It's no secret, New York has been known to have locations that provide people with a bit of a tongue twister. Here we've listed off 11 towns with names that'll have you doing double takes!
1. Big Flats
While you may read the name of this town and think you've possibly stumbled upon a new chain of retail stores, Big Flats is just a small town located out in Western New York. Want to take a guess at how this town got its name? You guessed it, Big Flats is made up of mostly flat land!
2. Throop
Named after Governor Enos T. Throop, this tiny town can be found out near the Finger Lakes.
3. Mexico
Not to be confused with Mexico the village (that falls inside the town of Mexico's borders), this town is located in Oswego County. I'm not sure how a state tucked in the upper right corner of the U.S. managed to swing being called Mexico, but to many locals this town is often called the "Mother of Towns." Wild!
4. Shawangunk
If your thought process runs similar to the way mine does...then this picture should make complete sense. You can't help but admit that when you actually pronounce this town name out loud, the ending "gunk" just sounds so harsh. I can't help put picture everything that falls under my personal category of "yuck!" With that said, the origins of the town name are meant to describe the region's humid air!
5. Cheektowaga
One of Buffalo's largest suburbs, Cheektowaga was first settled by the Seneca people. Originally the town was given a name by the Seneca people meaning "place of the crabapple trees." Cheektowaga has been a long-time thriving town of New York.
6. Bath
Believed to have been named after the town in England, Bath can be found out in the Western region of New York.
7. Rush
With the fast pace that New Yorkers are often known to keep, does it really come as any surprise that there's a town named Rush? Don't mind us!
8. Horseheads
Excuse me...what? It's hard not experience flashbacks to "The Godfather" when you see a town name like this. While you're most likely hoping there's some silly meaning behind this town name, we're unfortunately here to report that there's not. Legend has it that after a pile of dead horses (casualties of battle) was formed, Iroquois people used the bones of the horses to scare away Americans from the area.
9. Friendship
Friendship, a little town in the state of New York, seems to have acquired its name in quite the ironic way. It is said that in the early 1800s, many of the areas first settlers were known to often have controversy with one another. Yikes! After years of town rivalries all fighting ceased and the area was given the name Friendship as a show of good faith.
10. Neversink
This New York town acquired its name through a long historical game of telephone! Originally pronounced by early settlers as "Narvssing", the town now goes by Neversink!
11. Wappinger
While it's most likely that this town got its name from the Algonkian word meaning "easterner," our initial guess is that this was once a limited edition item at Burger King. Next time you find yourself at a drive through, throw in the word "Wappinger" and I bet no one will even notice.
There you have it. Are you someone from out-of-state who has seen a strangely named town that didn't make our list? Share which New York town you think has the strangest name in the comments below!
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