The history of the Lone Star State is full of colorful characters and stories. Covering such a large area, coming up with names for all the towns and communities in this vast territory has historically been challenging.  As a result, there are some very interesting town names here in our "neck of the woods".  Speaking of "Neck of the Woods" that would make a great name for a Texas Town.

Let's see how many of these Texas towns with crazy names you've heard of.

1) Veribest: Our first selection is not far from San Angelo. Veribest is 11 miles east of San Angelo and for many years was named Mullins after Isaac "Ike" Mullins who was one of the first settlers in the area. Mullins donated land for a school and the Mullins Cemetery. In 1926, the town of Mullins applied for a post office but was told that there was already a town in Texas with that name. So, according to the Tom Green County Historical Commission they had a contest to come up with a new name. A young woman saw a jar of mayonnaise in the general store with the a popular brand name at the time Veribest. Voila, the rest is as they say history.

2) Utopia Most of us have heard of Eden.  We all drive through it whenever we go to San Antonio. But, did you know that Utopia is also not far away. Utopia is in Uvalde County about 179 miles southeast of San Angelo. If you love treehouses, Utopia really is utopia. There, you can find Treehouse Utopia. If you're still not convinced heaven is a place called Texas, try visiting Paradise, Texas.

3) Whiteface, Texas: Whoa now.  I know what you're thinking.  This Texas town can't be known for its ethnic diversity.  WRONG. Whiteface is in Cochrane County.  According to the Handbook of Texas, Whiteface was named after C.C. Slaughter's Whiteface Camp and Whiteface pasture, names after a breed of cow known for its red color and white face.

Michael J. Rivera/TSM
Michael J. Rivera/TSM
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4) Pep, Texas Energy is never in short supply here in Texas. In fact, there's also a town in Texas named "Energy". Apparently, the town was originally named Ledwig, but the post office department did not like that  name.  In 1936, the name "Pep" was selected as a salute to a common characteristic of the town's residents.

5) Notrees, Texas There are a lot of towns in Texas that take their name  after an honest description of the landscape found there.  Examples include, Levelland, and Notrees. Notrees was named in 1946 after Ector County's single native tree was cut down to make way for a large gas plant.

6) Earth, Texas Earth is in Lamb County. Some could argue there's "earth" in every county. In any event, there are many stories for why this town is named Earth.  The most often heard story about the naming of these town comes from some variation of this story. Locals were so proud of the town's fertile soil, they named the town "Good Earth".  Unfortunately, the name was shortened to Earth by postal authorities. If you're a cosmic traveler, you can also visit Venus, Texas or March, Texas.

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7) Bug Tussle, Texas Back in the 1960's there were a number of television shows with rural Americana settings.  There was Petticoat Junction, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Green Acres, to name a few.  Those shows always mentioned, what many people must have thought, was a fictitious hick town named "Bug Tussle" Turns out there really is a Bug Tussle. It is a community in Fannin County, Texas. The town was supposedly named after an incident in the 1890's when a swam or insects spoiled an ice cream social.

8) Cut and Shoot, Texas This town with an interesting name is six miles east of Controe and forty miles north of Houston in Montgomery County.  It was named after a confrontation that took place in the town. The dispute arose over disagreements about the design of a new steeple for the town's only church. The whole thing lead to a quite un-Christian exchange where a small boy at the scene reportedly declared, I'm going to cut around the corner and shoot through the bushes in a minute".  The expression stuck and the town is named Cut and Shoot even today.

9) Ding Dong, Texas Ding Dong is on the Lampasas River 8 miles south of Killeen in Bell County. Wikipedia says the area was originally known as McBryde Crossing. In the 1930's, a man named Zulis Bell and his nephew Bert Bell operated a country store and asked an artist to design a new sign for the store.  The finished sign had two bells on it one with the name of Zulis and one with Bert on the other. The bells were made and brought to town. The artist wrote the words "Ding Dong" on the bells and as the community grew around the old country store the community became known as "Ding Dong".

 

10) Dime Box, and Old Dime Box, Texas Two communities in Lee County, Texas have the interesting name "Dime Box" in their names. Wikipedia says the settlement, originally known as Brown's Mill got its name from a custom in which early Texas settlers would use a large, wooden box for mail, or to order small items from a carrier on horseback. In 1913, when the Southern Pacific Railroad built it's line three miles southeast of Dime Box, many of the residents and businesses move closer to the track. Eventually, the new Dime Box became "Dime Box" and the original town away from the railroad line was named "Old Dime Box"

There are many more cities in Texas with strange names. Feel free to add your favorite Texas communities with strange names in our app or on social media. Heckville, we may like one of your picks better than these ten.

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