Oddly-Named Kentucky Towns Numerous natural and political entities in Kentucky bear the names of long hunters, including Boone County and Boonesborough, named for Daniel Boone, and Harrodsburg, named for James Harrod. Kenton County is named for Simon Kenton, who, believing he was a fugitive, spent the mid-1770s hunting in eastern Kentucky. Long hunter Charles Skaggs named the Dix River after Cherokee leader Captain Dick, who gave Charles Skaggs permission to hunt along the river in 1770. For example : Before Kentucky was a state, during the days of Henry Skaggs and Daniel Boone, many hunters, trappers and Indian fighters. Of that early group was a Pennsylvanian by the name of Benjamin Lynn. In earlier days, Lynn served under the leadership of General George Rogers Clark. He served as a scout for his regiment, and was even attained to the position of Captain. Nolin River received its name when Captain Benjamin Lynn and James Skaggs Jr.(Both Preachers) and ten other men were hunting in the Barrons in Kentucky, exploring in what is now Larue County, Kentucky. They camped upon the banks of the creek for several days. The men went in different directions, hunting on their own, but agreeing to return to the camp every night. On the first days hunt, Captain Lynn came upon a fresh trail of Indians. He tracked the Indians throughout the day wanting to find out where they were going. He continued on the trail so far that he could not reach the camp. When the hunters returned they noted that Lynn was nowhere to be found. The second night, when Lynn did not show, one by one as the hunters returned they would report, No Lynn! The name stuck. No Lynn Creek became what is now known as Nolin River. Nonesuch Ky is an unincorporated community in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States. The etymology of the area referred to its ability to maintain great crops for agriculture. Specifically, there was no such place that grew so well. Nonesuch Ky founded in 1789 The county is named for General William Woodford, who was with General George Washington at Valley Forge. Its county seat is Versailles Woodford County is home to Woodford Reserve, the Kentucky Bourbon manufactured at the Labrot & Graham Distillery, which was established in 1812 and is the oldest Bourbon distillery in Kentucky. Irish Acres is located at Nonesuch on Fords Mill Road (KY 1965) eighteen miles from Lexington.The 32000 square feet antique gallery is housed in a 1930s school building that was used as an elementary school until 1981.The Glitz restaurant is located in the lower level of Irish Acres and is a delightful dining experience before or after antique browsing and reservations are recommended.Irish Acres is a unique experience along Kentuckys rural back roads Nobob Ky is in eastern Barren Co., between Temple Hill and Summer Shade. It is near where county lines for Metcalf, Monroe and Barren come together. This saga consists of just this one story about how NOBOB, Kentucky got its name. Bob in the story a long hunter. The story goes . . . Bob heads out by himself one day to do something; he could have been on foot, could have been on the river, nobody knows but he fails to return. So the townsfolk/fellow pioneers/other guys try to find him. Each time they return they report, sadly, to one another, “No Bob.” This goes on for days. Bob is never found. When they were surveying the town, one of the surveyors, named Bob, disappeared into the woods one day. He never came back, and every day people would came to ask if Bob had shown up yet, the answer was always, “No Bob.” A guy name bob disappears and they thought they Indians had captured him and when they came back from looking for him they said, “No Bob.” . Possum Trot is an actual town. It’s a dot on the map in Marshall County, Kentucky, east of Paducah. On the western side of that western Kentucky town, you’ll find Monkeys Eyebrow – note, that is not a possessive monkey’s – in Ballard County (Garmin, however, will pretend the place doesn’t exist, despite the signs that say it is so). Officially, it isn’t actually a town because it has never had a post office. Here are more of Kentucky’s oddly-named towns: • Rabbit Hash – really just a general store in Boone County on Highway 536 just southwest of Cincinnati. Supposedly, the name comes from the recipe that helped the town residents survive a harsh flood in 1816. • Mud Lick – there are actually 