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

Started by webny99, January 14, 2019, 12:01:00 PM

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GaryV

Michigan in addition to Zilwaukee

Kalamazoo
Oshtemo
Otsego
Novi
Muskegon
Makatawa
Dowagiac
Allegan
Saugatuck
Hesperia
Newaygo
Onekama
Mackinac/Mackinaw
Tawas
Alpena
Escanaba
Cheboygan
Ontonagon
Petoskey
Charlevoix (or is there one in France?)
Epoufette
Naubinway
Brevort
Brimley
Munising
Manistee
Manistique
Ishpeming
Negaunee
Michigamme
Watersmeet
Copper Harbor




TheHighwayMan3561

#26
There's an Otsego, MN.

MN contenders:
Bemidji
Mahtomedi
Elko New Marlet (the formerly separate towns of Elko and New Market merged via voter referendum)
Grand Portage
Shakopee
Owatonna
Albert Lea
Zumbrota
Castle Danger
Illgen City
Brainerd
Miesville
Minnetonka
Marine on St. Croix
self-certified as the dumbest person on this board for 5 years running

Jim

I don't know if they're right, but Stephentown, New York, is very proud of being the only Stephentown on Earth.  New York 43 East.  May 11, 2003.

Photos I post are my own unless otherwise noted.
Signs: https://www.teresco.org/pics/signs/
Travel Mapping: https://travelmapping.net/user/?u=terescoj
Counties: http://www.mob-rule.com/user/terescoj
Twitter @JimTeresco (roads, travel, skiing, weather, sports)

Flint1979

Quote from: kphoger on January 14, 2019, 06:19:17 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on January 14, 2019, 05:16:21 PM
Zilwaukee, Michigan which was purposely named that so people would confuse it with Milwaukee, Wisconsin in hopes of luring people there to work.

Tell me it didn't work.




My favorite unique town name is Funk.
Lol it didn't work. Zilwaukee is a small city right outside of Saginaw.

vdeane

I would imagine Niskayuna, Coxsackie (forget Coxsackie - there's both the town and village), and Castleton-on-Hudson are pretty unique.  Not Schenectady, though - the city is in the county of the same name.

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on January 14, 2019, 07:21:58 PM
There's an Otsego, MN.
Also the name of a county in New York.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

kevinb1994

Quote from: GaryV on January 14, 2019, 07:01:21 PM
Michigan in addition to Zilwaukee

Kalamazoo
Oshtemo
Otsego
Novi
Muskegon
Makatawa
Dowagiac
Allegan
Saugatuck
Hesperia
Newaygo
Onekama
Mackinac/Mackinaw
Tawas
Alpena
Escanaba
Cheboygan
Ontonagon
Petoskey
Charlevoix (or is there one in France?)
Epoufette
Naubinway
Brevort
Brimley
Munising
Manistee
Manistique
Ishpeming
Negaunee
Michigamme
Watersmeet
Copper Harbor

There's Sheboygan in Wisconsin.

oscar

#31
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:

Dildo and South Dildo, Newfoundland (NL also has a Dildo Run, but that's just a waterway in a different part of the province)
Asbestos, Quebec
Swastika, Ontario (but there is an unincorporated community in New York also named Swastika)

Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan might also be a unique city name, as might Saskatoon.

Maybe also Heart's Content and Heart's Desire, both near each other in Newfoundland and on the same peninsula as Dildo and South Dildo.
my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
http://www.alaskaroads.com/home.html

Takumi

Quote from: oscar on January 14, 2019, 08:16:57 PM
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:

Dildo and South Dildo, Newfoundland (NL also has a Dildo Run, but that's just a waterway in a different part of the province)
Asbestos, Quebec
Swastika, Ontario

Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan might also be a unique city name.

Maybe also Heart's Content and Heart's Desire, both near each other in Newfoundland and on the same peninsula as Dildo and South Dildo.

There isn't much to do in Newfoundland, is there? ;)
Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:52:59 AM
Olive Garden must be stopped.  I must stop them.

Don't @ me. Seriously.

