13 Towns Near Washington DC With The Strangest Names You'll Ever See
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Maura
Author
Have you ever seen a street sign and thought “Who comes up with these names?” Let’s face it, there are some pretty weird names out there that make you do a double take. Since DC is in prime road trip territory, you might end up seeing a few bizarre names on the signs on I-95, I-66 or I-70 as you travel along. The next time you are in the car, take a look for these 13 towns near Washington DC with extremely strange names.
Not technically a town, Frogtown is an unincorporated community in Clarke County an hour outside of DC.
Just about two hours outside of DC, Crapo is unincorporated community in MD. The name Crapo comes from "crapaud" which is the French word for toad. There seems to be a theme so far.
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Located in Virginia, two and half hours south of Washington DC, Dinwiddie was the site of the Battle of Dinwiddie Court House, Battle of Five Forks and the Battle of Sutherland’s Station during the Civil War. It’s also just fun to say.
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Boring MD is in fact not named for it’s pace of life. It was named for its first postmaster, David Boring. You can wander through this charming town and snap a photo at the old post office under the Boring sign.
It sounds much more violent than it actually is. Slaughter Beach is a quaint beachside town with a population of 207. There are three different stories about the town’s name but the nicest one that has nothing to do with slaughter is that the town is named after William Slaughter, a local postmaster in the 19th century.
Fruitland is a city in Wicomico County, not far from Salisbury. This traditional American small town focuses on community and friendliness.
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This might be the silliest name on the list. Located in Lancaster County, about two and a half hours north of DC, Blue Ball PA was named for a hotel. According to historians in the 18th century, the owner of the Blue Ball Inn hung a blue ball outside and called his hotel "The Sign of the Blue Ball." The name caught on.
Scrabble is a small community in Rappahannock, VA an hour away from DC. No word on how competitive the scrabble games are here but we imagine they take it pretty seriously.
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Perhaps the most surprising thing about Intercourse is that it’s located in Amish Country. Because of the name the sign posts are often stolen and have to be replaced.
Sassafras is a small town located on the Sassafras River and is very popular for boating, fishing and other water activities. It’s also rolls off the tongue quite nicely!
Three hours outside of Washington DC, there is a town called Pancake. And the name just makes me feel hungry. It’s actually named for the Pancake Family but I imagine they still have delicious pancakes there.
Coupon is a small mining town in Pennsylvania, three hours northwest of DC. It’s named Coupon because it was originally a company town and the miners were often paid in coupons.
Assawoman is on Virginia Eastern shore and was actually originally called Assawaman. They changed the name in 1966 when, according to Wikipedia, the Board of Geographic Names changed it to its current name. We’d love to know who was on the board or how you get onto the board of geographic names.
What town will you be visiting to grab a picture with their sign? Looking for more towns outside of DC that are great to visit. We recommend one of these charming 16 small towns!
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