9 towns with this name in Kentucky. You’ll find them in Anderson, Elliott, Greenup, Knox, Lewis, Robertson, Russell, Perry and Pike counties. • Paint Lick – this seems more dangerous than the above. You’ll find this town on Highway 52 in Garrard County. It’s named for a salt lick marked for prime hunting by Native Americans in the area. • 88 – yes, it’s a Kentucky town. In Barren County on Highway 90, 7 miles south of Glasgow. It is rumored to get it’s name because one of the town’s founders had 88 cents in his pocket when they were trying to pick a name. Talk about running out of ideas. Other rumors say the local postmaster had such terrible handwriting that he picked the name because he was sure everyone could read those two numerals. • Future City – in Ballard County. This town reportedly got its name from the developer who put up a sign at the edge of the land where he intended to build a town that read: “Future City.” And then he never got around to building anything. • Lamb – there are two of these, one in Kenton County and the other in Monroe County. • Typo – in Perry County, you can make up a good story for that one. • Bush – in Laurel County. This town was named after George Bush. No, not THAT George Bush. No, not that one either. This George Bush founded the town in 1840 when he opened the post office and the general store. The first President Bush did campaign there in 1988, and newspaper headlines read: “Bush Returns to Bush” • Bugtussle – on Highway 87 south of Tompkinsville in Monroe County. This is popular with fans of the Beverly Hillbillies, who may remember that the Clampetts were from Bugtussle … only they were from Bugtussle, Tennessee. Well, Monroe County is near the Tennessee border. Bugtussele is another word for a backwater town. • Black Gnat – in Taylor County • Black Snake – in Bell County • Co-operative – in McCreary County • Crummies – in Harlan County • Hi Hat – (as in ‘hello’ and not way up in the sky) in Floyd County • Quality – in Butler County • Subtle – in Metcalfe County • Susie – in Wayne County • Whoopee Hill – (not cushion) in Ohio County • Wild Cat – (Go Big Blue?) in Clay County You just got love Kentucky 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 Monkeys Eyebrow. While there are plenty of goofy names, some dont make any sense ... take Water Valley, KY near here there is no Valley and its not near Water, not even a creek so whats 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? any who ... There is also ... Access, KY-836 Us 31w Byp, , Bowling Green, KY 42101 Acorn, KY-Acorn is located in Pulaski County. Asphalt, KY- located in Edmonson County, Kentucky.Asphalt is located west of Brownsville and it is served by Kentucky Route 655 (Segal Road) off of KY 70. It is 2 1/2 miles southwest of KY 655’s intersection with State Highway 70 at Windyville. Awe, KY- located in Lewis County, Kentucky. The Awe post office is closed. Bagdad, KY-Bagdad is an unincorporated community in northeastern Shelby County, Kentucky, United States. It was founded at what is currently the intersection of Kentucky Routes 12 and 395.The name of the community comes from the name of an old railroad station. According to one account, the station was named Daddys Bag, after a colorful railroad worker who lived there, which was eventually shortened to Bagdad. Another account suggests that a person with a speech impediment named it Granddad. Yet another story has it that the young speech-impaired son of a local feed merchant, whenever a customer walked into the door, would holler to his father, Bag, dad!. This last one can be refuted since the community well predates the 1884 establishment of the feed mill that still operates there. Bagdad is the hometown of former governor of Kentucky Martha Layne Collins, Kentuckys first and so far only female governor. Bandana, KY-Bandana is located in northern Ballard County at the intersection of Kentucky Route 358 (Bandana Road) and Kentucky Route 473 (Needmore Road / Woodville Road). It is 5 miles south of the Ohio River and 22 miles west of Paducah. Barefoot, KY- located in Nicholas County, Kentucky Beauty, KY- (also Himlerville) located in Martin County, Kentucky. Big Beaver Lick, KY-located in Boone County, Kentucky. Beaverlick is located along U.S. Route 42 and U.S. Route 127 4.5 miles (7.2 km) west of Walton. The community was established as a fur trading site between 1780 and 1820. A post