City/Town Names that are one-of-a-kind

[westerninterloper]

Indiana (almost certainly one-of-a-kinds)
Nappanee
Oolitic
Gnaw Bone

Adding:
Loogootee
Toad Hop
Floyds Knobs
Churubusco
Young America
Roachdale
Hessen Cassel
Jeff
French Lick
Odon

[golden eagle]

Indiana (almost certainly one-of-a-kinds)
Nappanee
Oolitic
Gnaw Bone

Adding:
Loogootee
Toad Hop
Floyds Knobs
Churubusco
Young America
Roachdale
Hessen Cassel
Jeff
French Lick
Odon

There's Nappanee, Ontario. It's the hometown on singer Avril Lavigne.

[kphoger]

Preview, people.  Preview.

[golden eagle]

Here's some possible places in Mississippi that could be only ones in the world:

Bay St. Louis
Belzoni
Escatawpa
Gautier
Hushpuckena
Learned
Pass Christian
Rolling Fork
Saucier
Shuqulak

[US71]

Peculiar, MO

[thspfc]

If I somehow get really rich I'm going to buy a bunch of land, build houses and a post office on it, and name it Waunakee.

[Scott5114]

Young America

Nope–there's a Young America, MN as well (I only know that because when I was a kid there was some sort of promotion I took part in that involved mailing bottle caps to Young America, MN). Technically the town in MN is called "Norwood Young America" because it merged with a town called Norwood, but I think that's still enough to be able mark Young America, IN off the list of "one-of-a-kind" names.

[iowahighways]

Zilwaukee, Michigan which was purposely named that so people would confuse it with Milwaukee, Wisconsin in hopes of luring people there to work.

There's also Waukee, Iowa, which was apparently named for the Milwaukee Railroad, but it is pronounced with the accent on the second syllable (wau-KEE). I'm not aware of any other places named Waukee.

[kphoger]

Young America

Nope–there's a Young America, MN as well (I only know that because when I was a kid there was some sort of promotion I took part in that involved mailing bottle caps to Young America, MN). Technically the town in MN is called "Norwood Young America" because it merged with a town called Norwood, but I think that's still enough to be able mark Young America, IN off the list of "one-of-a-kind" names.

The one in Minnesota is the only one I was familiar with, actually.

I've driven through that town a few times.  Back when my wife's grandparents lived in Waverly, Norwood Young America was along my somewhat convoluted back-road route from I-35.

And yes, Norwood and Young America were two separate towns until 1997.  I've heard it referred to as simply "Young America" for short, though–as well as simply "Norwood".

[7/8]

Some I suspect are unique to Ontario:
Penetanguishene
Niagara-on-the-Lake
Kawartha Lakes
Batchawana Bay
Kakabeka Falls
Moonbeam
Moosonee
Moose Factory
Petawawa

EDIT: How did I forget Mississauga?

[achilles765]

Has anyone mentioned "Cut and Shoot"  Texas.

[Flint1979]

Zilwaukee, Michigan which was purposely named that so people would confuse it with Milwaukee, Wisconsin in hopes of luring people there to work.

There's also Waukee, Iowa, which was apparently named for the Milwaukee Railroad, but it is pronounced with the accent on the second syllable (wau-KEE). I'm not aware of any other places named Waukee.

That's kind of funny to me because I lived in Zilwaukee for the first 7 years of my life and the street I lived on is called Waukee Lane. I lived there during the years that the Zilwaukee Bridge was being built as well and remember watching it as it was being built.

[tdindy88]

Indiana (almost certainly one-of-a-kinds)
Nappanee
Oolitic
Gnaw Bone

Adding:
Loogootee
Toad Hop
Floyds Knobs
Churubusco
Young America
Roachdale
Hessen Cassel
Jeff
French Lick
Odon

How about another one for Indiana: Indianapolis

[Flint1979]

How about Tittabawassee? It's the name of a township, road and river in Michigan.

[Stephane Dumas]

There are two prior threads about funny/strange place names, that would be good places to look for one-off city/town names. Some of them have been mentioned here already.

For some others from those threads, which I've visited:

Asbestos, Quebec

Due to the controversal reputation of asbestos, the town of Asbestos was renamed Val-des-Sources last year.

Btw, there's no other villages or cities named Coaticook, Magog, Shawinigan.

[skluth]

A few I haven't seen mentioned
Shawano WI
De Pere WI (pronounced Dee Pier or Deep Ear)
Thiry Daems WI
Omro WI
Taycheedah WI
Grantwood Village MO
Webster Groves MO
Olivette MO
Cool Valley MO
Bel-Ridge MO
Moline Acres MO
Dardenne Prairie MO
Des Peres MO (pronounced Day Pair)

[Dirt Roads]

    Bolivar

Nope.  I've driven through Bolivar, MO, several times.

    Granville

Nope.  Granville, OH, and Granville, NY, each have more than 5000 people living there.

    Hurricane

Nope.  Hurricane, UT, has a population of more than 20,000.

    Paw Paw

Nope.  I've guerilla-camped in and hitchhiked out of Paw Paw, MI.

    Star City

Nope.  Star City, AR, is a county seat.

    West Union

Nope.  West Union, IA, and West Union, OH, would have something to say about that.



And those are just the ones I know of.  I'm sure there are others on your list that aren't unique to WV.

Probably so; indeed I should have remembered Paw Paw, Michigan since I've been to Kalamazoo (using US-131 and I-94 east of there).  I should also point out that Bolivar sounds like Oliver [Twist], and Hurricane rhymes with gun (and locals will remind you of the difference).  But in the case of the latter, most folks in West Virginia would say pronounce "Hurricane Katrina" the same way as herr-ee-cun, but they would not pay attention to the difference if you said hurr-eh-cane.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

    Granville

Nope.  Granville, OH, and Granville, NY, each have more than 5000 people living there.

And there's a Granville in France as well, in the department no. 50 (Manche) to be exact.

[iowahighways]

This one is a challenge for Iowa, if native American names don't count. The one that definitely fits is Le Mars. I suspect Dubuque and Bettendorf are unique.

Council Bluffs fits the bill, as does Sioux City (unless you count its directionally-named neighbors in Nebraska and South Dakota).

While it's a Native American name, Muscatine is also unique; it was originally named Bloomington, which is anything but unique. I'll add Sigourney; while it's a personal name, unlike the actress, it has a different pronunciation (SIG-er-nee).

I know there are places named Des Moines in Washington and New Mexico, but am not aware of any other place named West Des Moines.

There are also places named Iowa City in California (although Wikipedia says it's called Iowa Hill now) and Florida (northeast of Orlando), but Iowa City, IA, is the only incorporated place with that name. I thought neighboring Coralville was unique as well (aside from a fictional ghost town on an episode of The Snorks when I was a kid), but there's one in New South Wales, Australia.

[kphoger]

I should also point out that Bolivar sounds like Oliver [Twist],

  So does the one in Missouri.

[webny99]

I should also point out that Bolivar sounds like Oliver [Twist],

  So does the one in Missouri.

And the one in New York.*



*Actually, I'm not entirely sure if it sounds like Oliver. I've always said Bolivar with a hard -ar at the end. But, regardless of how it's pronounced, it definitely exists!

[Great Lakes Roads]

How about Saint-Louis-du-Ha!-Ha! in Quebec?

[MATraveler128]

Golf, Florida.

[NWI_Irish96]

Golf, Florida.

Also a Golf, Illinois

[plain]

How about Saint-Louis-du-Ha!-Ha! in Quebec?

Yeah good luck finding another one of those! Ha! Ha!