Texas is home to some oddly named cities and towns. The origins of some of these names are just as intriguing.
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Loco, situated in Childress County, is named after the Spanish word for “crazy” or “insane.” The unincorporated community got its name after the locoweed, a common North American poisonous plant synonymous for causing livestock to grow weak and lose muscular control.
With the help of Edward and Jean Callary’s “Texas Place Names,” the Express-News compiled a list of some of the colorful city and town names in the state along with their origins and meanings:
Bigfoot: The city is not named after the ape-like creature said to inhabit the forests of North America. However, William “Bigfoot” Wallace was a big man. The Texas Ranger is said to have been 6 feet, 2 inches and 240 pounds. Wallace got his nickname from his efforts to bring justice to a Native American from the Waco tribe, according to “Texas Place Names.”
Wallace spent his later years in Frio County in the vicinity of a small village that later adapted his name.
Blowout: This community in unincorporated Blanco County is named after a nearby spring and cave that shares the same name.
Living in Blowout Cave were thousands of bats. According to “Texas Place Names,” it was given the name Blowout “after a bolt of lightning struck the cave mouth and caused an explosion of gasses that had built up from years of accumulating bat guano.”
Bug Tussle: The community in Fannin County got its name from an incident in the 1890s, when a swarm of insects spoiled an ice cream social. Another local story says it was named after lazy Sunday School picnics where “there was nothing to do but watch the bugs tussle among themselves,” according to “Texas Place Names.”
Cut and Shoot: About 40 miles east of Houston in Montgomery County, the town of less than 1,113 has several origin stories and they all involve violence in a church.
Here’s what “Texas Place Names” to say:
“The name arose from a dispute over church services in the summer of 1912. Some religious groups were welcome to conduct services in the community chapel and others were not.
“Things came to a head one July morning when one group, determined to enter the building, was met by another, equally determined to keep them out. Tensions rose and when weapons were drawn, a young boy darted off exclaiming ‘I’m going to cut around the corner and shoot through the bushes.’
“Legal proceedings followed and one witness, when asked where the scuffle had occurred, is said to have replied ‘where they had the cuttin’ and shootin’ scrape.’”
By another account, a local preacher was accused of becoming too friendly with women of the congregation and men ran from the church “to their wagons and buggies to get knives and rifles to cut and shoot.”
Ding Dong: Aptly named for a city in Bell County, local legend says Ding Dong got its name in the 1920s. Two locals — Isaac Bertram Bell and his cousin Zoilus Ozzias Bell, who was a music teacher — asked a local painter to create a sign for their new general store. He painted two bells and underneath them wrote “ding” and “dong.”
Dinero: This city has a rich history and its origins may involve buried treasure.
The community was renamed in the 1870s from Barlow’s Ferry to Dinero — the Spanish word for “money.” According to local legend, there is buried treasure or lost mines in the area.
One local story says that Spanish silver miners were murdered by Native Americans for their “dinero.” Another rumor involves Mexican soldiers retreating after their loss at San Jacinto, the final battle of the Texas Revolution. It’s said they buried their treasure somewhere in the area.
Frognot: One origin story involves boys bringing frogs to school to scare the girls. When they were discovered, the teacher reprimanded the boys because “Frogs are not to be brought to school.” Another account says there was a “plague of frogs of biblical proportions and the people went on a frog hunting campaign that reduced the frog population to zero. Thus, the name frognot,” according to “Texas Place Names.”
Girlstown: This city in Cochran County originated as a refuge for homeless girls in Buffalo Gap. The community moved to its present site in 1939. In 1987, Girlstown merged with Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch, a city founded by a local wrestler who established a ranch for homeless boys.
Gun Barrel City: The city’s official slogan is “We Shoot Straight With You.”
The city’s name is fairly straightforward. The city took the name from Texas 198, known as Gun Barrel Lane, which ran in a straight line between Mabank and Payne Spring.
Happy: The city’s official slogan is “The town without a frown.”
It takes its name from Happy Draw, which was named by thirsty cowboys who were happy to find fresh water after long cattle drives.
Harmony: There are four cities called Harmony in Texas and they all have different origins stories. In Kent County, the city of Harmony got its name after founding families peacefully resolved a disagreement. In Hopkins County, the city of Harmony got its name because locals lived in harmony with their neighbors.
Jot ‘Em Down: Here is what “Texas Place Names” has to say about the town’s origins:
“In 1936, Dion McDonald opened a general store that was familiarly known as the Jot Em’ Down Store, named after the fictional establishment co-owned by Lum Edwards and Abner Peabody on the immensely popular hillbilly comedy show Lum and Abner in the 1930s and 1940s. The name took root and Jot Em’ Down became the name of the local ginning corporation and then of the community.”
Rambo: This city is not named after the fictional Vietnam veteran John Rambo or Sylvester Stallone, who played the action hero in the films by the same name.
The town gets its name from Gale Rambo, a white U.S. military officer, and his African American wife, Lydia, who established a community for free African Americans in the 1850s.
Seclusion: This city in Lavaca County was aptly named in 1879 for its isolation.
Stranger: The local story relayed in “Texas Place Names” is that a representative of the Post Office Department, while passing through, asked the village blacksmith the name of the town and the blacksmith, in poor English, replied that he was a stranger. The representative, sure of only one word, wrote “Stranger” on the application.
Tarzan: This city in Martin County was named in 1927 to commemorate the work of a famous California writer Edgar Rice Burroughs.
At the time, the “Tarzan” series was approaching dozens of volumes and was at the height of its popularity. Tarzana, Burroughs’ Southern California estate, may have inspired the choice of the Texas name, according to “Texas Place Names.”
Uncertain: There are several stories that have attempted to explain the origin of Uncertain. But its origins are just as unclear as the name implies.
According to “Texas Place Names,” one local story says “settlers who arrived at the boundary between the US and the Republic of Texas at caddo lake had not been firmly established and residents were uncertain of where they lived. Another story says the town was incorporated to allow liquor sales, but it was uncertain if the ordinance would be approved.”
Weeping Mary: Weeping Mary was founded at the close of the Civil War as a community for emancipated African Americans. According to “Texas Place Names,” a local story relates the name to a freed woman named Mary who lost her land to a cheating plantation owner. A more likely source is that it is named after “Stabat Mater,” a hymn that portrays a weeping Virgin Mary.
White Settlement: Per “Texas Place Names,” White Settlement was so named to “distinguish a community for Anglos from a nearby town of largely Native Americans. By others, the town was named for the many settlers with the family name White (more than 100) who moved to the county in the 1870s. A 2005 referendum to change the name to West Settlement failed by a ten-to-one margin.”
Yard: The local story is that when merchant Bruce Gray applied for a post office, his list of possible names inadvertently included a customer’s request for a yard of cloth. The Post Office Department dutifully approved the office as Yard in 1903.
Timothy.Fanning@express-news.net
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