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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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nexus73

Quote from: Brandon on March 14, 2019, 12:04:21 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on March 14, 2019, 01:53:15 AM
Powers sounds like a plebian name but it is the only city of Powers I could find with a web search.  Their high school is called the Cruisers, which is about timber cruising, not car cruising or naval warships.

Powers, Michigan, a village in the UP.

Is a village in Michigan incorporated or unincorporated?  Powers in Oregon is an incorporated city.  The police department is one man, the chief.  Recently he was set upon by some who wished to do him harm and the citizenry came to his rescue.  It sounds like something from the Wild West but that ~is~ the ethos of Powers, an isolated logging town in the Coast Range.

Rick
US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.


Bruce

Quote from: Scott5114 on March 14, 2019, 01:11:24 AM
Quote from: formulanone on January 15, 2019, 06:52:06 AM
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 "Big Tussle" in the US, figuring Alabama had that one to herself.

Close but no cigar: there's a Tullahassee, OK.

Keep in mind that even indigenous names can repeat, because the indigenous residents had a tendency to get kicked off their land and moved to Oklahoma, where they reused names from home for features that reminded them of the originals.

Plus there's plenty of repeated names that have no connection due to the rather limited forms of Anglicization afforded in the 19th century. "Sauk" comes up in several locations despite having no connection between native language families.

roadman65

Is Cuckoo, VA duplicated?
Newport News, VA there maybe Newports in other places, but none with News in the end.

Frelinghuysen, in New Jersey I doubt would be anyplace else as that was named after a person.  Most uncommon sir names with towns after them will be one of a kind.

Griggstown, in Franklin (Somerset County), NJ is most likely one.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

nexus73

Here's an Utah grouping that will be hard to beat.  The city of Beaver is the county seat of Beaver County.  Their high school is called Beaver High School and of course, they are the Beavers!

For a more humorous combo from the Beehive State there is Millard County and its county seat is Fillmore.

Rick
US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.

Avalanchez71

There is a incorporated town in Tennessee called Bulls Gap.  There is also a Bean Station, TN.

kevinb1994

Quote from: nexus73 on March 19, 2019, 12:55:05 AM
Here's an Utah grouping that will be hard to beat.  The city of Beaver is the county seat of Beaver County.  Their high school is called Beaver High School and of course, they are the Beavers!

For a more humorous combo from the Beehive State there is Millard County and its county seat is Fillmore.

Rick

There is a Beaver County in Pennsylvania as well, with Beaver Borough as its county seat.

Beltway

Quote from: roadman65 on March 19, 2019, 12:05:34 AM
Newport News, VA there maybe Newports in other places, but none with News in the end.

Dozens of places named Newport in the U.S., Canada and Europe.  I couldn't find anywhere else that have a dual name with News.

Not really sure how the city got the name --

No one knows for sure where Newport News got its name, but "Newportes Newes" first appears in the Virginia Company records in 1619, making it one of the oldest place names in the New World.  The most widely accepted folktale is that our city is the namesake of Captain Christopher Newport, commander of Susan Constant, which was the flagship of the three-ship English fleet that landed on Jamestown Island in 1607.  He made several voyages to Newport News in the early days of the Jamestown Colony, bringing "good news" of supplies and settlers.

https://www.newport-news.org/visitors/about-our-city/overview-and-fun-facts/
http://www.roadstothefuture.com
http://www.capital-beltway.com

Baloney is a reserved word on the Internet
    (Robert Coté, 2002)

Brandon

Quote from: nexus73 on March 18, 2019, 07:00:31 PM
Quote from: Brandon on March 14, 2019, 12:04:21 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on March 14, 2019, 01:53:15 AM
Powers sounds like a plebian name but it is the only city of Powers I could find with a web search.  Their high school is called the Cruisers, which is about timber cruising, not car cruising or naval warships.

Powers, Michigan, a village in the UP.

Is a village in Michigan incorporated or unincorporated?  Powers in Oregon is an incorporated city.  The police department is one man, the chief.  Recently he was set upon by some who wished to do him harm and the citizenry came to his rescue.  It sounds like something from the Wild West but that ~is~ the ethos of Powers, an isolated logging town in the Coast Range.