office was established at Beaver Lick in 1853 with John Tucker its postmaster. Beaverlick was spelled as one word by 1900. The communitys name came from its location at the source of the Beaver Branch of Big Bone Creek. Black Bottom, KY-located in Harlan County, Kentucky. Black Bottom is located along Kentucky Route 38 7.2 miles (11.6 km) east-northeast of Evarts. Black Gnat, KY-located in Green and Taylor Counties in Kentucky. It lies along Old U.S. Route 68 between the cities of Campbellsville and Greensburg, . After the local schoolhouse was painted, it became covered in black gnats. A person remarked about the large number of the black gnats, and the name remained. Buffalo, KY-located in southern LaRue County, Kentucky. It lies along Kentucky Route 61 south of the city of Hodgenville, the county seat of LaRue County. It got it named from the Skaggs Long Hunters for the large number of buffaloes in the area. Bug, KY- located in Clinton County, Kentucky. Its post office is closed. Busy, KY- located in Perry County, Kentucky. California, KY-California is located in southeastern Campbell County at along the Ohio River. Kentucky Route 8 passes just west of the community, leading northwest (downstream) along the river 23 miles to Covington and southeast (upstream) 21 miles to Augusta. Clermontville, in Clermont County, Ohio, is directly across the river from California, but the closest bridge across the river is Interstate 275 14 miles downriver. Chevrolet, KY-Chevrolet is an unincorporated community in Harlan County, Kentucky, United States. Their post office is closed. A post office was established in 1918 under the name Bee Gee. It was renamed that same year for a model Chevrolet Series 490 driven by either the mailman or a mining employee. The automobile was said to have been the first automobile driven over the local road. Combs, KY-Combs is an unincorporated community and coal town within Perry County, Kentucky. It was named for Abijah Benjamin Combs. At one time, the town was called Lennut; its post office, no longer extant, used this name. Co Operative, KY-Co-Operative is an unincorporated community and coal town in McCreary County, United States. Their post office closed in 1984. Cuba, KY-Cuba is an unincorporated community in Graves County, Kentucky. Cuba was named for the Caribbean island Cuba, which at the time defenders of slavery hoped would be acquired from Spain. The Cuba post office, which had been opened in 1858, closed in 1905. Cut Shin, KY- located in Leslie County, Kentucky, United States. Its post office closed in 1996. Dwarf, KY-Dwarf is an unincorporated community located in Perry County, Kentucky,. The town was named after Jeremiah Combs, whose nickname of Short Jerry pointed to his stature. Its post office is still active (see image) Future City, KY-Future City is located in McCracken County. Grapevine, KY- is an unincorporated community located in Hopkins County, Kentucky,. Hippo, KY- is located in Floyd County, Kentucky. A post office was established in the community in 1902 and named for local resident Bee Madison Hippo Craft. At the time hippo, short for hypochondriac, was Southern slang for an irritable and complaining person, something Craft was apparently known for in town. Krypton, KY-Krypton is an unincorporated community within Perry County, Kentucky. Lovely, KY-Lovely is an unincorporated community located in Martin County, Kentucky. Marrowbone, KY- located in Pike County, Kentucky. It was also known as Regina. Mexico, KY-Mexico is an unincorporated community, in Crittenden County, Kentucky. Monkeys Eyebrow, KY- is a rural unincorporated community in Ballard County, Kentucky. It is generally the northwesternmost community in the Jackson Purchase area of western Kentucky that is identified on the highway maps. It was formerly frequently mentioned in the signoff message of WPSD-TV in nearby Paducah as the location of its transmitter. The community is part of the Paducah, KY-IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. One theory on the origin of this unique name is that, when looking at a map of Ballard County, it resembles a monkeys head. Monkeys Eyebrow is located where the monkeys eyebrow would be located.A common joke in the region is to provide directions to the city of Paducah by saying its halfway between Monkeys Eyebrow and Possum Trot (a tiny community in Marshall County). Mazie Ky- Mazie is an unincorporated