What do you call a man from Bucksnort, TN? A bucksnorter of course. Some Southern town names are so outrageous they almost seem like jokes, but it turns out there is a story behind each one. Before the Civil War, a man local to present-day Bucksnort sold “snorts” of moonshine for a dollar. Perhaps his name was Buck.
And there’s plenty more where that came from. Some Southern town names need no explanation. Early surveyors in Uncertain, TX, weren’t sure which state they were in. Meanwhile, Between, GA is named for resting exactly halfway between Atlanta and Athens. Not sure where to road trip this spring? Try Nowhere, OK, Nameless, TN, or Experiment, GA, or get to the bottom of some of North Carolina’s oddest town names, Big Lick, Meat Camp, and Tick Bite. Hoop and Holler, TX sounds like a fun place to be. The only less prestigious address than Upper Pig Pen, NC? Try Lower Pig Pen, NC. Loving and Happyland are both in Oklahoma, but so is Slaughtersville.
Here are few more of our favorites:
Slicklizzard, AL
Wooly Booger, WV
Lick Skillet, TN
Needmore, FL
Hot Coffee, MS
Toast, NC
Humptulips, WV
The Holy City, OK
Hog Jaw, AR
Santa Claus, GA (There’s also a Christmas, FL)
Scissors, TX
Frostproof, FL
Big Bone Lick, KY
Hell Hole Swamp, SC
Whynot, MS
Photo: R. Steven Norman, III
Hot Coffee, MS
What’s the most off-the-wall Southern town you’ve been to? Share it with us in the comments.