Rick

A village in Michigan is incorporated.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_villages_in_Michigan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_divisions_of_Michigan
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

US71

Hogeye, AR

Peculiar, MO

There used to be a Bugtussle, AR, but they got assimilated years ago.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

wxfree

In Texas, there are some names that seem unusual but I could see being used elsewhere, such as Mobeetie and Tacubaya.  Then there are names that don't even seem to fit together as words.  One is Darrouzett, although the town was named after someone.  Another is Lazbuddie.  This one was named after two people, so is more likely to be unique.  Also in the compound name category is Iraan, which is (almost) a combination of Ira and Ann, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear of another one.

A short word that seems like it could be unique is Toyah, an American Indian word for "flowing water."  Nearby is Toyahvale, which suggests "flowing water valley."  These are both in the area of Balmorrhea, which has a state park with a beautiful swimming pool.  It's 25 feet deep, absolutely clear, is over an acre in size, and holds 3.5 million gallons of water.  It's fed by a spring that produces 15 million gallons of water per day.  It's the reason the towns in this desert area have water names.  Balmorrhea (pronounced bal-morray) is also a contender.

Of the places I mentioned, Darrouzett, Iraan, Toyah, and Balmorrhea are incorportated.  The two I like best for this purpose are Lazbuddie, named after D. Luther (Laz) Green and Andrew (Buddie) Sherley, and Balmorrhea, which I just found out "is an amalgamation of Balcom, Morrow, and Rhea, the surnames of its founders" (quoth Wickerpaedia).  That explains the short "a" sound at the beginning and the "ray" at the end.  I suspect these amalgamatia may be a good source of names for this list because they're more likely to be unique.
I'd like to buy a vowel, Alex.  What is E?

nexus73

Quote from: Brandon on March 19, 2019, 10:41:02 AM
Quote from: nexus73 on March 18, 2019, 07:00:31 PM
Quote from: Brandon on March 14, 2019, 12:04:21 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on March 14, 2019, 01:53:15 AM
Powers sounds like a plebian name but it is the only city of Powers I could find with a web search.  Their high school is called the Cruisers, which is about timber cruising, not car cruising or naval warships.

Powers, Michigan, a village in the UP.

Is a village in Michigan incorporated or unincorporated?  Powers in Oregon is an incorporated city.  The police department is one man, the chief.  Recently he was set upon by some who wished to do him harm and the citizenry came to his rescue.  It sounds like something from the Wild West but that ~is~ the ethos of Powers, an isolated logging town in the Coast Range.

Rick

A village in Michigan is incorporated.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_villages_in_Michigan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_divisions_of_Michigan

Thank you for that information!  Knowing about parishes instead of counties in Louisiana was about the extent of my knowledge regarding unusual political subdivision names. 

Rick
US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.

noelbotevera

Since I live in Amish Country, there are a lot of unique town names to play with. Here's a sample...

Bird-in-Hand
Intercourse
Blue Ball
Fivepointville
Leacock

kevinb1994

Quote from: noelbotevera on March 19, 2019, 07:40:31 PM
Since I live in Amish Country, there are a lot of unique town names to play with. Here's a sample...

Bird-in-Hand
Intercourse
Blue Ball
Fivepointville
Leacock

We drove through a couple of them as part of Jason's Central PA Road Meet back in April of 2016, except for Bird-in-Hand, Intercourse, and Fivepointville, which were not on the itinerary route. Driving through Blue Ball and Leacock was quite the experience, no?

CNGL-Leudimin

Quote from: wxfree on March 19, 2019, 01:52:53 PMAlso in the compound name category is Iraan, which is (almost) a combination of Ira and Ann, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear of another one.

Even though not quite a match, there's the one country formerly known as Persia :sombrero:.
Quote from: noelbotevera on March 19, 2019, 07:40:31 PM
Since I live in Amish Country, there are a lot of unique town names to play with. Here's a sample...

