Random Weird Small Towns In Texas (19 items)

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  (#1) DISH

  • Texas, USA

  In 2005, the rural community of Clark in northeastern Texas made a deal with a national TV provider that would give the whole town free satellite television. The condition? The residents of the town would have to agree to rename their hometown after their corporate sponsor. DISH, TX, was born.

  The change obviously garnered mixed responses for the community. In 2013, the New York Times reported on the name change, and got a funny quote from resident Buddy Kinney: "I wished Jack Daniel’s would have looked us up."
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  (#2) Uncertain

  • Texas, USA

  It's fittingly unclear where Uncertain, TX, got its name. The town, located on the border of Louisiana and 20 miles south of Arkansas, is a picturesque little spot on the shores of Caddo Lake. Only 94 people live there, but its unique name sparked enough interest for a documentary to be made about three of its residents. 

  Premiering in early 2017, the documentary Uncertain makes a connection between the town's mysterious name and a few of its residents. One of the film's directors, Anna Sandilands, spoke to Forbes about Wayne, a convicted felon featured in the doc. She calls a place like Uncertain an "oasis" for the man, a safe space for anybody who made a mistake.
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  (#3) Nameless

  • Texas, USA

  The story of Nameless is pretty straightforward. Once it was settled in 1869, the residents of the south-central Texas town submitted several ideas for a name to postal authorities in Washington, DC. They were rejected six times, which prompted the community to write a frustrated response to the authorities. 

  "Let the post office be nameless and be damned!" they said. Their wish was granted, and in 1880, the post office was named Nameless.
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  (#4) Ding Dong

  • Texas, USA

  Ding Dong isn't the most attractive name for a town, but it shows an undeniable sense of humor. Ding Dong was founded by Bert and Zulis Bell in the 1930s. The Bells ran a store, and recruited a painter to paint a sign for them.

  He painted two bells, one for each Bell, and as a joke, he labeled them "ding" and "dong." The name stuck.
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  (#5) Oatmeal

  • Texas, USA

  Americans are exceptionally good at giving up on names and words they can't pronounce. Case in point: Oatmeal, TX.

  Although its exact origins are unknown, the town's name is rumored to be either a skewering of Othneil, the owner of a local mill, or a translation of Habernill, the surname of a Germany family that settled in the area in 1849. "Haber" could be a variation of "hafer," which is "oat" in German.

  Today, the town celebrates its odd name and holds an annual Oatmeal Festival. 
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  (#6) Cut and Shoot

  • Texas, USA

  It's not the most attractive moniker, but Cut and Shoot at least has a really interesting origin story. The city was named after a feud that took place over a preacher. 

  Back in 1912, the town was split over their opinions about a preacher set to hold a community meeting. Some believed he had spent his time frequenting the saloons and dancing. Eventually, the locals against the preacher took the community house with guns. A child witnessing the fight said, "I'm going to cut around the corner and shoot through the bushes in a minute!"

  Somehow, this turn of phrase became the town's name.
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  (#7) Happy

  • Texas, USA

  Happy, TX, was named after the circumstances surrounding its discovery: settlers were happy to find water there. The tiny town, with a population under 1,000, is perhaps best known for being the setting of the 1999 comedy film of the same name. 

  According to the Guardian, there may not be much to do or see in Happy, but there's a joy to taking pictures and seeing its many signs. Also, the cemetery is called "Happy Cemetery," which must be fun.
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  (#8) Dime Box Was Named After The Way Early Settlers Transported Mail

  Old Dime Box is the second oldest town in Lee County, Texas, and it was originally named Brown's Mill. But because of a nearby town named Brownsville, the post office kept mixing up the mail, so the people changed the name of their town to Dime Box. A "dime box" was a wooden box used to transport mail during the time of the settlers, so it seemed fitting for a post office-related name change. 

  When the Southern Pacific Railroad bypassed the town, some people moved a few miles closer to the train, and the town split into "Old" and "New" variations of the same municipality. Population in 2010 was 381.
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  (#9) Jot 'Em Down Was Named After A 1930s-Era Radio Show

  Jot 'Em Down is an unincorporated small town in Delta County, outside Dallas. Allegedly, the name of the town came from a fictional 1930s-era Arkansas radio store on the "Lum and Abner" show. The tiny town went through a series of names in its quest to find itself, including Mohegan, Muddig Prairie, and Bagley. When a couple of brothers moved to the area and wanted to open a store, they polled the community for a store name, which led to the whole town renaming itself.

  Although Jot 'Em Down is reportedly a popular rest stop with passersby, the town itself has only reported a population of 10 since 2000.
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  (#10) Marfa Is A Modern-Art Mecca In The Middle Of Nowhere

  Marfa, Texas has become social media-famous for its modern art installations, including an isolated Prada store right off US Highway 90. Minimalist artist Donald Judd settled there in the 1970s, and his work influenced a movement. Chris Kraus's novel and subsequent Amazon series, I Love Dick, has also brought attention to the small municipality in recent years. 

