The Volunteer State is known for its significant contributions to music, and enchanting landscapes; that range from swamps and cotton fields, to gently rolling hills, and the majestic Appalachian Mountains. Tennessee has its larger cities such as Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville. Throughout the state, there are some town names that are quite unique and this post will highlight such towns.
Sweet Lips:
In Chester County, there is a town that is well pretty sweet. According to LA Times, when soldiers during the Civil War tasted the water in a nearby creek and realized that it was sweet to their lips they decided to name this small town of under 100 its present name. The town does have a diner that you can visit so that you can find out how their food tastes on your lips. Does it live up to its name? That will be up for you to decide should you visit this small town southwest of the city of Jackson.
Finger:
When you don’t like someone or like how someone is acting the ultimate disrespectful thing you can do is show them your middle finger also known as “giving them the finger”. Tennessee has a town that is named after that gesture. There as a discussion on what to name this McNairy County town off of US Highway 45, but when the townsfolk noticed a mans obscene gestures they decided to name their town after that (courtesy of Miami News).
Ducktown and Turtletown:
For more information on Ducktown check out my Ocoee/Ducktown post on this website. Ducktown is said to named after Chief Duck a Cherokee chief and Turtletown is located just north of Ducktown. Both towns do have a post office and Ducktown has about 500 people and a few fast-food restaurants as it a centralized location for explorers of the Cherokee National Forest and surrounding Ocoee River in Southeastern Tennessee.
Ballplay:
Just north of Tellico Plains, TN is a town in the Cherokee National Forest. This town has a fire station and a church but not much else. This town is thought to be named after Native American Stickball which is considered to be one of the oldest team sports in North America.
Red Boiling Springs:
Red Boiling Springs seems like a location where witches gather every Halloween, but this town of about 1,000 people in Macon County was named after sulfur springs which gave a reddish appearance. During the 1800s through the early 1900s there as a boom with a belief that mineral springs have special healing properties. Red Boiling Springs had five hotels and mineral spring locations at its peak, but nowadays the number of operating hotels is down to three. This mineralization was due to the proximity of the Chattanooga Shale, a late Devonian Black Shale Unit is just beneath the town. This shale contained iron sulfate which was dissolved as sulfur which gave the springs their appearance. The town also is host to the Summer Solstice Festival that coincides with the Summer Solstice and a host of other events throughout the year.
For more information about this town visit the website below.
Bucksnort:
Near Exit 152 in Hickman County Tennessee (southwest of Nashville) is the town of Bucksnort. It has a restaurant but does not have a Post Office. Bucksnort is thought to be coined for the sound that deer make.
Nameless:
This community in Jackson County is so unique that it doesn’t even require a name. It is thought that someone left the town’s name blank when the town applied for a post office spot, so the US Post Office just went with Nameless. The true origin of the name is unknown. This community has the J.T Watts Community Store which features gatherings that include Moonpies, Bologna on Crackers, and bottles of Coca-Cola.
^^ Another post for more information on these uniquely named Tennessee towns ^^
Next up are the Highlighted Community posts of Owensboro and Lexington (both should be out this week).
Upland-South Science 