These 11 Texas Towns Have The Silliest Names But Are So Worth A Visit
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Katie Lawrence
Author
We Texans definitely have a sense of humor. It’s evident enough in our everyday demeanor, but if you need hard proof, just take a look at some of our street and town names. Most of these have a backstory that explains just what the original settlers were thinking, but the silly names still remain to this day.
There are several theories as to the origin of this town's name, one being that it means "calf's tail" in the Native American Alabama language. Another possibility is that it means "fat wildcat" in the Wichita language.
Most of us have heard of this tiny Texas town with a population of little over 1,000, but few of us actually know how it got its name. In 1912, there was a community confrontation about the town church, and a boy said, "I'm going to cut around the corner and shoot through the bushes in a minute!" The phrase stuck in the residents' minds, and the rest was history.
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The name for this tiny North Texas town comes from the nearby Noodle Creek. Apparently, Noodle is the local term for "nothing" and signifies a dry creek bed.
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Oatmeal was established by German settlers in the late 1840s, and its name is either a variation of Mr. Othneil, the town's first gristmill owner, or a translation of the name Habermill ("haber" meaning "oats" in a German dialect). This is the town's water tower, painted to resemble a box of oatmeal. There's even an annual oatmeal festival!
This name makes total sense considering Texas is basically its own planet, right? Earth was actually named by its own townspeople in 1925. It was originally named Fairlawn, but was changed upon discovery of a Texas town already bearing that name. Residents sent in their suggestions, and everyone agreed that Earth was the best one.
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If you're thinking about the Benjamin Franklin on the 100 dollar bill, you're incorrect. This town is actually named after Benjamin Franklin Sammons, the son of Benjamin Sammons, who was granted a plot of land to build the settlement. A bit misleading, right?
No, this town isn't named after the fish (although that would be pretty cool). It was originally called Johnson Station after settler Jimmie Johnson, but the postal authorities suggested a shorter name. A resident suggested Nemo, Latin for "no one," because if Jimmie's name wasn't good enough, then nobody's was.
The name "Old Dime Box" comes from the old custom of forwarding and receiving mail in a large, wooden box. The town was established in 1913 when the Southern Pacific Railroad built a line nearby.
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Again, another name that isn't what it seems. Bigfoot is actually named after Texas Ranger William A. A. "Bigfoot" Wallace, who is a former resident of the town - not the mythical creature.
Finally a straightforward name! The town of Okra, located in Eastland County, is actually named after the vegetable. Who would've thought?
Isn't that just the most adorable water tower you've ever seen? Happy derived its name from the nearby stream called Happy Draw, which cowboys named as such because they were ecstatic to find water there after a long horseback ride without any. The community's motto is, "The Town Without a Frown." How cute!
Have you been to any of these towns? What other towns in Texas have silly names and interesting stories behind them? Let us know!
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