming is enjoying. The town got its name following World War One when a doctor and his wife moved to the region. The woman began calling the town Bill due to the high number of men with that name in the area.

Ding Dong, Texas. Ding Dong, Texas is an unincorporated community in central Texas and the story of how it got its name is a humdinger. Two brothers opened a store in the area and commission an artist to paint the sign for it, the brothers names were Zulis and Bert Bell. The artist painted two bell on the sign with the brother’s initials within the bells. At the bottom of the sign, under the bells, the artist painted the word “ding” under one bell and the word “dong” under the other, hence the name Ding Dong.

Big Beaver, Pennsylvania. What’s going on in Pennsylvania? Wasn’t Pennsylvania founded by Quakers? Anyway, Big Beaver is found in western Pennsylvania and has a population of around 2,000, again I cannot find information regarding the origin of the name.

Climax, Georgia. Climax, Georgia sits in the southwest corner of the state of Georgia and has a population of around 250. It got its name from the fact that the town sits at the highest point on the rail line between Savannah, Georgia and the Chattahoochee River.

Knob Lick, Missouri. Knob Lick, Missouri is located in the southeast corner of the state. The town got its name from the nearby Knob Lick Mountain, “knob” referring to an isolated mountain peak and “lick” referring to a salt lick.

I hope that anyone who happens to read this enjoys it as much as the first, in the near future I hope to compile a list similar concerning some of the obscure names for European towns. Stay tuned.

Copyright© 2012 R. Bertz; all rights reserved.