Flint1979

Quote from: kevinb1994 on January 14, 2019, 08:16:34 PM
Quote from: GaryV on January 14, 2019, 07:01:21 PM
Michigan in addition to Zilwaukee

Kalamazoo
Oshtemo
Otsego
Novi
Muskegon
Makatawa
Dowagiac
Allegan
Saugatuck
Hesperia
Newaygo
Onekama
Mackinac/Mackinaw
Tawas
Alpena
Escanaba
Cheboygan
Ontonagon
Petoskey
Charlevoix (or is there one in France?)
Epoufette
Naubinway
Brevort
Brimley
Munising
Manistee
Manistique
Ishpeming
Negaunee
Michigamme
Watersmeet
Copper Harbor

There's Sheboygan in Wisconsin.

They are spelled differently.

oscar

Quote from: Takumi on January 14, 2019, 08:19:44 PM
Quote from: oscar on January 14, 2019, 08:16:57 PM
Dildo and South Dildo, Newfoundland (NL also has a Dildo Run, but that's just a waterway in a different part of the province)
There isn't much to do in Newfoundland, is there? ;)

There is a lot of commercial fishing. And "dildo" means, among other things, a part of a boat.
my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
http://www.alaskaroads.com/home.html

hotdogPi

Quote from: GaryV on January 14, 2019, 07:01:21 PM
Michigan in addition to Zilwaukee

Kalamazoo
Oshtemo
Otsego
Novi
Muskegon
Makatawa
Dowagiac
Allegan
Saugatuck
Hesperia
Newaygo
Onekama
Mackinac/Mackinaw
Tawas
Alpena
Escanaba
Cheboygan
Ontonagon
Petoskey
Charlevoix (or is there one in France?)
Epoufette
Naubinway
Brevort
Brimley
Munising
Manistee
Manistique
Ishpeming
Negaunee
Michigamme
Watersmeet
Copper Harbor

Kalamazoo – several others in the US
Otsego – several others in the US
Novi – "new" in some languages; "nine" in others
Saugatuck – river and neighborhood in Connecticut
Hesperia – city in California that's 100× as populous as the one in Michigan
Mackinaw – one in Illinois
Tawas – a word, but not particularly common
Alpena – Arkansas, South Dakota
Charlevoix – several things with that name in Quebec
Brevort – township was named after a person
Brimley – last name of several people
Manistee – one in Alabama
Manistique – racehorse, not named after the city in Michigan
Watersmeet – town in South Africa, plus several buildings in England
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on January 14, 2019, 07:21:58 PM
There's an Otsego, MN.

MN contenders:
Bemidji
Mahtomedi
Elko New Marlet (the formerly separate towns of Elko and New Market merged via voter referendum)
Grand Portage
Shakopee
Owatonna
Albert Lea
Zumbrota
Castle Danger
Illgen City
Brainerd
Miesville
Minnetonka
Marine on St. Croix

Albert Lea – named after a person
Brainerd – one in Kansas
Minnetonka – there's a cave with that name in Idaho

Quote from: mgk920 on January 14, 2019, 03:10:42 PM
Is there another Green Bay in existence?  (I am aware of an 'Appleton, MN', though.)

Other larger city names in Wisconsin that exist in other states include Oshkosh (NE), Madison (several), Watertown (several), Fond du Lac (MN).
OTOH, Milwaukee, Stevens Point, Eau Claire, Racine, Kenosha, Janesville, Beloit, Marinette, Menasha, Neenah, Manitowoc, Sheboygan, De Pere, and Ashwaubenon are unique.  (Yes, there is a 'Milwaukie, OR' and a 'Cheboygan, MI', but their spellings are different).

Mike

Milwaukee – Pennsylvania and North Carolina
Racine – several in other states and one in Quebec, and it is a last name
Janesville – several
Beloit – several
Marinette – a current community in Nova Scotia and a ghost town in Arizona
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

ce929wax

Plainwell, MI.  There are no other Plainwell's in the United States.  I have no idea about other countries.

kphoger

Quote from: triplemultiplex on January 14, 2019, 02:22:20 PM
Anything place name derived from Native American words stands a good chance of being unique.

