Town Name Origin

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Town Name Origin

Postby Squirrel Girl » Jun 8, 2007 12:05 pm

"New Albin was established as a station on the Clinton, Dubuque and Minnesota railway in 1872. The town was named for Albin Rhomberg, the son of one of the founders. Rhomberg stubled and fell into a bonfire with his pockets full of gunpowder on July 4, 1872, and died as a result of the accident. 'New' was apparently added to the name to prevent confusion with an existing town called Albion."
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Postby Sean Ryan » Jun 14, 2007 3:47 pm

That Albin, always overdoing it on the Fourth of July.

I've always liked how Nome, Alaska came from someone writing "name" on a blank spot on the map and having his As look like Os.
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Postby Scott McCrea » Jun 14, 2007 4:00 pm

Would that be New Albin, IA? What's the significance?
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Postby Wayne Harrison » Jun 14, 2007 4:17 pm

There's Dotsero, Colorado, which was the railroad starting point for the Denver Rio Grande, that they originally called "Dot Zero" (0.0 or starting point), I've read. Wikipedia disputes that, however. It's near the junction of the Eagle and Colorado Rivers (and some great caving country) and was called the Dotsero cut-off. It went to Orestod (Dotsero spelled backward).

Just downstream, at the other end of Glenwood Canyon is No Name, Colo.

If the 2011 NSS Convention is approved for Colorado, the convention campground will be at No Name, I believe.
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Postby SpeleoRover » Jun 14, 2007 4:32 pm

I'm partial to Oxnard, CA - but then juvenile humor always has amused me. :banana:
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Postby gillip » Jun 14, 2007 7:44 pm

How about Normal, IL and Peculiar, MO. I can see wanting to name your town Normal. It sounds like a nice place. But it took some strange people to name thier town Peculiar.

The town was actually named Peculiar after the first postmaster had the name Excelsior rejected because it already existed elsewhere in MO. The postmaster general rejected several other names and sent a letter saying he didn't care what it is called as long as it is something "peculiar". The frustrated postmaster named the town Peculiar.

The story for Normal is not nearly as peculiar. It was originally North Bloomington, but was renamed for the Illinois State Normal University (a teachers college) located there. The university is now Illinois State University.
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Postby Squirrel Girl » Jun 14, 2007 8:03 pm

gillip wrote:How about Normal, IL and Peculiar, MO. I can see wanting to name your town Normal. It sounds like a nice place. But it took some strange people to name thier town Peculiar.

The town was actually named Peculiar after the first postmaster had the name Excelsior rejected because it already existed elsewhere in MO. The postmaster general rejected several other names and sent a letter saying he didn't care what it is called as long as it is something "peculiar". The frustrated postmaster named the town Peculiar.

The story for Normal is not nearly as peculiar. It was originally North Bloomington, but was renamed for the Illinois State Normal University (a teachers college) located there. The university is now Illinois State University.
I actually knew that Peculiar existed. A good friend of mine did his dissertation on the rocks in the area. He really wanted to make the town the type locality for a thin layer of rocks. Not such a thick layer that it would be a "formation." No, just the "Peculiar Beds."
:laughing:
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Postby Phil Winkler » Jun 15, 2007 8:03 am

Lancaster Co. PA has Intercourse and Paradise as town names.
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Postby paul » Jun 18, 2007 6:38 am

Don't forget Boring in Oregon!
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