Most People Don’t Know The Meaning Behind These 15 Kentucky Towns
Back in the old days, people would name a town something simple, like Lick Skillet. Why? It was easy to remember and a natural part of pioneer life. Occasionally you get lucky and actually run into an ole’ timer that is familiar with how the town came by its name. Other times, townies take an educated guess. Realistically, they could just spin a creative tale and we wouldn’t know the difference, but most the ole’ timers are a good sort… So that likely isn’t the case.
Here are 15 unusual town names that come with a tale:
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The local grocery has a small, yet welcoming, gorilla monument that is the last iconic figure of the once busy, but small community. There use to be the Ape Yard Baptist Church, Ape Yard Farm Supply, Ape Yard Chamber of Commerce and the Ape Yard Insurance. It is located Laurel County near East Bernstadt. As far as the locals know, there was never even a petting zoo in the town that had monkeys. One jokingly said it referenced children behaving badly in the yard decades ago.
At first glance, one thinks this town was named by someone who couldn’t spell Juggernaut. It is actually quite the opposite. The ole’ timers simplified this town’s name by naming it after the phrase uttered when one townie asked another if he wanted a “jug or not”.
221 West leading out of Pineville runs right through Kettle Island, which obviously isn’t an island. Locals aren’t sure how this tiny town got its name, but it is not hard to miss. It is easier to bypass then it is to see.
None of the current locals are sure who Lola actually was, but she was obviously a woman worth naming an entire town after. Some jest the town is named after a showgirl.
This little town in Carter County is said to be the actual home community of Roy Roger’s grandparents. This is possibly one the most “known” aspect of the community. As for the origin of Pactolus, townies aren’t even sure what it is, other than their town.
This town is an amusing mistake from another mistake. It is actually the spelling of an early landowner’s name, Rugals. Which, according to genealogy reports, was originally Ruggles. I believe they have since corrected the spelling of the town.
If you think this town is anything like the 1937 western film, “Terror in Tiny Town”… you will be sorely disappointed. The most logical explanation is the name Tiny was given due to its actual size.
Decades ago, townies stood atop the hill and gazed down at the town. It was in that moment they determined it looked like a monkey’s eyebrow. It is unclear if the town folk were drinking at the time.
This simple little community is located in the heart of Harlan, and there is actually nothing tacky about it. It is a traditional town filled with goodhearted people. It could have been a bad joke that stuck.
This tiny town lies right on the county line of Hancock-Davies and is sometimes referred to as Tywhapity Bottoms. The old timers lovingly refer to it as Tywhappity, but none of them can recollect as to why. We should not condenm an ole’ timer for not remembering every detail during the decades.
This tiny town is one of some renowned. It was written into a great rural trilogy in the vast libraries of television history. The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, and Green Acres all make mention of Bugtussle, which is located near the Tennessee border in Monroe County.
This tiny little town has anywhere from 10 to 50 residents, depending on how you see the borders. It has a general store, and a wonderful dog named Lucy Liu as a mayor. Tale has it that rabbit hash was a favorite of some of the original residents and it carried over to the town name.
The name could be self explanatory, were it not for the fact possums waddle, not trot. I suppose if they run it could be seen as a sort of trot, or at least it was to the folks that named the town. One doesn’t see anywhere near the number of possums you’d think it takes to get a town named after a marsupial.
Now, everyone in Kentucky knows there were some good stories spun back in the day. So good, some are still told today in our tiny towns, even those that don’t show up on Mapquest… Getting the details of something that was named a century or so ago can be a tedious process, or impossible to do. We have to depend on the accounts being passed down from generation to generation. Personally, I love to listen to an ole’ timer spin a tale of yesteryear, including how a town got its name. Do you know any unique town names in the Bluegrass State, and how they got their names?
I am somewhat a cliche'. I grew up running around barefoot on a farm in Kentucky.
I love writing, art, sunshine, all animals and my incredibly patient husband, who tolerates my "crazy animal lady" side.
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