I remember seeing Judy Collins on TV once, and she was talking about her early days.  At one point, having mentioned Tatamagouche and another town with a similarly strange-sounding name, she stopped in the middle of her thought and said something like– You know, those town's names sound completely normal in Nova Scotia, but they sound really funny out here in Manitoba.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

MNHighwayMan

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on January 14, 2019, 07:21:58 PM
Elko New Market (the formerly separate towns of Elko and New Market merged via voter referendum)

If we're going to include that, then we can't forget Norwood Young America. (Same thing: city merger.)

Flint1979

I've got another one for Michigan. Ann Arbor named for the wives of the founders, both named Ann and the stands of bur oak trees.

Bruce

This thread is pretty much going to be a bunch of indigenous names.

The largest U.S. cities with indigenous names (that were not significantly Anglicized/rendered in other European languages) are Seattle, Milwaukee, Albuquerque, Miami, Oklahoma City, and Tucson.

formulanone

#41
Quote from: Bruce on January 15, 2019, 02:33:50 AM
This thread is pretty much going to be a bunch of indigenous names.

The largest U.S. cities with indigenous names (that were not significantly Anglicized/rendered in other European languages) are Seattle, Milwaukee, Albuquerque, Miami, Oklahoma City, and Tucson.

There's a Miami (mi-ami-uh) in Oklahoma and the Miami River Valley representing a good deal of south central Ohio along the Miami River.

Though Florida also has many Seminole, Miccosukee, and Creek place names...doubtful there's another Tallahassee, Okeechobee, or Weeki Wachee somewhere else in the world - though not impossible - in the way things can be Anglicized.

I was surprised that there's multiple places called "Bug Tussle" in the US, figuring Alabama had that one to herself.

CNGL-Leudimin

My very own hometown, Huesca. I still have to find another. Actually, pick a random village in Aragon, Spain and chances it's the only place in the world with that name are very high. Although most of them are also last names, these are derived from the places, not the other way round as it mostly happens in the USA.

However, I can shot down Moran Junction in the Grand Teton NP, WY from this thread.
Supporter of the construction of several running gags, including I-366 with a speed limit of 85 mph (137 km/h) and the Hypotenuse.

Please note that I may mention "invalid" FM channels, i.e. ending in an even number or down to 87.5. These are valid in Europe.

US 81

There are several (presumably) unique names of communities in Texas, though they are often unincorporated.  A quick search is only showing one each of

Gun Barrel City
Cut and Shoot.

SSOWorld

Scott O.

Not all who wander are lost...
Ah, the open skies, wind at my back, warm sun on my... wait, where the hell am I?!
As a matter of fact, I do own the road.
Raise your what?

Wisconsin - out-multiplexing your state since 1918.

webny99

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on January 14, 2019, 07:21:58 PM
There's an Otsego, MN.

Not sure who you were responding to, but there is an Otsego County, NY, also.

US 89


webny99

#47
^ Now I look like a fool, but at least everybody can have a good laugh about it!  :-D

Quote from: US 89 on January 15, 2019, 11:18:29 AM
Quote from: GaryV on January 14, 2019, 07:01:21 PM
Michigan
Otsego
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on January 14, 2019, 07:21:58 PM
There's an Otsego, MN.
Quote from: vdeane on January 14, 2019, 07:57:12 PM
Also the name of a county in New York.
Quote from: webny99 on January 15, 2019, 10:49:53 AM
Not sure who you were responding to, but there is an Otsego County, NY, also.
I was actually wondering, maybe Otsego would qualify for this thread.  :hmmm:

triplemultiplex

Quote from: formulanone on January 15, 2019, 06:52:06 AM
I was surprised that there's multiple places called "Big Tussle" in the US, figuring Alabama had that one to herself.

You mean "Bug Tussle", right?
Makes me think of some podunk little corner of the South where there's nothing to do but crack open a Busch Light and watch a couple of insects throw down.
"That's just like... your opinion, man."

Rushmeister

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

Indiana (maybes)
Birdseye
Popcorn
Santa Claus
...and then the psychiatrist chuckled.



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