Goofy Kentucky Town Names ... (Louisville, Paris: school, store, best)

[charz]

Originally Posted by highliner

Don't forget Grayhawk, just a hop-skip-and-jump from Sand Gap. Or maybe Tyner is more to your liking?

Tyner is my maiden name. Presumably, the name of that town came from a family surname. There's also a Tyner, Georgia.

[swinters]

I just found a bit of info on the town of Gus in Muhlenberg County. My Mother-in-law's family is from there (Sumner). Her Dad was transferred by the railroad to Elmwood, Nebraska, where he was the station master. They visited family in Gus each summer until WWII, then only a couple of times since - last time in the late 50's. We're hoping to go through there this summer - she's in her late 80's but still going like she is 20 or 30 years younger! Does anyone know anything about the town of Gus? The aerial shots don't show much of a town there (she said there was never much more than a store/post office).

[hicksdiane]

I grew up in Mayfield, near towns like Podunk, Monkey's Eyebrow, Possum Trot, and Fancy Farm. As a kid, we thought a little girl named Fancy inherited the family farm. Other places to visit in Western, KY--how about Symsonia, Paducah, Wingo, and Carlisle County. Ususally whenever I would meet someone new at a church or university function and ya asked people where they were from, the response was always Graves County, Marshall County, Carlisle County, etc--never a town or city, just the entire county.

[shoulda2]

Knob Lick has a funny ring to it, there is also a Uno KY which i also thought was cute.

[big daryle]

How about Pumpkin Corner, just outside of Paducah?

[kygman]

Driving from Mayfield to Sturgis, I pass pretty close to Frances and Mexico. Quite a while back I looked through a book at the library in Mayfield (it was still on College Street then! lol) that was about all the small odd named towns in Kentucky. Told how they were named or how legend says they were named. Pretty interesting! Hicks, tha book said when the postmaster came to open a new post office where Fancy Farm is, he looked around and made a comment about the "fancy farms" in the area. Long time ago a man was teased about all his walking to see his "girl" who lived out in Graves County. When someone would ask where he was going? "I'm going to "See Dalia" Better known as Sedalia now!

[kytenn]

My cheeks and sides hurt after finding this thread. One thing that no one has mentioned is all the unusual pronunciations for KY town names. Natives may not even be aware that some of the pronunciations are so odd. Here are a few:

Versailles is pronounced "ver-SALES" not "ver-SIGH"
Athens is "A-thens" (long "A" sound)
Marrowbone is "MAR-bone"
Cairo is "KAY-row" like Karo syrup
Slade is "SLAY-dee"
Hollow is always "HALL-er." Sometimes it is actually spelled holler
So Loretta Lynn is from Butcher Hollow but it is pronounced Butcher Holler.

So if you are traveling to KY, don't ask for directions to Versailles if you pronounce it like the city in France. No one will have a clue what you're talking about.

Anyone else know of others?

[Future Trooper]

Originally Posted by Davart

You just got love KY and some of the names they come up with for towns ...

Not far from here is Possum Trot and just up the road a piece is Monkey's Eyebrow. My Dad was born in Gravel Switch, KY my Mother at Doty Creek, KY and I grew up near Zion, KY

While there are plenty of goofy names, some don't make any since ... take Water Valley, KY near here there is no Valley and it's not near Water, not even a creek so what's up with that? Or Bell City, Ky which has no Bell and there is no city, not even a stop sign and up the road there is Tri City which again no city and Tri what?

anywho ...

There is also ...

Access, KY
Acorn, KY
Asphalt, KY
Awe, KY
Bagdad, KY
Bandana, KY
Barefoot, KY
Baptist, KY
Barrier, KY
Bass, KY
Batchelors rest, KY
Bath, KY
Battle, KY
Bear Wallow, KY
Beagle, KY
Beauty, KY
Beaver Lick, KY
Bee, KY
Bee Lick, KY
Belfry, KY
Berry Store, KY
Big Bone Lick State Park, KY
Big Beaver Lick, KY
Black Bottom, KY
Black Gold, KY
Black Gnat, KY
Black Hawk, KY
Black Jack, KY
Black Snake, KY
Blue Diamond, KY
Blue Level, KY
Blue Moon, KY
Buffalo, KY
Bug, KY
Burning Springs, KY
Busy, KY
Butterfly, KY
California, KY
Cadillac, KY
Chevrolet, KY
Combs, KY
Co Operative, KY
Cranks, KY
Cuba, KY
Cut Shin, KY
Decoy, KY
Deer Lick, KY
Dwarf, KY
Duckers, KY
Dukedom, KY
Dwarf, KY
(88) Eighty-Eight, Ky
Future City, KY
Grannie, KY
Grapevine, KY
Gravelswitch, KY
Gravel Switch, KY
Hazard, KY
Hippo, KY
Jetson, KY
Krypton, KY
Lovely, KY
Marrowbone, KY
Mexico, KY
Monkey's Eyebrow, KY
Moon, KY
Mummie, KY
Mud Lick, KY
Oddville, KY
Oil Springs, KY
Ono, KY
Ordinary, KY
Oscar, KY
Parrot, KY
PeeWee Valley, KY
Penile, KY
Petroleum, KY
Pig, KY
Pippa Passes, KY
Possum Trot, KY
Pyramid, KY
Quality, KY
Quicksand, KY
Rabbit Hash , KY
Raccoon, KY
Ready, KY
Redhouse, KY
Relief, KY
Ringos Mills, KY
Select, KY
Shoulderblade, KY
Slusher, KY
Sligo, KY
Stamping Ground, KY
Texas, KY
Thousandsticks, KY
Top Most, KY
Turkey, KY
Tyewhoppety, KY
Viper, KY
Vortex, KY
Wax, KY
Wingo, KY
Wolf Lick, KY
Yeadiss, KY
Zoe, KY

Do you know of anymore, I know I couldn't have gotten them all ... there must be 100's of them.

how about Gay's Creek, Buckhorn, paw paw, and Booger

[InLondon]

Pippa Passes just cracks me up for some reason.

[hrundi]

Originally Posted by arboc

I just drove through Nonesuch, KY last week. It's off of 33, south of Versailles in Woodford County.

My grandmother told me of the time her ancestor named this place. The patriarch, asked my great-great (don't know how many) grandmother how she liked this area when he first brought her to see it. She replied, "There's none such place as fine as this."