Some towns in Missouri have very odd names. Here's a list of eight and Missouri and the story behind them.
1. Peculiar,Cass County
Pioneers submitted three town names to post office for consideration but all three were taken. They then decided to let the postmaster choose saying, “We don’t care what name you give us so long as it is sort of peculiar.” Boom—Peculiar it is!
2. Tightwad, Henry County
Story has it that a postman spotted a watermelon and made a deal for it be placed aside for him until he returned from his route. Once he came back, the grocer has sold the watermelon to another buyer who paid 50 cents more. A “Tightwad” is what the postman called the grocer, now it’s the name of the town.
Another story says that an argument between carpenter and store owner about the cost store owner’s building that someone overheard.
3. Humansville, Polk County
Is the town called Humansville because of all the Homo sapiens in the area? Not quite. It’s named after the founder James G. Human.
4. Licking,Texas County
This town is named after a salt lick located about a fourth of a mile east from the center of town. The spring would flood the area it and once it dried, salt was left over that attracted animals.
5. Blue Eye,Stone County
Blue Eye, Missouri is next to the town of Blue Eye, Arkansas. The town’s first post office was started in the home of Elbert Butler, Civil War veteran and first postmaster. He and his daughter had beautiful blue eyes – beautiful enough to name the town after.
6. Devils Elbow, Pulaski County
This community started as a lumberjack town. When logs floated down the river, they’d get jammed near a large boulder in the river’s bend—Devil’s Elbow.
7. Knob Lick, St. Francois County
This community also had a salt lick where animals would come.
8. Braggadocio, Pemiscot County
A few stories about how this town got its name. One says one of the first settlers named Bragg had a wife named Docio and they combined their names. Another theory is a man was always bragging about his wife Docio’s—bragging on Docio. The last suggestion is that people in the settlement were so boastful, the name stuck with the town to describe the inhabitants.