  Interestingly, in a vast sprawl of land where most of the town names are Spanish titles or quirky English words, Marfa is actually one of three Russian towns in the area, and its translation is the English name "Martha." Although a few rumors have lent themselves to why Marfa has a Russian name, the answer is probably related to literature giant Dostoyevsky and probably comes from the wife of one of the Southern Pacific Railroad founders/owners.

  He had given his wife permission to name a few of the stops off the new western train line, and one of the towns she named was Feodora, a direct lift from the title page of the novel The Brothers Karamazov. A woman named Marfa is the heroine of the book, and the connection is almost certainly on purpose.
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  (#11) Earth

  • Texas, USA

  It's gutsy to name your small town after something as grand as the Earth. It's unclear how the rural city in west Texas got its name, but there are some working theories that make sense.

  The city was established in 1924 by William E. Halsell, and was originally named Fairlawn or Fairleen. However, when postmaster C.H. Reeves attempted to register the post office with Washington, DC, he was apparently moved by a passing sandstorm and therefore chose the name Earth.

  That's one theory. Another, also involving Reeves, says that after he described the sandstorm to DC, they replied, "The earth seems to move in your country. You will call the post office Earth."
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  (#12) Kermit

  • Texas, USA

  Despite your most immediate association, the city of Kermit, TX, in Winkler County originally had nothing to do with the popular Muppet. Kermit was named after the son of President Theodore Roosevelt, who visited a nearby ranch to hunt for antelope in the early 1900s. But after the rise of a certain frog, the town named a "Kermit the Frog Boulevard" and painted a water tower with his face.

  Today, the town has a population of around 5,700. But it wasn't always a bustling center. In the late 1910s, Winkler County experienced a serious drought that forced residents out. The situation was so severe that by 1924, only one student was attending school in the county. However, just before the Great Depression, oil was discovered. People flocked back to the city.
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  (#13) Gun Barrel City 'Shoots Straight With You'

  For many years, Gun Barrel City was an unincorporated smattering of homes and businesses off Gun Barrel Lane, which connected two other Texas municipalities. In 1969, it officially petitioned to be recognized as a town and was named after its original thoroughfare.

  Though it doesn't take much imagination to recognize why a town in Texas might be named after parts of a gun, the town also prides itself on its paraphernalia-related motto, "We shoot straight with you." Today, it calls itself a "thriving community" and in 2016 boasted a population of around 6,000.
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  (#14) Latex

  • Texas, USA

  It's funny to think that a town in Texas would be named after rubber, or that its residents have some of relationship to latex in general. That's not the case with Latex, TX, which is, in fact, simply named after its location. It's on Texas-Louisiana border: Latex.

  It was settled by farmers, mostly African Americans who came there after the Civil War.
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  (#15) Salty Makes You Think You Need A Drink To Wash It Down

  Salty is a tiny incorporated community established in 1860 and named for the nearby Salt Creek (no indication why this creek was named "Salt Creek," though!) Although it reportedly has its own cemetery, church, and town hall, it has a very small political presence and plays a minute role in greater Wichita County. Salty, Texas: where you need a drink to wash it all down.
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  (#16) China Got Its Name From An Invasive Plant Species

  China, Texas, is one of three US towns that share a name with the expansive Asian country, but it's entirely coincidental. China is actually named for the Chinaberry trees in the area, which are an invasive species that have grown after the trees were brought over in the 18th or 19th centuries from China as ornamental plants. The population of China, Texas, was 1,160 during the 2010 census. 
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  (#17) Goodnight

  • Texas, USA

  For a town with such a cool name, it's too bad that Goodnight, TX, has neither a great story behind it nor too many people who live there (fewer than 20). Goodnight was named after Charles Goodnight, a rancher.
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  (#18) White Settlement Is As Controversial As You'd Think

  This provocatively named city has refused to change its name and promotes itself as "family-friendly" with a "welcoming business atmosphere." Named after a historical series of fights between white settlers and Native Americans, the town established itself within the protective eye of Fort Worth and made a name for itself during WWII with its B-24 bomber factory.

  The name remains controversial as the town attempts to attract more business in a culturally diverse area. The population in 2010 was 16,116, and reportedly 85% white.
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  (#19) Bacon Sounds Appealing, But It's Named After A Dude, Not Your Favorite Breakfast Food

  This small unincorporated town in Wichita County wasn't named for the salty, crispy breakfast pork, although Texas is known for its towns named after foods. It was, however, named after the mayor who presided over Witchita Falls, of which Bacon is part. Wichita Falls was officially established in 1889, and its first town council was led by Mayor Otis T. Bacon. Wichita Falls is the closest census area, which reports a population of 104,000.

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