10 Unusual City Names in Indiana

When you think of cities and towns in Indiana, the big ones usually come to mind. Indy, Evansville, Ft. Wayne, etc. But for every one of those, there's a small town somewhere with a name that makes you go, "What?"

This idea came to me while listening a podcast on Saturday morning. They did a segment about the dirtiest sounding city names in the country, so I did a little research to see how many towns we had here in Indiana that would fall under the category of odd, peculiar, or just plain unusual. There are way more than 10, but these are definitely the cream of the crop in my opinion.

Floyds Knobs, IN

According to the history books, the "Floyd" in "Floyds Knobs" (just northeast of New Albany) is in reference to Colonel David Floyd, whom the town is named after. The "Knobs" is another name for the hills that make up a majority of the landscape. For those of us who try to find innuendo in everything, it sounds like it was named after someone with more than one wiener.

Gnaw Bone, IN

The town of Gnaw Bone sits about 55 miles south of Indianapolis, and depending on what story you read, got it's name one of three ways. One version suggests it's named after a Union soldier from the Civil War who got so drunk his fellow troops left him on the side of the road as he gnawed on a bone leftover from an earlier lunch. Another suggests it's named after someone who claimed to have seen the owner of a sawmill in the area sitting on a log "gnawin' on a bone." The third version says it's named after the town of Narbonne, France where many of the early settlers were from. Whatever the truth is, it sounds like something a man would pay for on the side and hope his wife didn't find out.

Toad Hop, IN

The "town" (I use that term loosely) of Toad Hop sits on the outskirts of the west side of Terre Haute. As one story goes, "whenever there was a heavy rain it was inundated by frogs" from nearby Sugar Creek. That same story suggests the town was full of rapscallions, (that's right, I said, "rapscallions") leading residents in surrounding areas to avoid the town as much as possible.

Loogootee, IN

One of the more well-known towns with an usual name, Loogootee looks like it should be pronounced, LOO-GOO-TEE, but those of us from the state know it's pronounced LUH-GO-TEE. Either way, it sounds like something you cough up when you have a cold.

Churubusco, IN

Legend has it, Churubusco was chosen as the name of this little town northeast of Fort Wayne by the residents living there in the 1840's. The name comes from a town in Mexico that was the site of an American victory in the Mexican-American War, because 'Merica. It apparently was also home to a 500-pound turtle named Oscar at one point, because of course it was. I just think it sounds like a dessert option on a Mexican restaurant menu.

Young America, IN

Ironically, Young America was founded in 1855, which no longer makes it young by definition. At the time of its establishment though, that obviously wasn't the case. Despite what the name suggests, it wasn't a town founded by a bunch of free-wheeling twenty-somethings with hopes and dreams of living the American Dream before life crushed them into oblivion (side note: did I just turn into my dad?). No, rumor has it the name came from one of two places. It was either named after equipment from the Young America company that was used to build a sawmill in the area, or from someone writing "Young America" on a chalkboard after seeing a steam engine in action, which was rare in this part of the country at the time. It sounds like a WWE Tag Team comprised of two millennials who just want the championship belts handed to them without actually working for them (there's my dad again).

Correct, IN

I couldn't find any information on how Correct, Indiana got it's name, but I get this feeling trying to argue with anyone living in this town is a waste of time and oxygen.

Slabtown, IN

Finally, a town whose name has some significance to why it exists. Back in the day when roads were made using wood boards, slabs were laid down first. This is where they were made. Since that's not really all that funny, Urban Dictionary defines a "slab" as "any car that is fully customized (ie. sound system, paint job, rims, engine, etc.). So let's assume it's full of cars that bounce and rock a killer sound system.

Ballstown, IN

My inner 12-year-old is laughing so hard he's crying. I don't even care how it got its name. It's called "Ballstown", and that's all I need.

Hibernia, IN

They say it's a sleepy little town in just west of Charlestown (I'll show myself out).