Intercourse

There's the well known Austrian village of Fucking, which basically means the same thing as Intercourse :bigass:.

Okay, now more seriously, Fucking in itself isn't unique, since there are Öberfucking and Unterfucking (literally "Upper Fucking" and "Lower Fucking") in another part of Austria, and Fugging used to be called Fucking too, but got renamed perhaps because it's too close to Vienna and thus it would have got more troubled than the Fucking near Salzburg. Now that I think, what a f***ing post I've written.
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.

nexus73

Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on March 20, 2019, 09:05:33 AM
Quote from: wxfree on March 19, 2019, 01:52:53 PMAlso in the compound name category is Iraan, which is (almost) a combination of Ira and Ann, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear of another one.

Even though not quite a match, there's the one country formerly known as Persia :sombrero:.
Quote from: noelbotevera on March 19, 2019, 07:40:31 PM
Since I live in Amish Country, there are a lot of unique town names to play with. Here's a sample...

Intercourse

There's the well known Austrian village of Fucking, which basically means the same thing as Intercourse :bigass:.

Okay, now more seriously, Fucking in itself isn't unique, since there are Öberfucking and Unterfucking (literally "Upper Fucking" and "Lower Fucking") in another part of Austria, and Fugging used to be called Fucking too, but got renamed perhaps because it's too close to Vienna and thus it would have got more troubled than the Fucking near Salzburg. Now that I think, what a f***ing post I've written.

Don't forget Phuket in Thailand...LOL!

Rick
US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.

hotdogPi

Quote from: nexus73 on March 20, 2019, 10:42:41 AM
Don't forget Phuket in Thailand...LOL!

Rick

That's a result of transliteration. The name of the city, pronounced correctly, doesn't sound like a swear.
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.

Paulinator66

Quote from: hbelkins on January 14, 2019, 12:48:22 PM
I would have thought that my hometown of Beattyville was the only one in the world. But years ago, I found a Beattyville shown in the Rand McNally atlas in Quebec. It hasn't been shown in years. Apparently it was an old logging town that no longer exists.

There's a Beatty, NV.  It's NW of Las Vegas on US-95.  It's always been a desire of mine to go there since it's my last name.  Now I'm also going to have to stop by your hometown next time I'm in the area.

Paulinator66

Bellefontaine Neighbors, MO.

It has has the distinction of being the longest named city in America.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellefontaine_Neighbors,_Missouri

roadman65

Texahoma has to be one of a kind being that the two states the town straddles is its namesake.  I doubt there is another town between Texas and Oklahoma that would duplicate it.

Marydel along the DE- MD border has the same issue I would imagine, though a Delmar but not another Marydel.  Delmar is duplicated in California even though not on the DE- MD state border.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

CNGL-Leudimin

Quote from: oscar on January 14, 2019, 08:16:57 PM
For some others from those threads, which I've visited:

Asbestos, Quebec

Spelled "Asbestos" maybe, but there is Shimian (石棉) county in Sichuan, China, which translates to "Asbestos".
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.

Brandon

Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on March 29, 2019, 04:39:56 AM
Quote from: oscar on January 14, 2019, 08:16:57 PM
For some others from those threads, which I've visited:

Asbestos, Quebec

Spelled "Asbestos" maybe, but there is Shimian (石棉) county in Sichuan, China, which translates to "Asbestos".

And Asbest, Russia.  Guess what they mine there?
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

MNHighwayMan

Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on March 29, 2019, 04:39:56 AM
Quote from: oscar on January 14, 2019, 08:16:57 PM
For some others from those threads, which I've visited:

Asbestos, Quebec
Spelled "Asbestos" maybe, but there is Shimian (石棉) county in Sichuan, China, which translates to "Asbestos".

If we're going to count translations, then many names in the US that are derived from Native American languages don't count either.

roadman65

Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

roadman65

Rahway in New Jersey has to be one of a kind.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

CNGL-Leudimin

Another big no for this thread. Houma, Louisiana isn't unique, as there is the county-level city of 侯马 (Hóumǎ) in Shanxi, China.
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.



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