An Encyclopedia of Weird Texas Town Names

Perhaps through a combination of sheer size and pioneer spirit, Texas, of all the states, seems to feature the highest concentration of truly absurd town names. About a year ago, I made a categorized list of some of the best, with food (Oatmeal), states of mind (Uncertain), concepts (Utopia), things (Telephone), names of other cities and countries (Scotland), phrases (Jot ’Em Down), and, most important, guns (Cut and Shoot) and guys (Tom Bean) as the main groupings.  Turns out, many of the towns in categories other than “guys” are also just named after guys. Other monikers reveal titillating mishmashes of truth and lore and hint at the nature of the formation of early settlements. And still others show how the stunningly dull bureaucratic machinations of state…

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