community located in Lawrence County, Kentucky. Its post office is closed. Moon, KY-Moon is in Morgan County, Kentucky. It lies along Route 172 northeast of the city of West Liberty. Oddville, KY- is in Harrison County, Kentucky. Oddville is located on U.S. Route 62, 5.4 miles north-northeast of Cynthiana. The community was established in 1799; its name was chosen so that its post office would have a unique name. The aforementioned post office operated from 1851 to 1903. Parrot, KY- is in Jackson County, Kentucky. Parrot is located at the junction of Kentucky Route 2002 and Kentucky Route 2003 4.85 miles west of Annville. Parrot had a post office which opened on September 7, 1898. The community was named for a local family; it has also been called Letter Box, as before the post office opened residents used a letter box attached to a tree for mail service. PeeWee Valley, KY- The site of present-day Pewee Valley was first settled as a stop on the Louisville and Frankfort Railroad in 1852 under the name Smiths Station, although it remains unclear which Smith gave his name to the community. It may have been Henry S. Smith, the son of a local pioneer, or Thomas Smith, a local shopkeep. The name was changed to Pewee Valley on the establishment of a post office by Henrys son Charles Franklin Smith in 1856. The name refers to the Eastern Wood Pewee, a local bird, but, as the town lies on a ridge, the reason for naming the settlement a valley remains obscure. Pig, KY- is in southern Edmonson County, Kentucky. Pig is generally referred to as the area near KY 422, stretching from the roads southern terminus at US 31-W, north along KY 259 towards Rhoda and KY 70 towards Brownsville.The town was so named after disputes over which name to choose. A resident stated he saw a small hog on the road. The name of Pig was then accepted. The town is approximately 21.2 miles away from Bowling Green, in Warren County. Possum Trot- is in Marshall County, Kentucky. Possum Trot is located on Highway 62 between Paducah and Calvert City in the Jackson Purchase region of Western Kentucky. Quality, KY- is in Butler County, Kentucky. Its post office closed in 1995. Quicksand, KY- is located in Breathitt County, Kentucky. Relief, KY-is in Morgan County, Kentucky. It lies along Route 172 east of the city of West Liberty. Shoulderblade, KY- located in Breathitt County, Kentucky. It is named after a creek, a tributary of the Middle Fork of the Kentucky River. The creek was in turn named for a bone of very large animal once discovered on its banks. The community is also referred to as Juan, named after the Battle of San Juan Hill. Stamping Ground, KY- is in Scott County, Kentucky.It was named for the activity of herds of bison in the area. The town was established in 1817 and named Herndonsville for the local Herndon family. In 1834 the name was changed to Stamping Ground. A Stamping Ground post office operated for a short time in 1816. The Herndonsville post office operated from 1823 until 1834, when it was renamed Stamping Ground. Thousandsticks, KY- is in Leslie County, Kentucky. Thousandsticks is located at the junction of the Hal Rogers Parkway and Kentucky Route 118 3.5 miles northwest of Hyden. Top Most, KY- is in Knott County, Kentucky. Turkey, KY- is in Breathitt County, Kentucky. It is located on Kentucky Route 30, between the communities of Lerose and Shoulderblade Ky.Turkey lies on Terry Fork, a tributary to Turkey Creek, which is itself a tributary to the Middle Fork Kentucky River. The fork forms a valley known as Deadening Hollow. Tyewhoppety, KY- is located in Todd County, Kentucky. The community is located on Kentucky Route 181 14.5 miles north of Elkton. The etymology of the communitys name is unknown; it may refer to a slang term for an unkempt, ill-appearing person or a Shawnee word meaning place of no return. Viper, KY- is in Perry County, Kentucky. This area was along the historic War Trace, a Native American trail used by the Cherokee people and earlier indigenous peoples. Today Viper is served by Kentucky Route 7, 5 miles south-southeast of Hazard. Wax, KY- is in Grayson County, Kentucky, United States. Yeadiss, KY- is located in Leslie County, Kentucky. Zoe, KY- is in Lee County, Kentucky. It lies along Route 11 north of the city of Beattyville.
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 15:01:59 +0000
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